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Good Evening Everyone
I just wanted to send a request out to my TD Brothers and Sisters.
My Mother is in her last days of fighting an aggressive form of mouth and throat cancer. She smoked for years and the addiction was too strong to quit. As a result she was diagnosed with cancer last spring and has been on a quick decline since. It’s a horrible way to end her life just watching her slowly fade away. She turned 67 last May. She can’t communicate anymore and mentally she has been gone for a couple of days now. We’re just trying to keep her comfortable with pain relievers and sedatives to allow for an easier passing. Any thoughts and prayers for her peace and comfort would be greatly appreciated.
As some of you remember, I lost my Father to prostate cancer back in 08 and I haven’t been the same since. The thought of spending the rest of my life without my folks is quite daunting. I turned 48 on August 15th and I feel like a 4 year old child lost in Disneyland, it’s a great place but it’s hell without your parents there holding your hand.
My friends, if there are those of you who smoke, I’m begging you to consider quitting. It’s killing me to lose Mom over something so avoidable. I care about you all and I want your friendship and advice until my Sons pry the keys from my cold dead hands… and then fight over them!
In the meantime, I was trying to find a way to honor my Mother when she is no longer with us. I’m not ready for a tattoo, I’m saving that for when I turn 50 and chances are it’s going to be something real stupid, you know me. The only other thing I deeply care about and plan to have in my life for the rest of my life is my beloved Eliza Jane. I was driving her home, today, from my Sister’s house, where Mom is spending her last moments, and then it came to me. I’m renaming Eliza Jane in my Mom’s honor. That way she’ll be with me wherever I go and share all the best times with me. I’ll reveal her new name the same day my Mom rejoins my Dad above… God, I hope my Dad has everything ready for her, when she gets up there, or I just know she’ll kick his ass all up and down Heaven! In that spirit, I’m going to name the spare tire after my dad,” The Dickey Doo”! He was always there when I needed him most! His formal name is Richard George Cooper III. He was my Best Friend and I can still hear his voice if I listen closely.
Thank you all for this dear TD Family! You can’t know how much you all mean to me… You’re simply the Best!
Your Village Idiot…
Rick
I am so sorry to hear about your Mother. My mom passed away a little over a year ago after battling cancer, two days before her birthday and a week before Mother’s Day, so I can share your grief.
After she passed was when I purchased my London Roadster, and have often thought of naming it Sandra Jane, in her honor.
I think it would be a sweet and wonderful gesture if you named your car after your Mom.
I regards to getting a tattoo, I have gotten several myself, always for a special occasion. I got on after purchasing my LR. It’s the “safety fast” logo and front end of an MG TD. It’s another way to remember Mom.
My condolences for your Mom.
Amor Conquista Todo
Our prayers are with you and your family. This is a rough time but God will see you through it. Naming your TDr after your mom is a great tribute to her. Hang in there Rick and know your TDr family is here with you.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackHey Rick,
Thank you for sharing your story. Great tribute to your mom. What is her name?
I’m a few years older than you, ok…ten years. But I share your feelings. My parents also left this earthly bound, dad in February 2014, mom in January 2012. And an orphan is an orphan, regardless of our age.
I’ll be keeping your mom, and you and your family in my prayers.
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Sorry for your loss, Rick. We’re with you, and glad you can be with your mom right until the end. I lost my Dad on Father’s Day, 2006. He’d forgotten my name just the week before that. It was a long, strange trip.
We’ll remember them, and others will remember us. Look forward to your new car–she’ll be all new with a new name, and a named spare tire. Very fitting.
Thank you all, again. Its been a few days since I’ve visited the club. My Mom is still hanging on, we think it’s the sheer Irish grit! We’re stubborn folk. She has been mentally gone for a while and now she just turns in bed and breathes deeply. She fights the pain meds since they hurt the inside of her mouth. She relents only when the cancer pain exceeds the pain of taking the morphine. She’s stopped eating and she drinks very little. She didn’t want any tubes or Iv’s to prolong her life. We’re all waiting for God’s perfect timing.
