A rich man's Conundrum

I was once friends with a guy who was wealthy. He was a really pleasant person to be around and he taught me a number of things. For instance he said that he invested heavily in gold when the price was fixed at $35 per ounce. He was convinced the price would move from being fixed to reflect the market forces. He continued to build his stock and to bear the cost of storage and insurance for over twenty years until what he predicted became an actuality. Now that's faith!

Needless to say payday grew to be huge for him. I have no idea to what degree his net profit turned out to be but he was a very happy fellow.

Where he was not happy was in his personal life. His money was an absolute curse in his pursuit to secure a happy relationship with a woman. He was away so much in the course of building his fortune that his wife grew weary of being on her own to the point that she could no longer see the point of being married. They divorced, and as he admitted he was constantly with other women so she was absolutely right.

His was a name well known in the circles of business so he was never short of female company but they were not women who cared for him. They were narcissistic creatures who were only interested in themselves and their comforts that he could afford, but they were empty of any real love and warmth. They bored him to such a degree that he would have nothing to do with that type of woman.

He had a wonderful island home that by its very nature determined him to be a super rich person. Even those local ladies whom he spent time with got ideas but at least they were suitably impressed by him and his wealth, and they generally enjoyed time spent.

He seemed to be happy and content in so far as his carnal nature was concerned. The ladies did well from their association with him, but as he said it was all on his own terms. He had turned his back on his high society circle and spent his days on my island home living a life of simplicity. He and I would often spend time working on his boats doing things he could well have paid someone else to do, but he needed to have something to do so he found solace in doing simple things.

As we worked on cleaning the bottom of his boats he would tell me stories of his experience with some of the women he had known from the high society set. Women who did nothing to actively contribute to his happiness or even to their own surroundings. They seemed to think that just by the fact that they were there was all that was necessary.

Many were socially refined but sex was a dry, cold unemotional affair that made him wish he were some place else. That they gave him sex at all seemed to depend on the quality of gifts given by him. Their main contribution was being seen on his arm looking their best, but that was probably only so they could attract other men. At least the local women were totally involved and showed him love and warmth whether he gave them anything or not.

For those of us without monetary wealth we think how much we would love to come into a great deal of money, but the truth is that with money comes problems that usually don't exist otherwise.

So, if you are a person with true love in your life you, and I need to recognise how lucky we are. We should do ourselves a favour and protect what we have and preserve it.

True love is so difficult to find that when you do that can be defined as wealth of the highest magnitude even if the woman who loves you has a bit too much around the waist.

Love is love. Enjoy!

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

AC35 and The Big Flop

I was determined not to write about the AC35 this week but I feel I must make an observation about the big talking point that occurred this past week.

Winds in the Great Sound were up at 21knts and there were white caps. The race was on so it made compelling watching as there was no room for error. The captains were on their game as they handled their spirited boats. Remember these boats potentially can get up to four times the wind speed.

I am very familiar with Great Sound sailing. Conditions can be extremely volatile in that relatively small enclosed body of water. During an all out hurricane it becomes like a boiling pot of water as the waves can get up to quite challenging proportions.

The day was going fine with race after race elapsing the course in great time. For all of us who watched it was the start of the fourth race of the day, Emirates vs Land Rover BAR. The boats approached the start with Land Rover ahead when suddenly a freak gust struck Emirates and she appeared to rear up as though on her way over backwards but skillful handling caused her to change her mind but instead she dug  her head down deep into the trough and just came to a dead stop. It was sort of like watching a horse in a jumping event suddenly refuse to jump the hurdle, instead digging its forelegs into the dirt sending its rider flying.

It happened so fast that no one saw the captain and the navigator and one of the grinding crew go flying but there they were, in the drink. The good news was that none of the crew suffered any physical harm that was obvious, but they must have suffered shock, as did all who watched. It seemed to me to be one of the worst types of dunking which looked like it destroyed the boat.

As someone said it was a real shame and I'm sure no one wanted to see that happen, but it certainly did make for good television. I didn't have to include that in this blog as it has been widely reported, as have other exciting incidents.

The reason I decided to return to AC35 was because on hand to witness it was a very special visitor who, it is believed arrived on a private jet. Normally, during a six week period Bermuda is not visited by a great number of private jets but over this racing six week period some 250 private jets will fly in and out. What a difference.

The thing about Spain's King Juan Carlos I (Retired) is that is was his country that originally discovered Bermuda. One of Spain's explorers, Juan de Bermudez, from Cartagena first came upon the uninhabited island back around 1509. He apparently did not remain there that long, but in the custom of Spaniards he left Bermuda some jamon in the form of live pigs. He claimed the island for Spain but could never find it again. Consequently Spain renounced its right to the island.

I suspect that the retired king must surely think what a mistake that was. He certainly saw it at its best. In fact most people living there were seeing it at its finest. It's not everyday we have AC racing on the Great Sound.

If the king should ask Britain to return Bermuda to Spain I say let them have it. Bermudians, under Spanish rule your lives will take a turn towards continuous excitement because here in Spain we live for the fiesta.

However, some of Spain's fiestas might take a bit of getting used to, but try them, you'll like 'em.

Trust me!

Incidentally, Emirates and Land Rover BAR did resume their race two days later and Emirates handily beat Land Rover BAR. That just might have been a matter of winning their pride back.


Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

America's Cup, Number 35 Bermuda continues

I'm sitting here in my Spanish home just aching because I would really like to be in Bermuda at this moment. For the past week sailing has been going great with only one day when winds were too light to race. However, the weather has been glorious and Bermuda has looked just wonderful on television.

We can see many of the private ocean going yachts in the background, as well as regularly scheduled cruise ships at dock. Today, the 3rd of June there are nineteen Tall Ships in Bermuda as a salute to America's Cup as they partake in their own Ronde-Vouz 2017 event. Somehow I had the impression that there would only be four, but the number is nineteen.

Meanwhile, on shore there are all sorts of complimentary events celebrating the presence of so much excitement from abroad that it must be difficult to know where to look. America's Cup is being broadcast throughout 165 locations around the world and it is estimated that more than one billion people have their eyes focused firmly upon my tiny but oh so beautiful Bermuda home.

You guessed it, I'm proud to be a Bermudian!

I trust you are enjoying the event from wherever you are viewing it and I offer my best wishes to organisers and participants for good luck and smooth sailing.

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

America's Cup 35th event starts in Bermuda

As far as this blogger is concerned there can be no more exciting event today, May 27th, 2017 than the start of America's Cup 35th racing Event taking place in Bermuda.

I am a Bermudian living abroad but at this moment I wish I were there in situ where the entire island is consumed with race fever. The event was scheduled to get under way, complete with opening ceremonies yesterday, the 26th of May, but it seems as though Mother Nature decided to remind everyone that She is still in charge. High winds postponed the opening until today, and now all is in readiness, so off we go.

Ironically, I live in Valencia where the 32nd edition of the AC cup was held in 2007, and the 33rd again in 2010 after a court ruling that sought to settle a dispute. I think it's fair to say that a reasonable amount of interest and excitement was stirred among Valencianos on the ground around the AC village, but the actual racing took place offshore so unless you took on the expense of getting on board one of the boats that shadowed the race you watched it on television. We can watch an event without being in the same location.

