cigarettes and orange slices

so, either james stood us up or we missed him somehow. we left him a note at the sunday breakfast mission in case he's a millionaire and wants to give us $...or if he just wants to grab some lunch. we checked out the friendship house too. no james. but sonny "the blues man" recognized us. he asked how we were doing financially. i wasn't sure how to answer that one. not that great, but way better than you. terry deciphered the code and asked what he needed. "cigarettes." off to the drug store where about $18 can buy you two sandwiches, two sodas, four packages of orange slices, and a pack of extra long menthols. cash only. i conveniently almost never carry cash...thanks, terry. our only request was that he share. he said he always does. i believe him. i think cigarettes and orange slices would make a great title for the book that i'll never write. ohh...there's another good one- the book that i'll never write.

real hope for lieutenant james

last week terry and i met james in the parking lot of the sunday breakfast mission in wilmington. james was pretty certain he had met us before at the train station. or was it rodney square? or sunday breakfast mission? yes, according to james it was any and all of these places. read terry's first account here and second one here. james has fallen on some difficult times. times that i can't comprehend. he's a marine like the way that i'm tall and lanky- it's who he is. no getting around it. he returned in 2006 from afghanistan. he's been homeless since. welcome home. he has testicular cancer. he has no family in the area. his father passed away last christmas season and this is the first one he's had without him. he said the hardest part about being homeless is having to ask people for help. the best part? no longer taking friendships and shelter for granted. there's real hope for lieutenant james and that excites terry and i. it's great taking homeless people out to lunch. really great. we meet the most intriguing characters in the world. the people we've met are friendly despite their circumstances, wise because of their circumstances, generous while having so little, and most are hopeful in the face of a situation that should breed cynicism. they look like jesus. while our lunches are great, sometimes the complexity of their situation is a little overwhelming. not overwhelming in the sense that i stress out about it. or that i'm unable to enjoy the meals. overwhelming in the sense that it's difficult to know how to really help someone stuck in the cycle of poverty. james just inherited a large sum of money and a home from his deceased father. he needed a few bucks to pay the fee for a birth certificate so that he could get an id card so that he could...long story short- get the money and the home. we're rooting for him. it'd be great to actually help someone overcome such a devastating situation. he has every intention of paying us back our $21 that we've "lent" him. i told him we didn't care about the money, we just wanted to make sure we were helping him the best way we could. he took offense. "i'm a marine! i'm going to pay you back." ok. today was a good conversation because we got to ask him all those philosophical questions that you want to ask homeless people- what's keeping you from getting off of the streets? is there anything you like about being homeless? do you have any plans for the next few months? do you know sonny (affectionately known as "the blues man")? james has some pretty bizarre tales. for instance, he volunteers for joe biden and helps cops with undercover drug busts. a true renaissance man. terry and i both struggle with skepticism. maybe it's healthy. i'm not sure. but i know that perfect love always trusts. our culture is such that trust has to be earned; not granted unconditionally.

a positive note about the candidates

i'm not sure how much you've been paying attention to the political race for the candidacies; i've been paying about as much attention as basic cable and occasional internet research let me. i thought i'd take a minute to explain some of the positives that i see in many of the candidates. rest assure, there are many negatives, which emphasizes the need for more than two political options. i'll do my best to overlook the negative for the purpose of this blog. maybe this will help fill you in on candidates positions if you don't already know (at least from my biased point of view).

we'll start with the republicans:

ron paul (congressman, tx)- this is, in my opinion, the single most interesting candidate out there. he's the only republican candidate that voted against the war. he's probably got the most consistent personal integrity of any republican candidate. he has a consistent voting record on all accounts, he's strongly opposed to the patriot act, he's a doctor, and he's been married to the same woman for like 50 years. he asked, "how many innocent civilians in our nation and others are we willing to see killed?" he's a conservative that's not embarrassed about being opposed to needless war in a party that frankly, has supported it endlessly. he reminds everyone that a true conservative position is anti-war. in a world where many view the u.s. as the terrorists, he radically proposes immediate withdrawal from iraq. i like that his entire campaign is grassroots. he's not a billionaire, in fact he won't even accept the congressional pension plan because he doesn't think it's fair to everyone else. he has the most avid supporters probably of any candidate out there. he offers republicans a much needed break from the common rhetoric of their party. he seems to be able to view issues objectively, without a partisan filter. he's the only republican candidate i would consider voting for. even if you completely disagree, you've got to admire someone who legitimately wants to abolish the irs.

rudy guliani (ex-mayor of nyc)- despite pat roberston's endorsement, guliani is losing ground. does this mean the end of the 700 club? one can hope. he drastically reduced crime in nyc. that's all i got.

fred thompson (senator, tn)- i find no redeeming quality about this man. he has complete disregard for the environment, and a face that looks like he carries an iron fist. (so much for remaining positive. hey...i'm trying).

