Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

There is a hymn called Morning Has Broken that sometimes reminds us of you.

"Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for the springing fresh from the world.

Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where his feet pass.

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God's recreation of the new day."

We know you are so blissfully happy. As we approach the one-year anniversary of your passing, our hearts are filled with grief, but moreso so many joyous memories of you and your enormous heart. We love you so much, and we miss you every day. We will never forget you or all that you taught us. God bless.

I unfortunately did not know you but I now know your family.
I would give up just about anything so that they could be with you for even just one more day. One more day of peace for them to have the ability to love you again.

Anonymous

To the family & friends of Joey Cushman,

So sorry to hear about your loss. I lost someone very dear to me also last year...Calvin (whom I was married to for 8 years & was also one of his dispatchers) was killed when a tractor trailer hit him while on a traffic stop. The pain seems never ending but like you, I too have begun to go on with life while keeping the memory of my loved one alive. Your Joey sounds like a marvelous person. I'm sure if he & Calvin have met in heaven already, they have become great friends. Calvin was so well thought of by his community & co-workers. I felt like someone mentioned in a reflection, why did it have to be him? But I've come to the conclusion that he (like your Joey) was too good for this world. Heaven is a much better place for them. I'm so sorry for Joey's fiancee...she didn't get the chance to become his wife. Calvin & I were separated when he was killed but had talked the night before about getting back together. I kind of feel like Joey's fiancee....I didn't get the chance to be his wife "again". But the loving memories will keep us going until we can run into the arms of our loved ones once again on the golden streets of heaven. Some of you mentioned how your friends didn't come around as much after you lost your loved one, I have learned also that you find out who your true friends are & find that some of the people who care about you are those that you never felt that close to. May God Bless You & take care of each of you.

Denise L. Taylor
Survivor

TC Denise L. Taylor
NC Highway Patrol

Hey Joey,

It's been quite a while. Mexico is in ninetysomething days, I think. It's hard to believe it's been such a long time...looking back, I can remember the long drive me, Anne, and MM took on June 14, 2001, as if it happened last week. I remember getting up early last July to see our mutual friends off to CPC like it happened yesterday. Life is certainly very different, but in the words of Irene Peter, "Just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has changed." Our lives have come back together, but that doesn't mean we have forgotten you, or that we miss you any less. As the one-year mark approaches, we do not forget all the joy you brought to our lives, or everything you taught us. Three years ago you and I were walking through a market in Mexico, on the same day I bought that humongous painting, actually. We saw a T-shirt, and I can't remember how one says it in Spanish, but you translated it into "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Hopefully we will all find truth to those words. Marie said to me during a long talk we had on the drive back from Mo Ranch this March, "If all of this has taught me one thing, it is that I can survive anything. That was the worst pain I could ever imagine, and I'm still here. I'm still alive, and only the better for all the years I knew him." And to quote a song by Delirious that Anne, MM and I have come to like, "Over the mountains and the sea, your river runs with love for me, and I will open up my eyes, and let the Healer set me free...I'm happy to be in the truth." Your days seemed so short, but they were so sweet. Until we all meet again, we will never forget you. We love and miss you every day.

CASEY 4-16-02

What a beatiful boy your beloved Joey was.

What a beautiful face.

We know and feel your pain.

Always remember. Never forget.

Still grieving....for our own beloved

---Alister Crawford McGregor---

--EPD, RI 12-27-2001--

Anonymous

"...The world became undone
The mourners raised their heads up
As the crowd began to run
Then everybody stopped...to the beating of a drum.
For through the smoke and morning sun
Stands the last Great American. "

-Five for Fighting

Anonymous

I am so sorry for your loss and I am reaching out to you, the family of Corporal Joey Cushman. I have just loss my husband and I am seeking your help. My husband , Captain Alister McGregor was killed by a fellow officer on 12/27/01 during a training exercise. If you find this and are willing please leave me a message at my husbands reflections.

Brooke McGregor
East Providence ,RI PD

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give fate a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their years and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their years and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their years and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

-Lee Ann Womack, "I Hope You Dance"

Anonymous

Its been about 8 months without you, thats 8 months
too many, but I know your wtching over us!!! I LOVE YOU
SO MUCH BROTHER!!!!

Anne (2/16/02)

God Bless the Cushman family.

Shannon Yates

Today marks 8 months. We love and miss you every single day Joey!!!!

Do Not Weep

Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glints in snow;
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle autumn rain.
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight;
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry:
I am not there. I did not die.