It was a big event for Valencia and we knew that something big had taken place here, but something was missing. Bermuda, however, will be different.

The races of 2010 and 2013 have evidently involved only two teams but the 35th edition will match six teams against one another. The island is near perfect for the event as the racing will take place within an oval body of water where everybody on shore can view it as well as from the decks of super cruise liners, and from a ring of private boats. A large number of those private boats will be super ocean going private yachts, both motor and sailing vessels. A total of 100 spaces have been reserved for such visitors which is the limit that can be accommodated.

To add to the excitement of an already overloaded program four Tall Ships will visit Bermuda between the first and the 4th of June. They are participating in the Rendez-Vous 2017 Tall Ships Regatta and in the process they will add their considerable dignity to what is already a most spectacular event that is expected to be watched by more than a billion people around the world.

They are as follows:

The Oosterschelde Dutch Training sailing ship, built in 1918 as a Class A three-masted topsail Schooner.
The Tall Ship Blue Clipper, a B class three-masted schooner built in 1990.
The Jolie Brise, a Class B Gaff Cutter, built in 1913 is a sail training ship that flies the flag of the U.K.
The Alexander Von Humboldt II, a Class A, 3 masted Barque, built in 2011, flying the German flag, and sailing out her home port of Bremerhaven, Germany. She can fly a collection of 24 sails and operates as a sail trainer  charter and hospitality ship.

To set the tone for AC a new race has been inaugurated this year, racing from Antigua to Bermuda and organized by The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club in association with Antigua Sailing week. It is anticipated that this will become an annual event. The entrants to this event began to arrive in Bermuda on the 20th of May, having crossed the finish line well in time for the start of AC 35.

The word on the street is that a number of the visiting super private yachts might organize their own unofficial race around Bermuda, taking along some very lucky islanders for the ride. If that happens it will be the icing on the cake. I need to be there for that!

The meat and potatoes will be the daily racing of course, leading up to the finale, and that alone would ordinarily be enough to totally captivate everyone's attention. As it is the entire island will be undergoing more excitement over a six week period than it has known throughout its entire four hundred year history.

When AC35 ends, and no one will want it to end, Bermuda will gear up for another racing event on water and that will be capped off by the semi-finals of an international track and field event.

Keep your dial on Bermuda, 2017, the happening place for this year.

Kinds of gives new meaning to The Bermuda Triangle doesn't it?

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

Living in a World of Spy things

What a simple world we lived in before the Age of the Internet. Privacy meant something then and we all said how important it was to us. That was then and this is now.

First came the telephone that could be bugged and recorded so that our conversations could be played back to us in a court of law. We became paranoid as we had to wonder who was listening in when we spoke. For the vast majority the answer was that only the person to whom we were directly speaking was maybe actually listening. We need not have worried.

Now, we need to worry. Once we began to broadcast over air that information was subject to capture by people we preferred not to have it. This includes just about our entire way of life from mobile phones, the Internet, the locking systems for our cars, and the security and convenience cameras in our homes and even in our babies bedrooms.

I have even placed black tape over the camera on this laptop because the awful truth is that some hacker who could really use a life could be looking at me typing right now had I not barred the access. Why do I think anyone would care in the least what I am doing in the privacy of my own home? After all I am of no significance to any government or military organisation.

Well, because I write blogs that identifies me as a person of some interest because I have an opinion and I have the means of expressing it. I must have offended or at least awoken someone's sensitivities as a result of all the stuff I have written over eighteen years. At least I hope so. We bloggers have something to say which we trust will bring around people to change their ways. For instance, last week I wrote that if we all accepted the latest tragedies of death on the road of cyclists to influence our own behaviour as drivers, perhaps far fewer cyclists will suffer harm.

My most important philosophy is that Death is not the End, but rather we simply shed our present bodies in order to effect change. Have I disturbed any religious bodies who are charged with the preparation of making ready their parishioners to meet The Lord when they die? Perhaps!

What about the things you do during your daily routines? Do they call attention to you, or might your own spouse be interested in what you do round the house when that person is out?

The common household appliance that is connected to the Internet can make that happen. I have read an on-line article by a person named Kara Alaimo that is well thought out and presented and far reaching in its breath. Kara is concerned about the many ways in which spy agencies or individuals could use simple domestic appliances or more sophisticated means to spy on every thing we do, but she wants us to be reassured by manufacturers that they will not use the spyware to violate our privacy.

This is a good idea so that when we consider buying a Smart this or that we may be encouraged to make the purchase in the first place. No matter how much reassurances we receive if its possible to be done our paranoia will lead us to believe that it is happening. If you are a U.S. resident  you are living with the Edward Snowden effect about what your government seems to be doing with you in mind.

The problem may not be the trusted company but it will always be the hackers who can break into the communication stream and harvest information for their own use, or even to take it hostage. The simple truth is that we are living in a world that is wonderful in many ways and progressively growing in that direction, while at the same time growing more and more terrible. It does not seem to be possible to accept the good things without the bad side affects. That is just a fact of life.

Something as simple as writing this blog brings with it the responsibility to back it up along with everything else I do to guard against loss.

What a wonderful pain in the ass life has become!

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

The Rich and the super rich

When someone such as myself sits down to write about those people who have 99% of all the money in the world you might expect me to be jealous and cynical. I surprise even myself by being neither. It's true that I could make good use of a few million, but we might be surprised at how little I would lavish  on myself.. I've made do without it all these many years, so I'm not likely to absolutely lose my head.

I'm at a loss as to why The Sunday Times bothers to publish the Rich List. Apart from satisfying my idle curiosity it doesn´t  seem to have any other function. The richest family in the world appears to be headed by two brothers from India who have amassed a fortune totalling 16.2 Billion pounds. That was at the cutoff date so God knows what the total stands at now. For a start they made 3.2 Billion Pounds during the past year.

I got to wondering what kind of life that much in assets buys a person, and could you actually enjoy it. It would be a given that you would live in the very finest homes around the world. Everything would be super first-class for you, including an army of people to tend to your needs and wishes. You could do that with 500 million, so what more could you want with two more lots of 500 million each.  You've already got the big airplane and at least one yacht that you could invite as many ladies as you wished to lounge around looking good on, so what the hell would you spend another 10 billion on?

What these two guys did during the last year was get up every day, get dressed in their very finest and go to work to make even more billions. They even look like the kind of people who would not be amused by lots of lovely ladies hanging about, and I even think I might get bored by that as well.

With lots and lots of money a person should be able to have a perfect life in which nothing goes wrong, but judging by the horrid family stories that are generated by the top 99% I really don't think I would want to be one of them.

I play the lottery to a small extent wishing for a win of 15 million euros.. At my age that would mean a couple of new cars and the wife would want a custom designed house, and then it would be time to attend to the reasonable needs of my close family and that of my wife. Our friends would not be forgotten, but we are now down to gifts in the thousands because we have to think of the really needy whose lives must be made better.

Throughout the whole list there was only one name that I  took time over. That was the name of JK Rowling. I am so happy for her because of the manner in which her fortune came, and the fact that she has already given so much of it away for the benefit of so many who were in need.

