March 18, 2020
Reflections of Ron by Paul Morehouse
I am Ron’s cousin. Our mothers were sisters and we shared maternal grandparents. Although we initially came together due to family ties, what bonded us closely, lovingly, dynamically for almost 60 years was not based on familial biology. Before I go further I want to admit publicly that I believe in angels. The common definition of an angel is a celestial being who appears to us and somehow intervenes in our life in a benevolent and meaningful way. I also know that some angels are, in fact, Jewish. That’s because, to me, Ron was an angel. A real angel.
Well, he might not have had the “celestial being” part covered. (He never denied he was from Jersey City.) But that never mattered to me. What was important to me is the way he magically appeared in my life in 1963 when I was 14 years old. Meeting Ron opened an unprecedented, amazingly beautiful portal for me. He presented a picture of life unlike what anyone else presented during my first 14 years of life. A significant part of that picture showed me a path to follow in the world of music.
But Ron’s impact was not limited to the external world. His words – always casual, exploratory, poetically - also opened my heart to new understandings: that to be a human being is to be a creative being. In his early 20’s he was already a photographer, a musician (one amazing jazz drummer!) and a writer. Also, although I don’t have great recall of the many things he mused on (things that simply became part of my own thinking), one thing I do remember is that he was the first person to tell me that “Everyone has a dream they want to follow.”
It was clear to me how these 2 things connected and, miraculously, I began to nurture a self-identity based on the idea that I was intrinsically creative and deserved to utilize that creativity to follow the dream that was growing inside me. I have never let go of that self-identity; it has remained with me over a lifetime. It has influenced, if not in fact driven, every meaningful relationship in my life.
What profound blessings and gifts Ron offered just because that's who he was. To me, what he expressed so matter-of-fact truly reflected the essential, deeper work of humankind. As far as I’m concerned, that in itself earned Ron his “angel” credentials. Thank you, Ron, my cousin, my spirit Brother, my angel, for your uncompromising generosity of Spirit. I will love you always.
