List of Previous Titles

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Dr Willam Henry Cosby, Jr.


An unforgiven man


William Henry Cosby, Jr. is a most extraordinary black man. He is an American professional comedian and so much more. Born in 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania he discovered he has an intense sense of comedy which he used to make the world laugh so uncontrollably that we wet ourselves, and he did that without once using a swear word.

Once I was driving while listening to the radio and an album of his was playing. I had to pull the car over to the side of the road because I could not drive and weep with laughter at the same time.

This was at a time when America’s civil rights struggles were in full swing as blacks were struggling for respect. Bill Cosby contributed to that struggle by going back to school and working for his doctorate in education thus earning the title, Dr. Bill Cosby, Jr. Now, not only was he an accomplished comedian he held a title no other comedian had.

He continued to build his brand by constructing entertainment vehicles that raised the recognition of blacks in a country that often were so blinkered as to not recognize that blacks were people too. He got to the point where The Bill Cosby Show was the top rated show in America for five continuous years; a show about a black family in America. He made a lot of money.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes he was quietly a major financial contributor to institutions of learning, especially black schools. He was convinced that education was the key to lifting up our racial group, and he put his money where his mouth was. On the face of things Bill Cosby was the perfect man for the times in which we lived. I stood a little straighter and pushed my chest out a little farther because Bill was running offense for our people.

When we look at his achievements and his Honorary Degrees it was apparent that everybody was just so proud to be associated with this great man. He received a record number of 57 Honorary Degrees for things like Doctor of Laws, Fine Arts, Humane Letters, Music, etc.

His was the biggest and most powerful name in show business and education. He was the most respected man in America and around the world. He could do no wrong.

First came a single accusation, like a tear drop, and then a little trickle, and then a flood of accusations alleging rape, drug facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, and child sexual abuse.

The world stood still and forgot to breathe. Approximately sixty women had come forward to say these things had happened but they said nothing at the time because he was who he was and they were sure they would not be believed.

I could not process the information and nor could I believe it. It just wouldn’t sink in. This simply could not be. My shield was the question: “Why now?” Bill has had a day in court which resulted in a hung jury, so at this point he has not been found guilty of anything other than having been a most generous contributor to good things, and of making me laugh so hard I pulled over into the emergency breakdown lane.  He will return to court this Spring.

For a very long time I was so angry with Bill Cosby that I would not even think his name. I’m thinking about him today because he was just the tip of the rich, famous and entitled men who so thoroughly have humiliated me as a male through their alleged actions.

None of the long list of accused has been found guilty by a court as yet except Dr Larry Nassar who has been sentenced to 235 years in prison, but the hostility is so great no-one has the patience to wait for court outcomes. Many of those accused, like Bill have been tremendous benefactors making life so much better for many people, but in a mere blink of an eye they have fallen from grace like the leaf of a tree branch in Autumn. There they lie to be trod upon and forgotten.

What an unforgiving world we live in. We must conduct ourselves accordingly.

Copyright (c) 2018
Eugene Carmichael

Saturday, January 20, 2018

A Case of mistaken Assumption




This week I drove into a service station to gas up and was met by a lovely young woman assistant who was bright and cheerful in her tone and quite helpful. “How may I help you?” she wanted to know.

I drive a vintage Jaguar Sovereign saloon car that is a classic, and which was looking its best. It had been washed and sparkled in the bright sunshine.

Meanwhile another car pulled up to the opposite side of the pump and two men got out. She approached them with a voice that was flat, neither friendly nor unfriendly. She was all business.

“What would you like?, she asked. These guys were driving in a vintage family car that showed signs of its age and the guys were dressed in work clothes that reflected that they were hard workers. Meanwhile I was dressed to reflect the fact that I am a retired person. She therefore probably thought that the guys were orange pickers and that I was a man of leisure who wore after shave lotion that smelled like money. (Ha! Ha!)

In fact I had been picking oranges from my own trees for my immediate use and Lord knows I don’t have any money. For all we know the two of those guys might have a ton of money hoarded away instead of spending it on a brand new top of the range car.

Otherwise those guys and I have the same thing in common: we are all black men.

It is so easy to come to the wrong conclusion when faced with certain images. The mistake is called judging the book by its cover, something advertising people work hard in directing us to do, over and over again.

It’s all a case of mistaken assumptions, but as long as that doesn’t lead to harmful consequences it’s just life in action.

Copyright © 2018-01-20

Eugene Carmichael

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Who are we when we retire?




General Colin Powell, Former Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. military command once said, “If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.” On the day he retired from that position he told how there was much pomp and circumstance with marching bands and troops after which he was taken by his driver in his usual chauffeured car to his home. The car dropped him and drove off and he entered his house as husband and dad. It was all over. The excitement and respect of being the toast of the town was behind him, and now he was simple toast!