Her own story reads like a best seller, and the fact that she got children actually reading in this era of all things electronic just captures my imagination.. I assume that all those with money are entitled to it but JK especially deserves every penny and the fame and respect that goes with it. She appears to be happy, and long may she remain that way.

Otherwise, reading through the list that tells me what industries their fortune came through just put me to sleep.That's because my name wasn't there, so as I said, what was the point?

Maybe next year?


Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

The Toll and Joy of travel

My wife and I have just returned from Bermuda to our perfectly good life here in Valencia, but somehow it didn't seem like a rational thing to do. We visited family and friends in Bermudiful Bermuda which is an island country that is gearing up for the most exciting period in its history. The America's Cup race is about to get under way attended by almost 100 world class motoring yachts, plus Tall Ships, Cruise ships, and thousands and thousands of spectator boats and musical events and people from around the world. This may be the greatest America's Cup event ever and we have walked away from it.

Travel has become such a miserable experience to get from one place to another but if you were in our shoes you would endure it over and over a thousand times to be able to enjoy the heartwarming time we shared with family and friends. For me I got to meet my two newest great grand children, Ava who is two and James who is two months. I am now the father of three offspring, three grand children, and three great grand children. That is quite a package to travel to be with and I would do that any way in which I had to. However, sitting still for seven hours regresses my age. I found myself thinking; "are we there yet?"

Coming back to my Spanish home has brought on a certain depression as we have come down from our own Bermuda High. The saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder is so true. To begin with Bermuda must surely be the most beautiful island nation in the world. I found my fellow Bermudians to be their usual friendly selves although there are problems to be resolved. I think the remedy is at hand because Bermuda is perhaps the luckiest place on earth. To have been selected for the America's Cup means that they will receive publicity unlike any other, and providing things go smoothly and without human folly the positive publicity this tourist destination will receive cannot be bought.

It has been three years since we were last there so the opportunity to spend time with my family was so precious, and to see friends again is priceless. I keep saying that to find really good friends is rare. Once we have them they are to be treasured. Ideally I would like to return at least once a year but being a retiree I have to watch my pennies. Of course one really sweet win from the lottery could solve that problem.

Today, May 6th is the 30th anniversary of the XL Catlin End-to-End walk for charity. This is something I was involved in starting thirty years ago with friends and it has continued under the very able chair of Anne Mello. We watched via live feed this morning the start of the annual event from the eastern end of the island of the walkers who will walk a full marathon to the western end and right into the America's Cup village. The walkers are followed by cyclists and runners and swimmers and horse riders, who pick up participants along the way. What a day this will be, so I truly wish we were there.

I give a special shout out to Joan Dismont, Ms End-to-End who has never missed one year's event. This year she will have to but her spirit will be there, so Joan, this one's especially for you.

I also want to pay homage to a whole group of people who I call "my people" as they are The Bermuda Senior Islanders. So many of this group I grew up with and we got a little chance to reminisce about the good old days. That was so special to me and as I said, were I a permanent resident I would be a proud Bermuda Senior Islander. We only get to say that if we have been very, very lucky. Fred Hassell, Director, if you didn't already exist we would have had to invent you.

At the departure gates in saying goodbye to my  two precious daughters, Donna and Carol I almost lost it. I am so very blessed to have seen them grow to be a part of the solution and to make me  so very proud. I share that pride with their mother, the late Violeta. Just when the tears were about to flow the security man made me take off my shoes and my belt and that brought me back to reality with a bang. My pants were about to fall down in public. That will make you concentrate every time.

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

The Bankruptcy of United Airlines

Terms and Conditions of use of Service

This is otherwise referred to as The Fine Print and is a carefully worded document covering several pages with one clear objective, and that is to protect the Service Provider against the customer/client.

It is smothered in a blanket of legalese, is many pages long, it is useless as an agreement as the member of the public cannot understand it; usually has no time to read it, and if we could we would not agree to it, but we are obliged to tick "Agreed" if we need the service. It is an agreement that is not an agreement, except between the Service Provider and his lawyer.

Even though the customer apparently agrees in The Agreement to step off the plane when requested by the airline most will not realise they have "agreed" to do so nor, given a fair chance would not agree to do so However, if the airline has invited a person onto the plane, and that person is seated they now have possession, and that is generally recognised as being  nine-tenth's of the law, and bloody well overrules any thing else. Now I am on your plane and you have agreed to get me to my destination,  damn well get on with it!

I have never felt this angry when sitting down to write about something, but it gives me hope that for once, everybody in the world is United about one thing: this is no way to run an airline.

Memo to United Airlines:

Who do you people think you are?  More to the point, who do you think we, your customers are?

Shame on you!

Here's how you properly handle a situation where you have to make room on board the plane for people you would like to give priority: Make your request for people to voluntarily give up their seat by offering compensation for the inconvenience you are putting them through. If that doesn't clear as many seats as you would like, then select anyone you wish and go and ask the person sitting next to them to let you use their seat while you talk to the person next to you. Quietly discuss the urgency for that person to make this flight. If they have room to negotiate make them offers that would be sweet enough to accept. If they would rather not accept, repeat the same process until success is achieved.

Here's what not to do: Do not threaten to place a person in handcuffs, as you have allegedly done before to get them off, and do not drag a person off the flight.

Everybody in the world is now aware that your sense of public relations is crap, so there would seem to be only one thing left to do. Sack all your staff and sell all your plant and equipment and get the hell out of the business.

Anyone who continues to book flights with you will deserve everything they get! Don't come crying to me!

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

Who, What, and Where is God?

I was about ten years old when I became fully aware of several issues. As a black youth I came to realise I was being educated for a life of service to white people as an hotel worker. It was true that there was not much else in my country at the time but my school system put me in a separate and unequal place.

I was also told outright, over and over again that I was only four fifths of a white boy my age. That mirrored the attitude that existed in The United States and it caused me much pain from prejudice and discrimination.

I was also encouraged to worship, pray and to believe in God. I was told that God was male, and that He was white.  That last bit struck me between the eyes and caused me to scratch my head. God was sold to me as a good and wonderful God, full of love and caring for me. Yet, this white Man, who could control the whole world and to make it whatever He wanted still allowed the type of treatment to me from white people. This was just not computing very well at all.

Over the years I dropped out of organised religion because of man's hypocritical behaviour. I have also formed certain controversial thoughts and views surrounding all religions, and of God. My principal view of God is that God has no gender. As a bit of humour I have said to friends that I think God must be female because one time I had hair and then it all fell out. My fellow men do awful things to each other but we wouldn't do that.

Recently I was introduced to a three-part series of books with the title of: Conversations with God; parts one, two and three. The author is Neale Donald Walsch, and the book is based on him having asked aloud one of those frustrating questions that so many of us do, but God made him collect a pen and paper to record God's actual answer. That grew into a long conversation between the two.

I started to read the book which quickly captivated my interest, but the burning question persisted as to whether this all happened as the author says it did, or was this simply a case of the author exercising a super rich imagination. I decided it would be the same thing and I eagerly continued to read.

As I read, page after page revealed my own radical thoughts from out of the mouth of God. It will therefore not surprise anyone to hear me say that this is the most interesting book I have ever read, bar none.

So far it has been confirmed to me that God has no gender or both genders. God is everything and everywhere and no where. God is everything we can see and everything that we cannot see. God is in everything there is and everything there is not. God is in the plants, the oceans, the mountains and the stars, and in you and me. Therefore I am part God as are you.

