Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

Blessed sister, holy mother, spirit of the fountain, spirit of the garden, suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood. Teach us to care, teach us to sit still. Even among these rocks, our peace in His will and even among these rocks, sister, mother and spirit of the river and spirit of the sea, suffer me not to be separated and let my cry come unto Thee. Your parents, Officer Cook and your loving sister, Nancy, made sure you were supported in all your endeavors. They gave you the love and respect you gave to them knew you would turn out alright. Your commitment to serve and to protect all Dade County citizens was born out of honor, dignity and integrity. It assisted you by leaps and bounds to be able to solemnly carry out your duties. No one will ever forget this. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. You taught us all the grand lesson, this was not to sit still, but to make it happen. It took rock solid leadership and a maturity beyond to years to keep the peace and unity so necessary to a community which respected and cherished you.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 20, 2014

My help is in the mountain where I take myself to heal the earthly wounds that people give to me. I find a rock with sun on it and a stream where the water runs gentle. And the trees which one by one give me company, so I must stay for a long time, until I have grown from the rock. And the stream is running through me and I cannot tell myself from one tall tree. Then I know that nothing touches me. Nor makes me run away. My help is in the mountain that I take away with me. Earth cure me. Earth receive my woe. Rock strengthen me. Rock receive my weakness. Rain wash my sadness away. rain receive my doubt. Sun make sweet my song. Sun receive the anger from my heart. Because of your virtuous and humble duty, Officer Cook, any hostility we still hold inside should be taken from us. We can look back on the happy times of your life and career, though cut too short because of violence perpetrated against you, your family and the entire police community as we know it. You personified what it means to be a hero and to champion its causes in honor, dignity and integrity. The humbleness of your upbringing and the career you worked valiantly at to be the best, serves as our inspiration for generations to come. It shines as brightly as the badge you were proudly on your chest and now as your soul brightens up the darkest of skies. One great man who lived his dream to be a success. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 19, 2014

Let us think of Mother Earth, her rich bounty that will result from springtime, the golden corn and the seeds of harvest, all grown strong from Mother Earth, the spring rains and the energy of Father Sky. it is time to consider healing: healing of ourselves, healing of a loved one, healing of adversaries for peace among nations and healing of the harms done to Mother Earth. Oh, Great Spirit, I pray for myself in order that I may be healed. I pray for my close friend who is sick and needs help Oh, Great Spirit. I pray for this world that atomic weapons and other weapons of mass destruction will be obliterated that we point toward one another. I pray all adversaries will communicate and all mistrust will be healed. I pray for the environment. I pray for its cleansing and the renewal of our Mother Earth. We all pray on your behalf, Officer Cook, that you may rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. A hero to all. Adversity was something you and all other police officers had to deal with on a daily manner. and you did so with honorable intentions, dignity and integrity in the face of evil to help the seeds of goodwill sprout. And they surely did. Let us really focus and pray that no more harm comes to anyone, particularly any of our brave, courageous and valiant men and women of the law enforcement profession.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 19, 2014

Grandfather, look at our brokenness. We know that in all creation only the human family has strayed from the sacred way. We know that we are the ones who are divided and we are the ones who must come back together to walk the sacred way. Grandfather, sacred one, teach us love, compassion and honor. That we may heal the earth and each other. If you knew your grandparents, Officer Cook, it is easy to see where your excellent traits came from. Your parents and their parents raised very fine children who turned out to become successful in all their endeavors. For all your achievements and for making Dade County because of your honorable commitment, may you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. May God's humility shine down forever on your loving and beautiful family. Just remember, Mrs. Cook, you and your husband raised two beautiful children who you could be very proud of. Your son will not be forgotten by me or my family. He put his life on the line to enhance his community and you will always be in my thoughts and prayers along with your husband may he too rest in peace together with his wonderfully brave son.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 18, 2014