Retirement, for this reason is not what it is all cracked up to be. Whatever we have worked at in our professional lives has kept us busy and defined who we are. The busier we were and the more critical the position we held the more fulfilled we were. When all that suddenly stops it’s as though the ground opened up from under us.

My card reads under my name for description of who I am, “Consultant.” In my retirement function I was an accountant/and account manager in that I managed as many as seventeen reinsurance companies. Now I am a consultant. People who receive my card ask what is my speciality?. At first I had to answer, I consult with whoever has a question I can answer. Later I came to make myself useful for new families who had moved to Spain, guiding them away from making expensive mistakes. That is the point entirely; to make ourselves useful by employing our experience to be of service.

For the retiree to suddenly move from big shot to nothing is a major shock. He no longer has to wear a necktie or a suit. He moves about and is all but invisible. Conventional wisdom has it that in this state he will surely drop dead within five years of being nobody, unless he worries about it. Should he worry he will drop dead in three years.

Men and women need not stop at retirement, but rather we need to simply change gears. Perhaps we might change to doing something we like rather than the money earner as before. Above all we must keep our brains alive and active. Some things in life must be constantly used or we lose them.

Everyone who lives long enough to retire has a lifetime of experience to draw on and those who are younger than us would benefit from our collected knowledge. Therefore, rather than facing a period in our lives towards the end when we become nothing, just sitting around waiting for death to take us, let’s keep busy in any way we can, especially by keeping our minds busy.

Hint: Revisit your life and write about it to provide your family with a historical record. We have all lived through a period of constant change. If like me you came on the scene around the beginning of the Second World War, we have lived through that horrible period and then into a period of peace and renewal and into the beginning of the computer age, which is when rapid change began.

When presidents or kings and queens retire they turn their attention to developing their memoires, so we as individuals might like to do the same. After all, our lives are just as important. By writing about your life you can justifiably call yourself "Author."

Happy writing!

Copyright © 2018

Eugene Carmichael






Saturday, January 6, 2018

A Christmas Career




CHRISTMAS 2017 has been and gone, as has Twelfth Night, also known in Spain as Dia de Los Reyes Magos. In many countries around the world December 25th is celebrated as the day of the birthday of Jesus. As such it is a Holy Day that is marked by the giving of gifts between those who follow the Christian faith.

The problem with that is the true meaning of Christmas is often forgotten in the commercialising of the season.  However, for children it can be a magical time, especially for the very young who are encouraged to believe in Santa Claus who, as the story goes will reward the child if they have been “good.”

There are many people who fill the role of Santa in making appearances leading up to the Big Day. These roles involve giving of yourself to the children, but as anyone who has dressed up in the costume will tell you what you receive from the children is far more rewarding. In fact it is priceless!

This year I was invited to take the role of Santa, or as he is known here in Spain,” Papa Noel.” In doing so I made history by being the first black man in Spain to play the part. I thought the children would complain that I wasn’t the “true” Santa because I wasn’t the exact image, but no, not even one person objected. There was only one very confused child who asked me if I was one of the Three Kings known as Balthazar. I didn’t know whether she was asking me because she remembered me from having played the role of Balthazar the previous January, or just because I was a black man.

In the event it went extremely well and all the organisers were relieved that the experiment was successful. The Santa concept is not an established Spanish costume, but it is becoming an integral part of the Christmas season. The children have figured out that they stand to receive presents on Christmas Day as well as La Dia de los Reyes Magos.

I had hardly settled down from that good feeling when the invitation came through to reprise my role as Balthazar. I was delighted! Little did I know how long a day it would turn out to be. The routine involves riding in the float and waving to all and sundry. Once we reach our destination we alight and take up a position on the stage where we receive the children to whom we give gifts.

All throughout the night the adults are referring to you as “Su Majestad”, your majesty, and everyone pays respectful deference to you. That I could easily get used to! You appear in a trillion snapshots. The town in which I appeared was Rocafort with approximately 7,000 residents. It seemed to me that 6,000 were children.

This year the process of the gift giving was much better organised and the time passed quickly. I thought that was it, but no, that was just the beginning because they added an element. Certain families had asked that the Three Kings come and visit their houses as a surprise to their children. For the next two hours we were in and out of about a dozen houses leaving in our trail a string of stunned and very happy children who will never forget.

So, it seems that I have a new career based around the happiest time of year. I cannot describe my feelings throughout both the Santa Claus and the Balthazar experiences because the human vocabulary has yet to invent those words. Suffice it to say that during the events I was alert and truly happy and privileged to grow weary, but when they were over I slept better than at any other time.

So, Happy New Year to you all! May you experience good health, prosperity and happiness!

Copyright © 2018

Eugene Carmichael