God has conversations with all that exists in the Universe, including all people. The sound of God's voice is the sound of the wind in all it's various nuances. It is the sound of the rain and thunder and cracking lightning; the sound of the ocean and the sound of silence.

As I read the words that come from God I try to imagine what God looks like as God speaks. I keep being drawn to an image of a wise man but that's not correct, so I have now substituted any object I need, including a bush, as in the case of Moses talking to God, or a grand old oak tree. In fact God is everything and God is nothing, so take your pick.

Most importantly for me, I finally know what colour God is; God is the colour of the Rainbow...of course!

I also unlearnt those bitter lessons I had been taught all those long years ago and I am a fully confident person today. I better understand Who, What and Where God is and in understanding that I have a much better understanding of life in general. I had been very close to understanding who I am for a long time but I needed one last barrier to come down, and now I know exactly Who I Am. That is a beautiful last part of the puzzle to now finally have. Hooray!

I am in the middle of book One so there are many things ahead of me to learn and to confirm, so I will share some of that as I go along,

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

Do Not Call their Name

Yet another person has committed an act of unspeakable horror by cutting down perfectly innocent people who he did not know and cared nought for in the interest of his own agenda. We know him as a terrorist and a criminal and a murderer.

For a long moment I thought British authorities had got it right as some time elapsed before releasing his name. I have now read a two page spread in The Sunday Times about this man and now we all know his name. To me I have already forgotten it as it does not mean anything to me. I didn't know him or his family before and I don't care about him now. To me he is just another terrorist, criminal and murderer. However, to him in deciding to carry out his heinous acts he would have been well pleased to have known that his name would be infamous and known around the world. Maybe he was a loser before but now" they shall know me by my deeds."

Every famous person who has ever been assassinated has attached to his name the name of his assassin in perpetuity. That is a powerful incentive for a person who feels his life has amounted to nothing, and in order to get famous and make something of himself he decides to murder a famous person or to kill a number of people because he could.

What if the police and the news media placed a black-out on the announcement of his name? If no-one would ever learn the identity of who committed such a horrible act, that would surely remove at least one of the main incentives for the murderer, and quite possibly might not happen at all as there might not be anything to gain.

We do not have to cooperate with the assassin. We can do this now, by simply refusing to give notoriety to those who would do such horrid things. Spanish practise does meet this objective already by giving out only the first names of people being convicted in court (except politicians) and no-one complains that they have the right to know the last names. That is because we don't have that right; it's only idle curiosity to the public and once we hear the name we let it go. It's only important to the criminal.

Those of you who control the media I appeal to you not to reveal the identity nor the photo of those who are so callous against their fellow man. Those of us with mobile cameras can act responsibly by not passing any photos we may have of such assailants across the internet. By acting in this manner you may be surprised by the number of lives you save, including possibly your own.



Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

Parents in Disgrace

I have to shine some light on a story that broke during the past ten days which reflects very badly on parents at a school in Mallorca attending their children's little league football game. As too often happens the fathers disagree with a call by the referee and that starts a melee.

This particular group of parents were not the first to do this, and sadly they will not be the last. I understand how tempers become frayed very quickly when your child is involved. These are not bad people doing bad things; they are mothers and fathers losing their usual cool where they think their children are getting a raw deal. I get that and I am not putting my oar in to cry them down. That would be too easy and assumes I'm more holy than everyone else.

I have never made a spectacle of myself at one of my son's games, I am glad to say, so I don't have empathy from that angle, but I do understand that little league games come with a high degree of emotions from all parents and I think it should be recognized when attending said games and resolving to control one's self. It's bad enough when supporting your adult home team.

A group of parents fighting in front of their children makes for really horrible television, let alone setting a really bad example for the children. This group of parents were hauled before a judge and were given the "opportunity" to apologise for their behaviour. Most did so with arms firmly crossed across their bodies indicating to me that their voices did not correspond with their body language.

After that nasty event they must now go back to working in cooperation with the teachers in the making of policy for the wellbeing of the school. How's that going to work? I think it will take some cool heads to prevail but parents you must remember to bring out your best effort in being a mature adult and to put this sad episode behind you.  

When your children are engaged in competitive events we need to remember that they are the children and you are their parents with sophistication and maturity. Try, try, and  try very hard to let that come shining through.

Do it for your children!

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

The Mexico Drug Struggle - Why?

Mexico is a state like Columbia which seems to be controlled by the drug lords. Mexico does have a healthy export industry manufacturing cheap goods and exporting them to The United States for sale to consumers. The goods go North and the cash comes back. However, along with the legitimate trade Mexico  also unintentionally does a roaring trade in sending tons of drugs North to feed the addiction of an ever growing market. Americans seem to think that the taking of recreational drugs is their right and it would appear that The United States is right back to the era of prohibition of alcohol, and we all know how that turned out.

There are two drugs that are perfectly legal. They are alcohol and tobacco. In spite of the best efforts of stalwart people who thought they had the very best interests of the country at heart, the prohibition against alcohol was overcome. Now, people destroy their livers or die in automobile related crashes because they have impaired their judgements, or worse those who died were innocent victims of someone who was driving while drunk. Still, we seem to be willing to accept such happenings as a price of driving.

In taking illegal drugs, and some legal ones as well people die from bad batches or overdose themselves and die, but the rest of us, except old stogies like myself who stay away from all that crap, don't get bent out of shape. People will smoke cigarettes, they will drink alcohol and they will take dangerous drugs and kill themselves if they wish, so it seems apparent the so-called war on drugs will never be won by the government unless it decides to make the substances legal and subject to a strict code in their manufacture and distribution.

Meanwhile, Mexico fights a literal war in the streets and the jungles against the illegal drug industry, and it fights hard to stop the flow of drugs across its border into The United States of America. Now, as a reward for all their hard work and loss of life of their sentinels the new American administration is picking on Mexico to demand that they build a wall and pay for it when so much contraband simply passes through the official border crossing anyway.

I always blame the consumer for buying the drug products in the first place. If we were talking about smoking cigarettes the easy way to counter this is by not getting started. I did get started because it was the done thing at the time. There were no warnings against it and it was the social thing so I wanted to be seen as Cool, and so I started. Fortunately I came to my senses and quit cold turkey. This year I am celebration my 52nd anniversary since I stopped smoking, however, I can only say that I am a recovering smoker. All it would take  is for me to get stinking drunk and be offered a cigarette and I would be off again.

No matter how good a drug makes you feel you have got to know that this is going to end very badly. Drugs generally are addictive, or they lead to addictive substances. Alcohol is also not a good thing. It may or may not be addictive to each individual but it changes your behaviour by bringing on a loss of control. Under such conditions people often do things they come to deeply regret later.

So, I was wondering why does Mexico try so hard to protect the American consumer when that person does not appreciate it? Why doesn't Mexico simply do nothing to fight dealers on its own streets? Since the drug lords are interested in the export of their products into other countries, which creates employment in Mexico, and a Tsunami of money comes pouring back over the border into the Mexican economy, why bother?

That seems to me to be a very good question?