For those who have also lost loved ones, you too have my deepest condolences. I know that it gets better over time but it’s never the same. I remember the worst part of losing my Dad were the months after when I had a pressing question about something; and for a fleeting moment I told myself that ” I need to ask Dad about…” Oh yea, I forgot. It’s not long after those moments that I visit his grave site. I call it “Resetting my Compass” and I usually bring a stiff drink with me for the both of us along with two buttermilk doughnuts, they were his favorite. It’s just a time to clear out the cobwebs in my head and to feel closer to him even for just a moment. I imagine it will be the same for Mom. Until then, I cherish the fleeting moments to see her subtle facial expressions and feel the warmth of her hand in mine. It’s funny how it all comes down to the simplest things that I will remember the most, for the rest of my life.
A couple days before she left us mentally, I had a rare moment of insight (pretty impressive for a fool!). It felt like a true inspired thought. You see, I was my parents “Love Child”. I looked at my Mom and thought how at 17 and with a real strict Military Son of a Bitch for a Dad, it must have been the toughest decision ever to go ahead and have me. I thought about the many nights she must have been scared to death and crying herself to sleep with me inside of her just wondering what to do. I then told her that we had come full circle. It was just the two of us in the room, quiet, and both of us crying and scared. I told her that I knew that back then, it was hard for her to bring me into this world and now it’s harder than hell for me to let her out of it. We both knew at that moment that there was no longer anything left unsaid between us… We just knew. It’s a true gift from God to finish a life without regrets and she has received hers. She’s a great Mom!
Eliza Jane is in the garage with the doors closed and the lights out and like a butterfly, she’ll emerge when my Mom has passed and has rejoined my Dad. God, I hope she awaken’s with my Mom’s spirit, she’s a real Spit-Fire!
I’ll reveal her new name the next time I write. It will be when Mom is no longer with us.
As always, and until then…
Be blessed my friends!
Greetings to My TDR Family
Thank you all again for your kind thoughts and prayers. Just knowing that there are friends around the globe sending their warm wishes at this time makes all the difference in the world.
We had my Mother’s funeral last Wednesday and we were able to give her everything she had wanted and more. It was a very nice Home Coming Celebration and I know my Mom and Dad would’ve been proud.
It’s taken me a week to get my head out of the fog and to get back into my garage. I opened the door and there she was like a faithful dog excited to see me and anxious to go out and play. I took a deep sigh and said “OK Penny Marie now let’s see some SPIT FIRE!” I rolled her out into the alley, checked her over and turned the key. She fired right up and blew a huge gray puff of smoke out the tail pipes and all I could think was Mom’s still smoking! I laid a strip of rubber down the street and headed North on PCH. I took her on a long ride and finished my route with a stop by Mom and Dad’s final resting place.
I took a moment to take in the scenery and reflect on where I will steer my life next. It was that time in the afternoon just before dusk when the shadows grow longer and everything has an amber hue about it, it’s a real magical time. I then spent a few precious moments with The Lord asking for wisdom and His guidance. As the oldest of four kids and the only son, I feel the weight of responsibility in taking the helm for our Family. I then asked The Lord to give Mom and Dad a big hug and kiss from me and tell them that I’ll take care of the Girls and I’ll see them when my chores down here are done.
I hopped back into The Penny Marie and headed back home. She rolled back into the garage and quietly shut down without coughing. I took one last look at her before I closed and locked the door and thought; “Oh Mom, the Places We’ll Go!”
In honor of my Mom, Penny Maria Cooper, Eliza Jane is now “The Penny Marie”.
Much Love to you all, My Brothers and Sisters…
And more adventures to follow…
Proud to be Your Village Idiot…
Rick
Beautiful, Rick. Peace and spit-fire to you and your family. Your mom did right by you and you by her, and that’s the world right there.
Amen Rick!
Beautifully said!
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
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