Anonymous

There's 2 dates in time that they'll carve on your stone
And everyone knows what they mean
What's more important is the time that is known -
That little dash there imbetween...
That little dash there imbetween
-Garth Brooks


Into the earth, we go, and we dive
Into the spirit world where our hearts lie
We go down into the sea of eternal life
They say there is a light, and we're freed
-Toni Childs

Hey Joey- My brother from another mother, It's hard to believe that a year ago yesterday you were sitting on the couch laughing at the silly present we got you, the 5 dollar gift certificate to Limited Too and the Crazy phone. I will never forget that party, we had so much fun!!!!! I miss you, Merry Christmas Joey. Love always.

Anne (12/24/01)

To Joey:
Merry Christmas to you. I could not imagine loosing my husband,that is also in law enforcement. It is now Christmas Time, and Your Fiance' and your family is forced to have Christmas without you. I pray for peace and lots of love in their lives. Thanks For All You Have Done For Us All. Rest In Peace Brother !!!

Mr and Mrs James &Jena Sims
Dallas Pd

it hurts so much to log on and look at your beautiful face and next to it to see a description of how you died. it hurts to know that i went to your funeral and when i am at the graveyard, to know that you are there, but not visiting a grandparent or something, you are one of the people beneath the ground. i guess you aren't really there though. but it still hasn't sunk in, i still wake up some mornings and think that it was all a dream. i miss you, i love you, you touched so many people. merry christmas.

Wish us luck on our finals Joey. We know you're rooting us on. ;)

YOUR LITTLE SISTERS
Merry Christmas!

.....'Cause you'll be in my heart,
Yes, you'll be in my heart,
From this day on,
Now and forever more.
You'll be in my heart,
No matter what they say,
You'll be here in my heart, always........
Sung by Phil Collins- TARZAN

Joey- you will always be in my heart, always!!!!
Brother, I miss you so much!!!!! Christmas is comming
and you are not here to wrap a gift for, or send an
invitation to, or just here for me to call in my time of
being stressed out and preparing for finals.
I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

Anne, your little sis 12/16/01

"Hello my friend we meet again
It's been a while, where should we begin? Feels like forever
Within my heart are memories of perfect love you gave me
I remember

When you are with me
I'm free...I'm careless...I believe
Above all the others we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
My sacrifice

We've seen our share of ups and downs
Oh how quickly life can turn around in an instant
It feels so good to reunite
Within yourself and within your mind
Let's find peace there

When you are with me
I'm free...I'm careless...I believe
Above all the others we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
My sacrifice

I just want to say hello again"

-Creed, "My Sacrifice"