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

Time

Life seems to be all about time. The fact is that time is an artificial construct of man for our modern society which is run by the clock. We need to know when it is time to go to sleep and to wake up. When is it time to leave our homes to go to school or to work and when is it time to return home. In the meantime if we are at school there will be a time specific to learn about this, and about that, and a time for a break, and to eat, and to be collected at the end of the school day so that we return to our homes and to continue our studies in the completion of our homework.

Our parents most probably spend their days at their place of work. They too are governed by time in executing certain work for clients which is charged to the client, which is where the saying comes from that time is money. We need time to organise our day as we allot a certain amount of time for meetings or client lunches.

Time is king in determining our deadlines to get things finished on a timely basis. Time is a hard taskmaster. It is relentless in driving us forward and ensuring that our employer gets their money's worth. Time is how we keep track of the length of time we have been alive, and when we finally die our time among the living will be summed up.

Time is used as a form of punishment so that should we offend seriously enough against society's norm we will be removed from society for s specific period of time to be made to waste a valuable period of time in our lives. The one thing no mere mortal can do is to give more time to a fellow human being than the 24 hours in a day that has been allotted each person. However, the way in which we use that time is up to each individual.

We quickly come to realise just how artificial time is when we retire from our careers. Suddenly time has less importance. Should we choose to live out our retirement lives by fishing or gardening time will have very little value at all. The more relaxed we become in our retirement the more we realise the days slip away and we go from one day to the next without being aware of exactly what day of the week it is, nor have we a clue what the date is or even the month, and we have to check as to the year from time to time.

If you are a person living on the plains or in the jungles or mountains time is something vague that you look to the moon and the stars and the sun for guidance as to when to plant and reap your crops. The last thing a prisoner needs to be reminded of is the time but so many prisons are located near chiming clocks, perhaps as a tease to their prisoners

Perhaps it is some kind of natural defence in nature that those of us who are elderly lose the need to know the time because when time is running out for us we would really not be reminded every minute of the day.

And now it's time that I close this because it's my siesta time.

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael.

The Big Difference

This past week a man was seen by police driving erratically and was made to pull over. He stepped out of his car and started talking gibberish and acting strangely. Then he suddenly produced and air rifle and fired a shot at the policemen. No one was hurt as the man simply drove off but the policemen, demonstrating great bravery followed him as he led them to his house and barricaded himself inside.

The police discovered that he was a man who was suffering with severe mental problems that he kept under control by taking his meds, but obviously he was off his medication which was making him act with diminished responsibility. The house was surrounded by armed sharpshooters and a negotiator took over trying to get him to lay down his weapon(s) and to surrender. Negotiations  went on for hours until the man finally was worn down and practically fell asleep when police charged the house and brought him out where he promptly did fall asleep in the back of the police car.

The force of men were then stood down and neighbours allowed to return to their homes without anyone having been killed or even hurt. All congratulated one another on the successful outcome and the man has now been returned into care as he is clearly a danger to members of the public and to himself.

Rewind:

Same man, same scenario but if it took place Anywhere, Unites States of America the man would have most probably been gunned down where he stood when he fired at police, or if he did make it to his home it probably would have been razed to the ground by heavy machinery and he would have died from so many bullets he would have been full of lead. The Spanish are not best known for their patience but my impression of the security forces is that they are highly disciplined and the use of deadly force is exceptional, rather than the rule.

Police forces in The United States suffer from rather bad press principally because of the shootings of black men in the street, many of whom have not been armed. When demonstrators have to wave signs that say "I am a Man", and "Black Lives Matter" something is very, very wrong.

Of course the fact that Americans believe they have the right to bear arms and based on that they actually do own guns is at the heart of so many problems. I am not going to enter that debate but it does have many unhappy ramifications for gun owners and those who prefer not to arm themselves alike.

It is for that reason, among others that I am happy and content to live in Spain where cooler heads prevail.

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

The Fake President?

As I stand off to the sidelines and watch developments in The United States of America I cannot avoid a grave sense of concern for what is taking place. Especially after the model presidency of President Obama the Trump administration seems to be in utter turmoil. It does appear to be doomed and it is unlikely that President Trump will celebrate his first year in office. It is more likely that he will be impeached on a vote by the Democrats with overwhelming support from the Republicans.

It is not a pretty sight to see a man who holds the highest office in the land to be so ridiculed, and that he makes it so easy by providing the material himself.

He should stop with the Twittering and the name calling because it is not dignified. He doesn't like the Free Press in America, but when you take on these people as your enemy that's a fight that he cannot win. He calls them the Fake News but we can be sure that they are building up their response to push back and say that he is a Fake President. It seems to be clear that there was some interference by Russia in the election process.  What if it turns out that it was the Russians who drove up his popular vote numbers, and crucially it was they who altered the votes of the electoral college, if that is possible?

I don't know enough about these matters to be sure I'm on solid ground with these questions, but one thing is certain. If a person is the president of a country like the United States and he bad mouths key agencies serving under him, such as the intelligence and justice departments the long-term prospects for continuing governance under that president are extremely unlikely.

Careful, Mr Donald.

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

Some Bitter, Some Sweet

I have some citrus trees in my backyard, and one in particular has returned an amazing harvest this year. It is an orange tree that has been in that spot for many years, even through a horrendous fire that swept the mountain on September 23rd, 2012. During that fire the tree was severely singed from the intense heat, but not the actual fire. It survived but lay dormant during the following two years, and in 2015 it produced some fruit as a comeback, but not much.

Last year it produced a bumper crop of fruit, so much so that the tree is still heavily laden. We have had so many oranges and mandarins that I think that when the trees are all bare again we shall never want to see another orange. (Until the next season.)

However, this tree held a surprise for us that worked perfectly. It has been my practise to go and stand under the tree and pluck an orange and eat it there and then. I was happy to taste my first one from that tree to find it sweet and nice and juicy. The second one I eagerly bit into,  only to find it super bitter. Yuk! That put me off for the day but days later when I returned to the tree I enjoyed another one that was sweet. You guessed it; the next one was sooo bitter that my shoulders shook. I do not believe in coincidences so something was just not right here.

When I took a close look the fruit on the right side of the tree was covered with smooth skins and on the left the skins are dimpled. Same tree, two vastly different species of fruit. The bitter orange is grown for the making of marmalade. If I had wanted to have both types on the same tree I would have done some grafting to make it happen, but even then I doubt if it would have worked.

I have Googled "Seville and Valencia oranges on the same tree," and variations of the same question and I got no responses. That leads me to believe that we have a curious accident here but what is the value of it? I doubt that the sweetness of the Valencia orange is at all compromised, and I didn't do that much research on the Seville orange to know whether it's bitterness was altered in any way. Bitter is bitter, enough said.

I have to assume that this came about as a result of the damage caused during the fire but what the actual dynamics would have been remains a mystery. I must call in some farmers to get their opinion. I will keep readers informed.

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

GEORGE

When I was about seven or eight my mother brought home a young boy to live with us. She didn't say why, just that he would have to share our space in the small bedroom occupied by my younger brother and myself. He was one year younger than I.