We join the earth and with each other. To bring new life to the land. To restore the waters. To refresh the air. To renew the forests. To care for the plants. To protect creatures. To celebrate the seas. To rejoice in the sunlight. To sing the song of the stars. To recreate the human community. To promote peace and justice. To remember our children. We join together as many and diverse expressions of one loving memory for the healing of the earth and the renewal of all life. Yes, we join together. We came together as one nation to honor the memories of all honorable and dignified police officers, Officer Cook, you were one of these many brave, courageous and valiant heroes and heroines who sacrificed for our benefit. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. The darkness of evil today will be replenished with plenty of sunlight tomorrow.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 18, 2014

Let us be united, let us speak in harmony, let our minds apprehend alike. Common be our prayer, common be the end of our assembly, common be our resolution, common be our deliberations. Alike be our feelings, unified be our hearts, common be our intentions, perfect be our unity. As those words on your gravestone say: "We Shall Be One." Yes, Officer Cook, you were of sound mind and body who went out to patrol the streets of Dade County in an effort to bring sanity to a community that was suffering from unrest, tension, escalations of violence, persistent pain from evil that lied in wake to ratchet up its ugliness. Your commonsense approaches, Officer Cook, your honor, dignity and integrity served to inspire those citizens who admired and respected you and where and you enjoyed your watch over them. We pray that one day violence will be gone, innocent bloodshed will cease and baseless hatred will stay grounded. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Your soul, Officer Cook, hovers high above looking down on those who persist in this battle and who do it like you did it, with valor, courage and bravery.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 17, 2014

We who have lost our sense and our senses-our touch, our smell, our vision of who we are, we who frantically force and press all things, without rest for body or spirit, hurting our earth and injuring ourselves, we call a halt. We want to rest. We need to rest and allow the earth to rest. We need to reflect and to rediscover the mystery that lives in us, that is the ground of every unique expression of life, the source of the fascination that calls all things to communion. We declare a Sabbath, a space of quiet for simply being and letting be, for recovering the great, forgotten truths, for learning how to live again. Unfortunately, violence has caused this society to lose its perspective as to why we have marvelously brave and courageous men and women such as yourself, Officer Cook, who serve, protect and allow us to live peacefully and in unity. This perspective needs to be reinforced and your sacrifice drives this point home. You were God's humbly loyal and devoted servant who was undaunted, unafraid to face reality that police officers have to look at daily. you won't be forgotten as God has called you home to rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero with those brave comrades who made the ultimate sacrifice to make this world a better to succeed.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 17, 2014

I have come to terms with the future. From this day onward I will walk easy on the earth. Plant trees. Kill no living things. Live in harmony with all creatures. I will restore the earth where I am. Use no more of its resources than I need. And listen, listen to what it is telling me. It's hard to come to terms when someone you respected, someone you loved is suddenly taken from you. This is most comprehensible to most people. When word came that you were taken from this earth, Officer Cook, those who loved you cried uncontrollably. It is just human nature for one to express their inner emotions. The moment hits you, hits home like a punch to the gut. The callous disrespect for police authority that day of May 16, 1979, was usurped by a young and troubled man bent on violence against our authority. The ones who keep the peace, freedom and unity in a community that at the time was crying out for help. Tensions went untamed, torment reined down like a cyclone. You were there for our needs, Officer Cook, with a resounding confidence that things would workout in the end. You attempted to handle a situation you attended to many times during your six years of high quality and loyal service with the Metro-Dade Police Department. Lord knows you tried, then we cried at the news of your untimely loss. A heart-wrenching one that choked our insides with all the scenarios of the what ifs. But, make no mistake you were courageously compassionate, caring and concerned for all people and willing to give the benefit of doubt more than once. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Your benevolence stands out in the streets of Dade County where it was your dignity, honesty and integrity that was your saving grace. And you graced this world for twenty-five very profoundly meaningful years, Officer Cook. You walked humbly as one of Our Creator's most faithful public servants. Serving and protecting with outstanding leadership and wisdom beyond your maturity. It was how you handled things with a calming approach and a soft voice of logic and reason.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 16, 2014