On Tuesday I thought, "On Friday, Joey will have been dead for half of a year." But I also thought, "I'll deal with it on Friday, because I don't want to think about it now." This morning, I got up and I was running late as always, left the house with wet hair, barely remembering to grab my geography project, and I wasn't even thinking about it. I got all the way to fourth period before it occurred to me. I had to draw a map for my teacher, and when I turned it in she said, "You've forgotten TODA - title, orientation, date and author." So I got out my little pencil and I wrote "West Europe," and I made the little cardinal-direction north south east west thingy, and then I wrote real fast, DECEMBER 7, 2001. At first I hardly noticed, but when I went down a line to write "by Casey Daniel," I realized the date and froze.
Half a year is a long time. It seems like yesterday that Anne, MM and I were driving around in Arlington, and when the clock hit 6:30 Anne began to cry. That was on June 12th, 2001, and it was still fresh. We were still having little spastic fits of emotion that would occasionally break through the numbness. I wasn't in high school yet, even - now high school seems like it has been what I've been doing forever. My mom still had her old car. I hung out with different people. Looking back, my life is 100% different from what it was in June. My set of friends is completely different, except for about 2 people. And what hurts to realize is that the Casey that you knew, Joey, is not the Casey that stands here today, even a little bit.
One of the weirdest things is, as of June, I didn't even hang out with Anne and Mary. Anne and MM were friends, but I wasn't the third party, as it were. I saw them at church, and I hugged them and asked how they were. I knew how much Mary liked softball, and that Annie wanted to be a writer. We were okay friends. Anne and I were fair friends, and hung out sometimes or talked on the phone, but it was nothing like it is today. As for me and Mary, we were mostly acquaintances.
When my mom first gave me the news - and it echoes in my head every time I drive down the stretch of Trail Lake where I was when she told me - I remember that the words didn't register. Also, all she said was "Joey," and I knew 3 at the time, and maybe this is a bad thing to think, but I remember thinking, "God, please not Cushman, please God, let it be either of the other 2 but please God please, you aren't cruel enough to take away Joey Cushman." My mom then added, "Mexico Joey," referring to two summers ago, when I went on the CPC mission trip with my church, and that's where I met Joey. Try as I might, I couldn't link either of the other two Joeys to Mexico in any way, and I distinctly remember the feeling of my heart breaking.
At that point in time, me and my friend Amy Paige rode bikes all the time. I had JUST returned from South Padre with my friend Taylor, that very day. I swam almost every day. My life was so entirely opposite then, and it hurts to think that enough time has passed that I could be in an entirely different stage now than I was then. Me and Taylor, whom I knew inside out, don't even talk anymore. Amy Paige and I haven't ridden bikes since May, and she never comes over. I haven't swam in months. Everything has done a complete 180, and you couldn't be here for it.
You've been gone for a fourth as long as I knew you, and 1/28th of my life. I mean, that is so long, and to think that it will only keep getting longer......
Anyway, thank you for the constant reminders of you, even the little things that just make me smile as I walk along with friends, a butterfly fluttering by (the sign of eternal life), a man with a bald head driving by in a white truck, people speaking in Spanish...trivial things that don't even know how much I notice/cherish them. I know you haven't left us. :) I think about you a little every day(and sometimes a lot), and for a while Ithought, "Shouldn't I be thinking about him more than I am?" But I know the truth, and that is that life goes on. I also know you would agree.
Either way, I have no regrets, because there is a quote that I believed when I was tiny, even before my first-ever loss. "It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all." And that's true. Some people think that all joy must be compensated for with sadness, and I think that is okay. I would do it again.
As I've said, 6 months is a long long time. It's half of a year, and it's a whole new era. And while that is very disturbing, in a sense, it is ok. I am beginning to make peace with it. I just have to keep my eye on the fine line between peace and denial. I actually heard this quote on a TV show, but it has always stuck with me, "Peace is a very hard thing to find...I certainly hope you find it."
Well, I get the feeling that I am starting to ramble, and I probably leave too many messages here anyway, but I always think of stuff I want to say, and you always told me not to care what other people think, that's one of the reasons I am so indifferent to people's opinions today, which I thank you for immensely :). "Do what you feel, for those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind" - Dr. Suess, and that was certainly how you lived. I guess I am starting to accept what has happened not only to be true, but to be alright. By no means am I "glad," or "ok," but...well, I guess the phrase I used before, "making peace with it," is appropriate. It's a long road to travel though, most definitely. Thank you for all that you did. Just know that you are loved and missed by so many

Casey 12+7+01

Christmas will come without you, and Christmas will go, still without you. And five years from now, and five Christmases later, I'll probably look at this message it will make me cry. A lot of people have these wonderful beings in their lives and they take them for granted. But we knew what we had with you, and that only made it hurt worse when we lost you...we were aware of how great you were. I said to Anne, maybe not all people are supposed to be lifelong friends...maybe some of them are just angels God sends to put some good back into this world, which so many people are putting badness into it. If I learned anything it is to live out your dreams and plans as quickly as possible, because it has now become impossible for me to do a ride-along with you and all these things we had just vaguely talked about. If I had jumped on it and set a date and time, maybe I would have more of those memories now. Plus, I watched you do what you wanted to do, and I know that you passed having lived much more than you would have had you not jumped on your dreams and gotten them moving. Life has a lot of unanswered questions and we're just all trying to live more like you did, wondering what you'd say to us now and trying to figure out what those words would be. I think I know what you would say, but I'm not certain.
I never imagined I could miss our little nighttime visits in my kitchen as much as I do. I never thought I would look back at the time you ate ALL MY COOKIES and treasure that memory, rather than groaning and laughing. I guess that saying is true: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and the present is a gift. As our wounds begin to heal and the gap of time widens between us, I'd just like to say thank you for the memories...I never noticed what you were doing, but I think you knew exactly what you were doing all along - changing all of us for the better. I certainly came out of this a lot stronger, to say the least. You taught me so much and I want to thank you for the unconditional love and advice (haha, Joey the Love Doctor). ;) You never ever let me down and I don't want to let your memory down. I miss you every day, you are always in the back of my mind and I know you are blissfully happy where you are. Hope you're having fun with being 28. I know you were there when we celebrated your b-day. :)

Casey 11*23*01

It seems like only yesterday that I rubbed that peeled bald head of yours and we were joking at the patrol meeting. I find it hard to believe that you've been gone this long. All of the laughs, smiles, and most of all, trust, that you brought to our neighborhood made you our neighbor also. We all still struggle to deal with the void that you have left.