George was a quiet person who didn't say much, but otherwise he was pleasant enough. One day only he and I were in the bedroom and I started with, "bet you mine's bigger than yours! Show me yours and I will show you mine." George was having none of it, and the more determined he was not to play this game the more I harassed him. Finally, he dropped his pants and exposed himself. I was reasonably impressed, being that we were about equal. But then, he removed his hand and said, I also have one of these, whereupon revealing his vagina. He was a person who possessed both sexual organs. In fact, George is a hermaphrodite, or a Third Gender.

I almost screamed in horror and surprise. I broke out crying and became very angry with him. He did not need to remove his hand and show me that. He should have kept that as his secret. At my tender age what I said next was a very mature thing. I said to him that he must never ever tell another soul what he just told me. I would not speak about it, and neither must he because people will not understand. Heaven knew, I did not understand.

That was seventy years ago and this is the first time I have spoken about it, and George isn't even his name. I bring it up because a few nights ago I accidentally found myself watching a program hosted by American journalist, Katy Couric dealing with Third Genders. I found the program to be absolutely riveting, but after watching for an hour I was left still as confused as when I started.

Thinking back to George, fortunately for him he appeared to be a male with not even a slight hint of being effeminate, and his voice was about the right male pitch for a young boy. I lived in horror that it would come out one day and that I would be drawn in as we shared a bedroom. I think it never did but it was always the elephant in the room with us. He remained in school till he passed out at 11plus, and then he followed a lot of young men by going to work. After all, we had been given a maximum life expectancy of not more than age 47. (We are all given a maximum life expectancy at birth.) That meant that we had to work fast to get our basic education out of the way and start our working life and our families if we wanted to ever meet our first grandchild.

To be best of my knowledge and belief George never married, nor did he take a lover, neither male nor female. (As far as I know) However, I did lose track of him eventually and I don't even know whether he's still alive or not.

You may be a bit surprised to hear me speak of such things as a Third Gender, but not only do they exist but they go back into the fullness of time and within their own cultures they are understood and highly respected.

I was thinking of including some examples of people who are Transgendered, Intersexed,  Neutered or unsexed/ungendered, such as eunuchs, but it's not as simple as sexual preference, and every time I think I have the philosophy nailed down it slips away to leave me even more stunned. Most people content themselves with the heteronormative ideal of a male (a man)  and a female (a woman). but there is a rising tide of opinion and lifestyle that holds that a community of people around the world hold themselves to be neither man nor woman. They are winning the right to complete important documents to show that they have no gender irrespective of what genitals they were born with. This is causing a great deal of stress in the West where such people insist on the right to use either/any bathroom. The French have long practised this relaxed form of public WC use.

I have only raised the top to Pandora's Box just a little to peek inside to what could become the greatest debate of all time in the West. Meanwhile, a number of countries and their societies came to grips with this thorny subject many years ago and they seem to live in relative contentment.

You may prefer not to bother looking into this any more than you have to, but just as I unwittingly came face to face with the problem at an early age, it is becoming more likely our modern world will have to face it sooner, rather than later.

In the sunset of my mother's life I was having a conversation with her when I asked her what was that all about when George came to live with us? Why did she bring him home to live with us? She replied that his own parents didn't want him. They were making his life miserable and they wanted to get rid of him.

"Oh," said I, and left it at that.

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

Goldfinger in The White House

As I have been watching the drama unfurling from The White House I sensed that I had seen this movie before. There were similarities with a work of fiction that I had seen many years ago where the person who played a villain was a man of about 70 and blond, somewhat portly, and owned everything.

I had to go back to 1964 and the release of the James Bond film, "Goldfinger," played by Gert Frobe who took the role of Auric Goldfinger. The resemblance between the two men, Frobe and Trump is striking, although the President of The United States is not a villain, he's the president. "Goldfinger" was the third in the James Bond series, starring Sean Connery as James Bond, with Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore.

This was the first time the word "Pussy" was used in such a public way and predictably it caused a stir.

By comparison with what the Bond series would go on to become this film is very short on the high technology scenes but was very watchable and exciting for its time.

It featured one of the best bad guys of all in the interpretation of "Odd Job" played by Korean weightlifter, Harold Sakata. He was the one who was so handy with his hat and so strong that he made 007 look like a little boy. Apparently he was badly burned when something went wrong in his final scene, but he played the scene through in spite of the on-going accident. A really great guy.

Two roles that were played by Bernard Lee, as "M" and Desmond Llewelyn as "Q" that became staples throughout the entire series and set the template for viewers where we were always excited to see what new gadgets James Bond would play with next.

The role of Eve Moneypenny was played by Lois Maxwell, and although a relatively minor one viewers generally found it to be very charming.The golden girl who had been painted all over with gold paint as a punishment by Goldfinger was played by Shirley Eaton who was Jill Masterton. The image of her made a spectacular poster.

I reserve my very sincere applause for Shirley Bassey who sang the title song with such gusto and perfection that it remains a true classic even today. As a person with a musical ear both the musical score and her voice is about as close as can be got to absolute 100% perfection.

I started out saying that the similarities between Mr Trump and Mr Goldfinger were stunning, including how both men look, and the fact that they were highly successful businessmen who flew around in their own planes.

Is this a case of life following art or just an incredible coincidence?  I don't believe in coincidence.
Do you?

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

Revolutionary New Engine

The news from Israel was totally positive. For too long the world has been wishing for a better power source for our cars. There is promising development from Tesla Motors who are making excellent electrical cars, but no matter how good the electric motor the batteries they use to drive them needs to be charged from turbines that use fossil fuels to power them.

Shauli Yaakoby from Israel, an inventor has turned his focus on this age old problem and rather than try to find something entirely new he has decided to improve what there already is. What he has done is to create a motor that moves a single piston sideways to produce 86 hp. The engine does not directly move the wheels, according to reports by The Jewish Press, but the engine powers a battery which drives two electric engines that power the wheels. I suppose it could be said that that would make the car a hybrid but they are not saying that is the case. While this engine also uses a battery the real breakthrough comes with the very significant savings in fuel consumption.

Whatever its technical classification because it uses a whole lot less fuel, and will most likely be wonderfully reliable with far less moving parts to need service it should find wide acceptance. We all remember when VW produced the Beetle how much of a hit that was. Apparently the company that has been created by Shauli, who is the CTO, (presumably that means Chief Technical Officer) is being taken seriously by the industry. The company's name is Aquarius Engines, with Ariel Garfung as CEO and Gal Fridman as CMO.

After all these years we see a real revolution take place that will so change the way we move around, coupled with the advances in cars that drive themselves. This proves what we all know, that everything is open to improvement.

This is wonderful news. The only thing that would improve on it would be a radical new fuel to require a one stop per month top up. Hope someone's working on that one.


Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." -Sir John Dalberg-Acton

Why we should all be very afraid.

Although this will be an essay on the new President Trump administration I wish to make it clear that this is only an exercise in the hypothetical. I have no reason for thinking anything other than that which has been advertised: that being that the stated goal of President Trump is to make America great again.

The president's meteoric rise to power is completely without precedent. He started as a joke and steadily crushed all of his competition, and in the process he took over the republican party and made it his own. So many prominent Republicans said along the way that they did not want him because he ran the most odd campaign that most people did not realise was a deliberate strategy.

He was the billionaire bully who insulted people and called them liars and cheats and dishonest, which resulted in his name on the lips of everybody throughout The United States and around the world. During election day he passed his opponent so fast that she wasn't even sure he was ahead.