mike huckabee (governor, ar)- he's possibly the only republican candidate that seems to give a crap about the working poor. he's an economic populist, which is sure to excite the republican base. because of that, i'd be real surprised to see him advance to the ticket. he's an ex-preacher and he was born in the same place as president clinton- hope, arkansas. as far as immigration goes (which seems like it's the latest hot topic), if he errs, it's on the side of compassion. he doesn't belive in punishing children of illegal immigrants for the sins of their fathers. instead, he provided a path for legal residency and scholarships for higher education for children of illegal immigrants in arkansas. when questioned by his rivals about his "liberal" position on immigration, his cry?- "we're a better country than to punish children for the mistakes of their parents." he's not afraid to call a lot of immigration reform as "driven by racism."

john mccain (senator, az)- i like his view on the environment. he thinks the concern is real, and possibly understated. he thinks of it like this: what if global warming is a hoax? than all we will have done is clean up the world and make it a better place to live for our children. if it's real and we don't do anything about it?...we've got real problems.

mitt romney (governer, ma)- he's mormon. i don't know much else about him. i was asked by a friend one time if i would have a problem voting for someone of a different religion; that's easy- nope. if i were running i wouldn't want someone to discriminate against me because of my religion. the whole "do unto others" thing.

now, for the dems:

hillary clinton (senator, ny)- i like her health care policy. universal health care- no one gets left behind in the system. her first go 'round in '93 (or whatever it was) was a little extreme for most which is why she couldn't get health care reform passed. this time, it's softer. and it'll probably get support from both parties.

barack obama (senator, il)- he speaks with hope and passion. he's young. i'm pretty sure he's the only democratic candidate that didn't vote for the war in the first place (at least of the major 3). he's in favor of universal health care as well. he's got an interesting background with a muslim, yet confirmed athiest father from kenya and a non-religious mother from kansas. he's since become a christian himself.

john edwards (senator, nc)- i like that he speaks with a southern drawl. i like that he plans to aggressively reduce not only domestic, but global poverty. i like that he cares about the genocide in darfur and that he seems to be committed to the long term interests of the world.

i wrote more about the republicans than the democrats not because i'm republican- i'm actually a registered independent- but, i think the republican race is much more up for grabs than the democratic one. the three dems i mentioned are the only ones with a chance. feel free to mention anything i left out.

my first nephew, daniel

welcome the latest addition to the cooper family: daniel james cooper. born in stephenville, tx on december 5 at 4:20pm. he's 7 lbs. and a few oz.

apparently, you're supposed to ask all the same questions about child birth as you would about fishing- how big is he? how long is he? how long did it take to reel him in? daniel obviously gets his good looks from uncle ben. hey...that'd make a great t-shirt- "i get my good looks from uncle ben." congratulations to the proud parents- nick and amy cooper. you'll be courageous and merciful parents.

beautiful friends

i was in texas this past weekend for two medical school interviews. they went well. thanks for asking. i'm a bit older than the average applicant and i have a different story than most. i've lived in little rock, houston, lubbock, colorado springs, flagstaff, and delaware. i was born in new orleans. i married a gorgeous texas girl who moved from new jersey. i have family in texas, colorado, louisiana, and arkansas. i have friends all over. i have the best friends. i can almost never stay in a hotel anywhere i go because i have the best friends ever and we'd both be offended if i didn't stay with them. my story is different. it's not safe. i love it. it was a great weekend. not because the interviews went well, because i got to see and stay with my best friends.

we'll start with kyle. i love kyle like a brother. more than a brother. kyle's wildly creative. he's selling his latest ep for however much you want to pay for it. it's called peace in times of war. a portion of the proceeds will go to http://www.savedarfur.org/. please buy this ep.


i haven't had a good anti-war post in a while, so i'll let kyle's post speak for me. i got to see and stay with him last thursday night in georgetown (austin area). we chatted about faith, war, peace, family, books, movies, and music. he challenges me to make my faith innovative. he encourages me when i need it most. he pays no mind to the status quo. he follows a radical jesus. he's not safe. he needs to shave.

one of the reasons the in-law relationship that's popularized in movies like meet the parents is so funny is because it's relatable. i think it's funny, but i can't relate. i love my mother-in-law, linda, and father-in-law, marty. i like them too. marty and i fished. linda's a little computer challenged, so computer 101 was in order. (no offense linda). all they did was pay for all my meals, give me a place to stay, buy my fishing licence, take friday off to hang out with me, and let me steal their car for like 3 days. they're beyond generous. they have an admirable ability to befriend people that aren't like them- different religion or political ideology. they love people.

i hung out with mike in houston. spent the night at his place and slammed out some guitar hero goodness. mike and i have a remarkable knack for senseless banter. at least it's sensless to everyone else. in our reality, however, obscure robin hood: prince of thieves quotes are commonplace. he can pan fry the hell out of black drum fish. mike makes you laugh when you're around him.

next stop- the mccracken's in san antonio. mike "crack" and melanie "mel mel". they thanked me for staying with them- that's how gracious they are. i hadn't talked with crack since his wedding like 2 years ago, but we hadn't missed a beat. they are both really active in the church that crack's dad pastors. his dad is so encouraging. he said this about church and the twenty-something generation: "my generation is looking for a building, your's is looking for life." i thought that was thick honesty. they're praying for us to end up in san antonio. if you want us somewhere else, it's going to be hard to out-pray them.

to top off the weekend, i was picked up by my beautiful bride at bwi at midnight last night.

quick question: would you be interested in a "what i'm reading" sidebar?