All healing involves making whole again-resolving the contradictions that exist between self and other, body and spirit, mind and nature. Knowing we are not encapsulated, self-enclosed entities, but rather fields of energy integrated with the environment, everything we do transforms and reshapes the world. If our actions can destroy, so can they heal. You do not have to be good, you do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repeating. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Police officers are not chaplains, they don't pretend to know everything. Yet, their professional positions place them out there in modern society to help make our lives a little safer and more secure. And you were that shining example, Officer Cook, of what it means to serve and to protect. You went out on the streets of a community where you were known and admired, yet went about your official business and performed quite admirably without all the fanfare and hype. Your humbleness, generosity, honor and decorum just accelerated your manner of how you performed. Something that all officers need to have, if not heaven help those whose lives hang in the balance. You were be immortalized, Officer Cook, for your unwavering bravery, courage and valor to serve Dade County as faithfully as the affirmation that you solemnly took. We have you to thank beyond any words, other than consoling those who still grieve over your untimely tragic loss. A stinging and a most penetrating one that pierces each of our hearts today. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. You good nature and goodwill remains the base of which is the foundation of your legacy among all Dade County police heroes and heroines. Those who dare risk their lives for our benefit so that we may prosper and continue with their fight over evil which was their goals, dreams and aspirations. You were a blessed Godsend who did his part, you won't be forgotten, Officer Cook.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 16, 2014

When the animals come to us, asking for our help, will we know what they are saying? When the plants speak to us in their delicate beautiful language, will we be able to answer them? When the planet herself sings to us in our dreams, will we be able to wake ourselves and act? When those who have lost heroic loved ones come to us could we console them? Animals speak their way, we humans speak with our own tongues in the language that we are most familiar? When you spoke to anyone, Officer Cook, people were than glad to lend an ear to you. Words of encouragement have at times a prolific and a most profound affect. You will be revered for your personification of bravery, courage to commitment, valor and your youthful faithfulness to succeed, accomplish your goals, dreams and aspirations. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Forever near and dear to us all. Humility and humanity are some of all police officers best friends and should be used to calm down folks when necessary. These were two of your closest companions, Officer Cook, while you went out on your daily patrols.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 15, 2014

Hey! Lean to hear my feeble voice. At the center of the sacred hoop you have said that I should make the tree to bloom. With tears running, O Great Spirit, my grandfather, with running eyes I must say the tree has never bloomed. Here I stand and the tree is withered. Again, I recall the great vision You gave me. It may be that some little root of the sacred tree still lives. Nourish it then that it may leaf and bloom. And fill with singing birds! Hear me, that the people may once again find the good road and shielding tree. Your voice, Officer Cook, was calming, yet packed with humble power that you utilized to resolve and solve any assignments that you were handed. The tears have been shed and still can be felt over your untimely passing. The tree where you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero still stands tall as does your compassion for all Dade County residents that you served and protected in honor, integrity and with great dignity.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 15, 2014

Who took the dream of the land? Who staked down private property through the soul of the deer? Who diverted streams, cleared forests, burned fields? I seek to know my own name. I seek to know why? After all that I have done to hurt her does the mother continue to embrace me. For what you gave to all Dade County residents, Officer Cook, you deserve to be honored. Humble in deeds and commitment to action, it was your heroic swiftness on May 16, 1979, that saved your comrades lives and those of the three civilians. You live on in so many lives of your family who loved and revered you. Those officers who went on patrol with you to battle this evil and those who came across yourself and Karen. Too many to humbly name. You'll be fondly remembered as you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. God's loving arms sure have the many brave and courageous cradled in them for safekeeping.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 14, 2014

Here we are, God-a planet at prayer. Attune our spirits that we may hear your harmonies and bow before your creative power. That we may face our violent discords and join Your energy to make heard in every heart Your hymn of peace. Here we are, God-a militarized planet. Transform our fears that we may transform our war fields into wheatfields, arms into handshakes, missiles into messengers of peace. Here we are, God-a polluted planet Purify our vision that we may perceive ways to purify our beloved lands, cleanse our precious waters, unsmog our life giving air. Here we are, God-an exploited planet. Heal our heart, that we may respect our resources, hold priceless our people and provide for our starving children an abundance of daily bread. You provided for yourself and Karen, Officer Cook and you maintained a provision for all to live more peaceful and safer lives. Your career was just full of promise and hope when it was taken from you at much too young of an age. Back in your day, I've got to believe there was respect for police officers. You served diligently and valiantly, there was no lack of honesty, dignity or integrity on your part. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Here we are God praying for your soul and peace among all people in this land.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 14, 2014