Now he is in the first 100 Days of his presidency and he is making good on his promises. He controls a majority in the House of Representatives and in The Senate, and a great number of governors throughout the individual States. That is absolute power, and he is just the type of person to exploit that power to the maximum.

The office of The President is deemed to be the most powerful office in the free world. The necessary checks and balances are normally provided by The House and The Senate, but these now seem to be prepared to follow Mr Trump as though he is The Messiah.

The voters may have inadvertently elected a dictator - in - waiting, only the President himself can decide that. He has said that he gets things done, which sounds a lot like, Yes we can. He certainly got to where he is by doing things his own way. So far he has only had his businesses to work with, but now he has the entire country as his canvass, and by extension most of the world will listen to him. That's very heady stuff.

I'm trying to see ahead ten, twenty, thirty years. I think it is clear that change on the magnitude to be called shock and awe awaits us. We have seen his game plan before where focus is placed on a people to be vilified. In his case that includes the free press in the United States. Once he is able to mute the press he would have a free pass to do whatever to whomever with complete impunity.

As I have said, this is all just hypothetical and the president has not indicated otherwise. But, these things could come to pass because they are within the realms of possibilities. So, yes, we should be careful and take baby steps that only take us one day at a time.

Be afraid, be very, very, afraid!

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

Eight Years Waiting to Exhale

Eight years ago the state of the United States economy was such that it appeared that the job awaiting the next incumbent in The White House would be impossible. It seemed that all that was lacking was to push the flush button.

Enter Barack Obama, who actually wanted the job. The first Afro-American to take up office as President of The United States of America, that was dealing with soaring joblessness and debt, so they gave the job to a black man. As Western blacks we were amazed that we had lived to see the day, but we all took one giant breath and we have held it ever since, because if America actually lost its standing as the World's Super Power a black man would get the blame. That would have stuck for all time. People would have become true believers in what they had been trying to say all along: black people can't do anything right.

Even the Reverend Wright, Obama's former pastor declared against him, thereby acting out the role that has plagued the black man who tries to get ahead since time began.

Most of us gave Mr Obama our faith and our encouragement. We supported him and stood behind him, even when we wished he would have done more for blacks in America, but we realised that his hands were tied because he had to be president for all Americans with an even hand.

He has also put his very life on the line every day of his presidency just to make the point that he was capable of being a steady and well reasoned captain of the Ship of State. What he has achieved is nothing short of being amazing. Having the Congress and the Senate dead set against him makes his accomplishments all the more astounding.

In the process he has avoided personal stupidity and scandal and he has been able to leave the White House, and the economy in superlative condition as compared to when he came into office. We must remember that the president is just one man and cannot control everything that happens within his country, or around the world; but somehow he gets the blame and has to shoulder it alone when things go wrong. When things go well there are no end to those who will share the credit. So, Obama was not personally responsible for the Dow Jones closing up around 20,000, which was not even considered possible- ever- in 2008.

Unemployment is at an all-time low, and that happened on his watch. He did what he could to encourage it to happen. He did steer the Ship of State away from the rocks with his policies.
and he did authorise America's forces to take down Public Enemy No.1. Americans are far better off upon his leaving office than when he came in, but party politics being what they are people will still grumble if they are determined to find something to grumble about.

There was just so much he could do with the support that he had. The most courageous thing he did was to champion The Affordable Care Act that made it possible for 20 million Americans to have heath care insurance which was previously denied them. No other president would touch this subject in any meaningful way. He did, and turned it into a reality, and now they want to simply sweep it away. I suspect that it will simply re-emerge under a new name, but if it is new and improved it will still be Obama Care II. No-one will be fooled.

The first black family have taken their place in history and they have left a clean record that all blacks everywhere can be proud of. They hold their heads high in the knowledge that conducted themselves with dignity and grace. We can be proud of them and we can be proud of ourselves as a race. No-one can ever again convince my son that there is any height that is beyond him due to his colour. If he can dream it, he can do it.

President Obama left office on Friday, 20th January 2017.

All Exhale!

Thank you and well done, Mr President! We shall miss your sparkling speeches, your wit and your intellect.

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

January 20th, 2017 - D-Day

Friday, January 20th, 2017 will be a modern equivalent of D-Day, (The Donald Day) when America's president-elect will assume his office. That will open a new chapter in American politics that will most probably be unlike anything that has gone before.

One thing seems to be certain. All the good works that President Obama has achieved over his eight years in office will be undone. That will not invalidate the value of those works. On the contrary, I think those things will increase in value as people come to miss them, such as The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obama Care. The change in administration styles will likely be so abrupt and extreme that it will make people dizzy.

Inevitably the new president will get some things right and some things will not turn out well, at least for some people. He is the new people's choice and everyone will have to live with whatever that means. Personally, while not a supporter I salute Mr Trump for what he has achieved, having come from dead last to take the seat in the Oval office. Brilliant! That was the easy part. Now that he is there he will find that that seat is the hot seat, and the least he can expect is that at the end of four or eight years he will not have any hair left.

America, and the world will be very different places on January 20th, 2021, and 2025. Britain will be a solitary island again, and as for America we just cannot have any idea of what to expect. Mr Trump says that he will make America great again. Good luck to him and to America. If time proves him to be right, then so be it. I would hate to see him proved wrong.

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

A Glorious way to start 2017

One of Spain's greatest traditions is the parade of The Three Kings, otherwise known in Spanish as Los Reyes Magos ( The Magic Kings). It is the equivalent of the Santa Claus parade in many Western societies, and because it involves something good for children it carries with it awe and wonderment. It is the most serious event in the country because of the hopes, dreams and expectations of children, and by extension their parents. 

The names in Spanish of the Three Kings are Melchor, Gaspar, and Balthazar, who is a black man. For years a white actor has played the role of Balthazar with black face, but in today's world, with an adequate number of Black people living in Spain the directive is to recruit a black man in the interest of authenticity.

It should be said that to play these roles is a great honour, one which is fiercely sought after and awarded to the most deserving. In the town of Rocafort, which is located close to the main city of Valencia all was in readiness up until the last minute when the person chosen to play Balthazar had to drop out, causing a panic.

On the Tuesday before the parade I was in a shopping Mall when I encountered a mother with an out of control child who, I'm assuming wanted something that his mother would not buy him. He was making a terrible scene and really upsetting his mother, so I moved between him and his mother and stood over him with my hands on my hips and I said, "Soy Balthazar!" The child reacted as though he had been struck by lightening. He ran past me to his mother and held on to her slacks. I wagged my finger at him while making tut-tut sounds of disapproval, and indicating I would keep my eyes on him.

He was ready to cooperate and go with his mother without a sound. The look in her eyes directed to me was to say "I could hug you, while she mouthed "Muchas Gracias!"

The next morning my wife called from work, which woke me up to ask me a favour for her boss. Would I mind playing the role of Balthazar tomorrow?  I think I said yes, then went back to bed. After about five minutes I got up again and sat on the bed wondering whether I had actually had a call or was that a dream following on from yesterday. Eventually I realised this was real. I had no idea what would really be involved, so I spent most of the morning on YouTube watching hours of parades all over the country.

