Alan L. Cohen

The Happy Badger equated life to the beating of a drum. The fundamental rhythm, he said, is the heartbeat. In his earliest travels as a young adventurer, he sat, drum in hand, just one among a tribe in the deepness of nature and communal living at the Rainbow Gathering. The drums pulsation seemed to erupt from the center of the fire, as a Medicine Man took Alan from the crowd and thusly named him Happy Badger. From that moment on, Alan Cohenwas Happy Badger. He was passionate, stubborn, creative and determined. This life defining moment guided him on his path as a writer, entrepreneur, father, and husband. It guided him also in death, as he gifted us his stories of life on the road with his faithful dog Dreamer and his soul mate, Donna Morris. For Donna was the angel who brought Happy Badger to clarity. She was the open-hearted song that awakened him to love. Without Songbird Donna, Happy Badgers tracks began to fade, as he followed her into a new spiritual journey. He is preceded in death by Donna, his dear friend Patty, and his father Saul. Alan will be remembered by his five children Sarah, Ben, Isaac, Estar, and Joseph, his mother Maxine Cohen, and his sister Susan Cohen for the sharpness of his emotions and for the immense depth of which he could feel. Many of us will hold him in our hearts as the vibrant storyteller. He will always be the Happy Badger in those stories, the one who brought them to life.