You truly left your footprints on everyones heart. That is a true mark of the quality of any man who walks this earth and lives this fragile life.

You were far more than a Police Officer in our lives; you were our Friend. We all miss you Buddy!

Rod Hoover
Plaza Heights Citizens on Patrol
11/15/01

Plaza Heights Citizens on Patrol

I WILL REMEMBER YOU

(written by Sarah McLachlan, Seamus Egan, and Dave Merenda)
(performed by Sarah McLachlan)


I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

Remember the good times that we had?
I let them slip away from us when things got bad
How clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun
Wanna feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one

I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

I'm so tired but I can't sleep
Standin' on the edge of something much too deep
It's funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word
We are screaming inside, but we can't be heard

But I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

I'm so afraid to love you, but more afraid to loose
Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose
Once there was a darkness, deep and endless night
You gave me everything you had, oh you gave me light

And I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

And I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
Weep not for the memories

"We shall find peace. We shall hear angels,
we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds."
-Chekov
"Let us be silent that we may hear the whisper of God."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Everybody can be great.
Because anybody can serve..
You only need a heart full of grace.
A soul generated by love.
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The journey is the reward. -Tao Saying

The best and most beautiful things in the world
cannot be seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart.
Helen Keller

We are each of us angels with only one wing, to fly we need only embrace each other.
Source Unknown

All God's angels come to us disguised.
--James Russell Lowell

God shall wipe all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, nor crying, nether shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
-Revelation 21:4

"Along the Road"
I walked a mile with Pleasure;
She chattered all the way.
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with Sorrow
And ne'er a word said she;
But oh, the things
I learned from her
When Sorrow
walked with me!
-Robert Browning, Poet

They that sow in tears, shall reap in joy.
-Psalm 126:6

The Lord God will wipe all tears from all their faces.
-Isaiah 25:8

Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
-Matthew 5:4

Sometimes, when one person is absent, the whole world seems depopulated.
---Alphonse de Lamartine

Grief knits two hearts in closer bonds than happiness ever can; and common sufferings are far stronger links than common joys.
---Alphonse de Lamartine

Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life
and repeat to yourself, the most comforting words of all;
This, too, shall pass.
-Ann Landers

Death--- the last sleep? No, the final awakening.
---Walter Scott

Unto God, the Lord belong the issues of death.
---Psalm 68:20

Good men must die, but death can not kill their names
---Proverbs

Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't.
-Richard Bach

Lord, now lettest now thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word.
---Luke 2:29

For death begins with life's first breath
And life begins at touch of death
---John Oxenham

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced.
Live your life in a manner so that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.
--Native American Proverb

Seeing death as the end of life is like seeing the horizon as the end of the ocean.
-David Searls

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter
---E. E. Cummings

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
---Albert Einstein

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
---Robert Frost
The Road Not Taken

Our care should not be to have lived so long as to have lived enough. -Seneca

To touch the soul of another human being is to walk on holy ground.--Covey, Stephen R.

It's the circle of life, and it moves us all, through despair and hope, through faith and love, 'till we find our place, on the path unwinding.
--Elton John, The Lion King

Those who wish to sing always find a song. -Swedish proverb

That best portion of a good man's life,--
His little, nameless, unremembered acts
Of kindness and of love.
---William Wordsworth, 1770-1850

The hope of the righteous shall be gladness
---Proverbs 10:28

Honest men esteem and value nothing so much in this world as a real friend.
Such a one is as it were another self, to whom we impart our most secret thoughts,
who partakes of our joy, and comforts us in our affliction; add to this, that his
company is an everlasting pleasure to us.
- Pilpay a Brahmin, gymnosophist

God's finger touched him, and he slept.
-Alfred, Lord Tennyson (author of In Memoriam)

Grieve we will, but not as those who have no hope. For this blessed assurance, thanks be to God.
-Pastor William F. Galbraith

We miss you.

Casey 11*14*01

I never had the pleasure of meeting Cpl. Joey Cushman. The reason that his death has hit me as hard as it has is because my uncle, Cpl. Ken Clarida, is an officer for the Arlington PD. My mother also worked with Joey's mother back when I was kid, and to know that he is gone hurts me knowing that his mother and father will never get to see their little boy again. My prayers and sympathy go out to Joey's family, girlfriend, and freinds. May God bless Joey, his family, and the entire Arlington Police Department. Joey, you now walk a bigger and better beat. We miss you!

Brad Makovy