Infinite Spirit, when I pray each day for shelter for the homeless, let me not ignore the pet without a home. As I ask protection in those areas of turmoil and unrest, let me not forget endangered species of life; when I pray that the hungry be fed, let me be mindful that all God's creatures have need of sustenance; As I ask Divine assistance for those afflicted by fire, flood, earthquake, storm or drought, let me remember that this includes every living being; in seeking miracle cures for human disease, may I also speak for the well-being of the planet itself. Let the words of my mouth, the meditations of my heart and the actions of my life be as one, that I may live each day in harmony with Mother Earth. Amen. A statement with a very telling and implying meaning. Your creed in life and during your career, your marriage to Karen was exemplified by this prayer. You took it with you each day and combined with your honesty from your lips and the courage, valor, bravery and dignity, it never led you off course. One day we all pray that evil will be wiped off this planet and all people will once again live safer and happier lives. Your work continues, Officer Cook, as you view down from heaven helping God in all His glory and majesty making sure your comrades are doing their part with everything that is needed. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 13, 2014

Great spirit, whose dry lands thirst, help us to find the way to refresh your lands. We pray for your power to refresh your lands. Great spirit, whose waters are choked with debris and pollution, help us to find the way to cleanse your waters. We pray for your knowledge to find the way to cleanse the waters. Great spirit, whose beautiful earth grows ugly with misuse, help us to find the way to restore the beauty of your handiwork. Great spirit, whose creatures are being destroyed, help us to find a way to replenish them. We pray for your power to replenish the earth. Great spirit, whose gifts to us are being lost in selfishness and in corruption, help us to find the way to restore our humanity. We pray for your wisdom to find the way to restore our humanity. I meant to say Officer Cook, thanks for making this world a better and more serene and safer environment to thrive in. Your spirit my neighbor, friend and hero continue sits journey ascending God's great ladder of honor for displaying the courage, the bravery and the valor necessary to replenish that which lives on. You and your dad, Mr. Charles Cook, if not for your efforts, we could not begin to imagine nor to appreciate all that you did during your lives. We pray that other officers, heroes and heroines are supplied the much needed dignity, integrity and honesty so vital to serving and protecting Dade County and all its residents in peace, freedom and in unity.The wisdom and maturity you gained from experience helped you to be a most humble, loyal and ever faithful public servant serving the public interest. The past, the present and future are linked to the legacies of our police officers from the past who sacrificed for a common goal. You resourcefulness, Officer Cook, was a large reason why Dade County can prosper today. Rest in peace along with your dad. I'll keep your mother, Mrs. Julia Cook, in my thoughts and prayers.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 13, 2014

I meant to say you got the job done right the first time. Imagine a place without a pipeline, without an oil well. Without a rig. Imagine a place without a coal pit, without a smoke stack, acid rain tree. Imagine a land of long white vistas, ice cold saviors, gleaming glaciers, breaking into the sea. Imagine the earth without an oil slick, free of pollution, no radioactivity. Imagine a place on earth so awesome, so vast, so pure, we can hardly breathe its air. Imagine the earth alive with morning. Shimmering white lights. No end of sky. No end of sea. Imagine if we have officers without honor, commitment or dignity. But we had you, Officer Cook, your boldness to bravery without false bravado. Conviction to commitment, the courage to accomplish. Eagle eyes to see far ahead of what needed to be done to serve and protect all Dade County residents maker them feel more secure. Imagine an earth being destroyed by unnecessary wanton violence, no one could believe their eyes. We have honorable officers who succeeded you, Officer Cook, they are picking up where you left off without missing a beat. Thank God for these humble individuals. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero in Our Creator's most humble abode. Cleaner air, less crime, you were a big difference maker.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 12, 2014

Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed, if we permit the last barren forests to be turned into comic books and plastic cigarette cases, if we drive the few remaining members of the wild species into zoos or to extinction, if we pollute the last clean air and dirty the last clean streams, push our paved roads through the last of the silence, so that never again will Americans be free on their own country from the noise, the exhausts, the smell of human and automotive waste. And so that never again can we have the chance to see ourselves single, separate, vertical and individual in the world, part of the environment of trees, rocks and soil, brother to the other animals, part of the natural world and competent to belong in it. You belonged to this world, Officer Cook, to serve, protect and maintain the quality of life for all citizens. The flagbearer for your department, you carried the much needed resources of honor, integrity and dignity. Your decorum was central in your ability to achieve all your success. You maintained passion, composure and did it both humbly and very humanely. You beat those drums happily while at Norland High School through the hallways. For sacrificing on our behalf, those bagpipies wailed loudly with a profound sadness as Dade County bade you a hearty farewell. You were a true police hero in action never to be forgotten for your exploits of security and safety. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. It is quite difficult to ever replace those whom we loved and shared our lives with. They cannot ever be replaced. Only thing one can do to continue their legacies is to carry on with honesty and commitment. To your ideals, dreams and aspirations that were their motivations. Our loved ones we remember them for these attributes.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 12, 2014

Don't destroy the world. I've only nibbled the grasses of my lover's meadow. We are early May and clematis has not yet blossomed. The magnificent trees stand tall ready to yield fruit. Plums are yet to come, the fragile bloom misting their skin like breath. Let there be days of grainy juices sticky on my face. I want time. There is plush mango I smear over her. Let me lick the pit of the fruit clean, memorize each service with my tongue. Don't destroy the world because my child's five, because she cries when she scrapes her knee on gravel, skin shredded, blood beading through the dust cries pitifully and long while I envision scenes of devastation holding her against the clawing pain, her screams, my helplessness. I hope nothing really bad ever happens to you. I blurt the accusation, a shield for my own hysteria. Don't destroy the world. It was in early May of 1979, when your life was tragically taken, Officer Cook. the seeds that were planted in you blossomed and grew and in you was a humble man born of fine quality, so faithful, determined and devoted to help all people. This symbolizes the badge of honor, dignity and in integrity that you proudly wore for six years of loyalty and with commitment to the citizens of Dade County and to the Metro-Dade Police Department. Shine on! shine on! You and your colleagues probably assisted a child with a scraped knee or whatever the call was. You did it with a resounding yes, a resonating bravery, a rebounding and calculated courageousness and virtuous valor which has served as your legacy all these many years after your unwavering sacrifice to keep the peace, freedom and unity in a community that always demands this type of passionate calling. Officer Cook, there was no obstacle too big for you to tackle and the world has not been nor will it ever let wanton violence destroy its good name, your good name my neighbor, friend and hero always stands tall. It stood tall that day and will forever. Rest in peace. We all cried when you died. The causes you represented are all in front of us to view. We should humbly view them and remember what they meant to you. Our badge we care, you cared, we care about you and the life and career you spear-headed with all the toil and labor of love necessary to get the job do right the first time.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 12, 2014

