Winning the Prize

Can you imagine what it would feel like to win an Oscar, a Pulitzer prize, or a Nobel prize? I can't either, but I came close recently when my author brother, Jackie K. Cooper, came to visit during the Thanksgiving holidays. Jackie's wife is from St. Petersburg and her 80 plus year old mother still lives here. Jackie and Terry, of course, come down to check on her occasionally although she is fortunate to have other children close by. Forty years ago, I introduced my brother to his then future wife, the best match-making I've ever done. Over the years, he and I have become much closer, especially since the deaths of our father and mother. He has authored four books and has a commitment from Macon University Press to publish his fifth book next year. Although I am a composition teacher, I have never been asked to edit anything he has written but then middle Georgia and middle Florida are not exactly trips you would make every day just to have your brother help with editing. I was therefore very pleased when Jackie asked if I would mind reading the manuscript, checking it for errors before it goes to the printer. He handed me my half and was rather coy about suggesting I look over the first three pages before tackling the bulk of the editing. The first page was the title; the second, a blank page; the third was the dedication: "Dedicated to my brother, Tommy." I was amazed. I was shocked. I was teary. I was thrilled. I can't tell you exactlyh how I felt except that it was the opposite of getting scary bad news. This was unbelievably exciting news, so far from anything I had ever anticipated that I was almost numb. What a compliment and from someone who knows my "goods" and my "bads." Thank you for this honor, my brother, who is my last living link to my history.