Spirit that hears each one of us, hears all that is-listens, listens, hears us out-inspire us now! Our own pulse beats in every stranger's throat and also there within the flowered ground beneath our feet. And-teach us to listen-we can hear it in water, in wood and even in stone. We are earth of this earth and we are bone of its bone. This is a prayer I sing, for we have forgotten this and so the earth is perishing. We may not see our loved ones physically anymore, but, we can remember who they were and for what they represented in this life. Only the good, the brave, the reverend, the loyal, the faithful, the honest, the dignified, all these attributes personified your existence, Officer Cook. And so much more. There will always be the what if, the why. Why did God call you home just twenty-five years into your life with Karen and a very promising police career with the Metro-Dade Police Department to look forward to ? You gave all efforts in all of your endeavors. You were humbly confident. You were able to lead as well teach other officers. You were the virtue of wisdom and maturity beyond your years. This was your beloved friend and high school classmate from your days at the Miami-Dade College and its excellent police academy, Chief Jacobs. Your inspirational buddy, Bill Cook, Officer William C. Cook, to myself, who as his neighbor, never had the pleasure humbly of making his acquaintance, nor with his sister, Nancy and his loving parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles and Julia Cook. Though I wrote a letter to his mother out in San Diego through his nephew, Justin. She wrote me back a very marvelously, humble and quite a sentimental letter five days after turning ninety-five. I wonder Chief Jacobs if you met his parents, his sister or his wife, Karen. You might have been his best man at his wedding back in 1975. Did you know Officers Keith Digenova, Robert Edgerton and your friend's partner that day, Reserve Officer Scott Lincoln? Just saying hello and hope you are doing well. As you might see, I have not ever forgotten your esteemed friend. He was truly a devout and passionate individual. A gentleman with a calling for compassion, concern, care and consideration for all those people he served and protected in Dade County keeping their dreams alive in peace, freedom and in unity. If you have ever visited his grave, on the stone, the bronze cross, it says: "We Shall Be One," and his entire lifetime focus with his profession was not on I, my or me, rather, us we and our. Those dreams, those aspirations, Officer Cook, were with the public trust, as they should be with any public servant. Your priority was service, you did that willingly and with a smile. Rest in peace-our Dade County Hero and my neighbor and friend. Take care Chief Jacobs. I do hope you are doing well these days. God Bless You! Plurality was Officer Cook's theme in both his personal and in his professional career humanely and humbly speaking.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 11, 2014

To plant the flowers and we too become quiet. Watching our mountains die, listening for the birds that no longer flew-but still we lived in peace. What sustained us through all those years? The nights of silence and the sounds of frogs. For we know as the ancients said, this land will again be free and we will share it all, with the mountains, the sea, the birds and trees, for we still live in peace and we wish you the same, for we are all one. We do live in peace because of your loyal and valiant pursuits, Officer Cook. The nights, the days have been terribly quiet since you left us. Your loving family, your devoted colleagues and those friends you and Karen made within your community. The Church of the Visitation where you prayed and spoke to your fellow members, all knew you to be a congenial and personable gentleman. But, it was your humane and humbleness that allowed you to succeed in all your endeavors for twenty-five years. The honesty, dignity and integrity created within you the self-confidence to gain more insight, which in turn made you the leader who other officers could place their trust when partnering with you. The night air, the daytime air just isn't the same since your sacrifice on May 16, 1979. True, things in the Dade County vicinity and among its residents have progressed a little better, because of officers like yourself who had the bravery, courage and wisdom, the maturity beyond your age to act with boldness and a calming voice of reason. Everything accentuates itself because of our many heroes and heroines. The upbringings of all of you are the genesis of why we can live our lives more safely and with more freedom to do as we choose in a tranquil environment governed by unity for all. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. The sounds of winter are almost upon us, it was your loving compassion, care and consideration that stayed the course for all seasons, allowing us the opportunity to personify our dreams and goals. Your soul ascends as does your legacy. This is for eternity.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 11, 2014

I meant to say, Officer Cook, that your integrity was aligned and calibrated according to the needs of those you were given the power to protect. Like brakes, police officers need to be tough at times, though not all times. That is why they make difficult decisions based on knowledge of individuals and the communities where they patrol. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. No one would ever dare question a man of solid character who portrayed those duties so efficiently and professionally. Of course, I mean you were the consummate professional that was respected, admired and loved.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 10, 2014

Long ago the ancients say this land was free and we shared it all with the mountains, the sea, the birds and the trees. We lived in peace long ago before those others came and built fences by cutting trees, dug mines, by cutting the earth, removed her blood, the oil that lies within formed long ago like us who lived in peace. The birds sang less without the trees, the land became dry without the birds. Nature abounds, Officer Cook, all these many years after your unwavering sacrifice. It will carry on forever, but I'm sure misses a lover of her beauty and grace. Your photographic talents would certainly come in handy today. The tree near your grave stands tall, just as you did that day of May 16, 1979, when you stood humble and loyal to Dade County and its residents. They were the people you served and protected with a resounding faithfulness, devotion, honor and dignity. Your bravery, courage and valor is duly recognized as your legacy keeps humbly growing. That ladder of God is one small step you took in consideration, compassion and care. Your beloved soul keeps soaring by leaps and bounds as you rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Eliminating evil, terror and wickedness was in your blood since your youth. You were an excellent police officer who personified all that is proper in an officer. They don't come any nicer or more pleasant than yourself.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 10, 2014

Spirit of love that flows against our flesh, sets it trembling, moves it across grass. Erasing every boundary that we accept and swings the doors of our lives wide-This is a prayer I sing, save our perishing earth! Spirit that cracks our single selves-eyes fall down eyes, hearts escape through the bars of our ribs. To dart into other bodies-save this earth! The earth is perishing. This is a prayer I sing. We, the people sing all the praises when men and women of character, Officer Cook, you were one of these many faithful, devout and humble public servants of honor, dignity and integrity who pledged to serve us with all their beings. The gates of heaven surely have swung open to welcome you my neighbor, friend and hero. You have welcomed the many brave men and women since your sacrifice on May 16, 1979, Officer Cook and one day, we pray no more wanton violence will take any lives of more dedicated and determined police officers. Rest in peace. Over twenty-one thousand of these brave individuals is more humility than we the ordinary person can ever comprehend.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 9, 2014

We have forgotten who we are. We have forgotten who we are. We have alienated ourselves from the unfolding of the cosmos. We have become estranged from the movements of the earth. We have turned our backs on the cycles of life. We have forgotten who we are. We have sought only our security. We have exploited simply for our own ends. We have distorted our knowledge. We have abused our power. We have forgotten who we are. Now the land is barren and the waters are poisoned, the air is polluted. We have forgotten who we are. Now the forests are dying, the creatures are disappearing and humans are despairing. We sometimes forget that if it were not for brave and courageously valiant men and women of the law enforcement community, the world and the society that we live, thrive and prosper in would be chaotic to say the least. You were one of the many heroes in Dade County, Officer Cook, you were present to serve and to protect our freedoms, peace and our unity in honor, dignity and the much needed and sometimes maligned integrity. Integrity should never be maligned, only aligned and calibrated accord to those citizens you watched over as you took the solemn pledge to defend. We should never turn our backs to individuals who are fiercely loyal, faithful and resourceful to our every need. You were more than a cut above any police officer, Officer Cook, you personified your character, stellar as it was and your boldness right until your last breath, that was given to fight off this wicked attribute we label evil. The unwavering act you exhibited on May 16, 1979, has channeled new hopes and optimism throughout a community at the time was experiencing racial tensions. People now can rest a bit easier because of your unselfish call to action, sacrificing everything for our to continue living in hope, not fear. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero. Hope is optimism and perseverance, something you lived with and spoke kindly as you were compassionate, caring and considerate to all who admired, respected and cherished you. You were an exceedingly endearing gentleman of humbleness. You never forgot the lessons your loving parents ingrained in you.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 9, 2014

We who prayed and wept for liberty from kings and the yoke of liberty accept the tyranny of things we do not need. In plenitude too free, we have become adept beneath the yoke of greed. Those who will not learn in plenty to keep their place must learn it by their need when they have had their way and the fields spurn their seed. We have failed Thy grace. Lord, I flinch and pray, send Thy necessity. God sent us you, Officer Cook, His police officer in shining badge and in a most resourceful role of exemplary character as His most loyal servant. You graced this world and Dade County with your unwavering onus to accept upon yourself the yoke to liberate and unite all people regardless of religion, background, creed or character. The good Lord has sown many seeds of finely trained police officers of bravery, commitment honor and pride. Officer Cook, you were many of the uniquely humane, who took this opportunity to go out, serve and to protect. You gave up everything for our needs, your cherished soul can surely now and forever climb God's golden ladder of honor. Rest in peace my neighbor, friend and hero.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 8, 2014