There was not much point in me worrying whether my robes would fit me, or whether anything would go wrong. Of course things would go wrong, we would just have to face every challenge as it arose.

Fast forward to the next night, 6pm,5th January, the starting time for the parade. My robes fit perfectly; I had worn the exact appropriate own clothes, including the correct shoes that I was advised to wear just before I arrived. (Just as well I was wearing them.) I don't know the last time I have seen so many children, or felt such overwhelming love and respect. People addressed me as Your Majesty.

Hey! I could get used to that.

We arrived at the main park where we were met by dancing girls and bands and we three were the full focus of attention. And then the love came flooding in as we began the process of giving gifts to a never ending flow of children of various ages. Well, I've run out of words to describe this part of the experience. No wonder so many men fight to get this role. Believe me, it's worth fighting for and absolutely nothing went wrong.

They wanted to pay me for doing this, when I was more than ready to bribe someone ten times as much just to let me do this at least once.

This is one of those experiences in life that should happen to every man at least once in his life. That's so that he will feel touched in a part of his being that he didn't even know existed. That night, I went to bed thoroughly exhausted and I slept the sleep of a very righteous man.

I have been touched for all time, so it would probably be a bad idea to do it again as the first time cannot be duplicated.

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael

A Tribute to Rita Barberá, long standing Mayor of Valencia City

On this the final day of 2016, I choose to salute perhaps the longest standing mayor of all, Rita Barberá who came to office in 1991 and served for 24 years, until her defeat in 2015. To have served for such a long time means that she had ample time to achieve some remarkable accomplishments for the city of Valencia, but also she had the time to make mistakes.

She died in 2016, just days after having been examined by the Supreme Tribunal, that might have led to an indictment for crimes committed in office. I think it was such a shame that a huge shadow hung over her head at the end.

What has moved me to write in her favor is that yesterday I thoroughly enjoyed myself, together with my wife at an installation that was all Rita, so I want to take a look at the way things were when we arrived in Valencia in 2000.

Madrid is the capital city of Spain, and Barcelona was the second most important city in the country. Valencia city was very much the poor step-child. It was the iniative of Rita to raise the profile of her beloved city through a number of publicity steps, which evidently were all taken in good faith. The objective was to attract tourism and business to the area, so that money spent to put Valencia on the map was expected to be recuperated eventually.

The first big event that she was successful in attracting was The America's Cup Race. For the city this was very costly and it completely changed how Valencianos saw their city. The port and the Mediterranean were at the back of the city rather than at the front. Normally any town or major city looks forward and out to sea. Not Valencia, but suddenly there was all this activity taking place at the port, which after all is next to the magnificent Malvarrosa Beach, so in our consciousness a major change took place.

To say that the city benefitted from all the publicity that surrounded that event is an understatement, and the event was successful. As an added benefit a dispute took place between a couple of competitors that extended the event and the publicity.

It was probably that event that led to the holding of The annual Formula 1 being staged here. Again, an event that generates massive publicity, but also generates massive cost to the host territory. After three or four years Valencia had to drop out as host, but again, Valencia was placed firmly on the map as a serious place to be.

Disaster struck with the economic downturn. That plunged countries around the world into chaos, including Valencia city which has been left with huge debts to clear without the economic impact from an increased travelling public and new major business coming into our community. She took the risk but good luck ran out, replaced by bad luck. We gambled and we both won and lost. Sometimes, that's life.

Shortly after arriving here in Valencia we visited the city zoo. We were appalled by what we saw. We also came to realize that we were not the only ones. Apparently many local Spanish people would be so upset by the treatment of the animals that they would leave the zoo and go straight to City Hall to scream at the mayor. How dare she treat animals in such a cruel manner, and in the names of the local residents.

Rita listened! She decided that the problem would be addressed, not with Band-Aids, but by building a world-class facility that would not even be called a zoo. Now, Valencia has a facility that is called "The BIOPARC" in which the animals are well cared for; in which they are free to roam about their enclosures to be themselves in conditions that mimic their own natural habitats, except that their space is limited to the facility rather than a whole country.

Yesterday was our third visit, on a perfect day, and while it is possible to see everything in one day I think most people want to take longer to just stay in one place for a long time to observe the various species. The very fact that we were all there generated good vibes. In spite of children running all over the place I never heard one cross word from the parents. People were super courteous to one another, and when the day was over we both agreed, what a nice day that was.

I think this is Rita's finest achievement. The animals win, and we the people can feel so much better that in a world where species are disappearing we are caring for our adopted friends, and we are doing it in a humane and caring way. I think to be someone who actually works there must mean that you have one of the very best jobs in the world.

It seems to me that on the Balance Sheet of Rita Berbera's life there is much more on the plus side than the minus. She has not been convicted of any crimes or misdemeanors, so she is innocent. In any event I prefer to remember her plusses. That's me, I always try to look on the bright side of life.

So, thank you Sra Barberá for all the hard work and dedication you have put into serving  the people of Valencia. I am a foreigner but your many efforts have not been lost on me, and I'm so glad that you liked my "Obama" cap.


Copyright (c) 2016
Eugene Carmichael  

A night of All Good News

December 22nd, Mid Winter or Winter Solstice is the shortest day of light and the longest day of darkness. However, it is also the only day of the year that we can absolutely count on nothing but good evening television news. We just don't want to hear any bad news at all. This is the day when Spain's El Gordo Lottery draw takes place and 2.5 billion euros is distributed over 15.000 prizes. However, because these prizes are broken down into small shares no-one has any idea of how many people actually share in it.

Firstly, the system is totally secure from corruption. In a world that is so corrupt, that is really something. Secondly, it is also totally socialist in its structure. No one can win the lion's share for himself. Unlike other lotteries where there is a jackpot and one person gets to walk away with (sometimes) over a hundred million Pounds or Dollars, not so with El Gordo. (No-one needs to win that type of money.) It is intended that the amounts available to be won might pull you out of debt, or even assure you that you can live modestly for the rest of your life with careful planning.

The news hour has now finished for the day and we have been treated to images of people all over the country crying with tears of joy and dancing in the streets because they are feeling so high with pure and unadulterated happiness. Their number was called, especially for the major prizes in spite of that being an improbable thing. Every year the same thing happens and nothing gets rolled over. All the prize money is distributed with 99% of the residents participating. Even those of us who didn't win a thing still see it as good news because every year we do not win brings us closer to the year when we will.

The event generates its own human interest stories, such as 90% of the residents of an old folks home bought into the event, and won. Their average age was 90 and they won 400,000 euros per ticket. One old dear held three tickets. Don't you just love it!

One family, like so many others in Spain were all out of work, but they won enough money between them to redeem their dignity.

A few years ago a small village of 250 farmers all bought tickets with the same number. The number won second prize of  euros 125,000 each ticket. (You could have held several tickets.) The twist in this story is that all enjoyed winnings except the one person who didn't believe in these things. He was a foreigner, but by all accounts he seems to be ok with the outcome.

It is gambling, which is to normally be discouraged. Many people in Spain play the lottery, and while I'm sure that a few go overboard the average person bets something modest, such as 5.00 euros on a line of numbers that might give a reasonable little lift to one's finances. It's really about hope, because life without hope; something to look forward to would be intolerable.

In a joking frame of mind I always say that one day I'm going to hit the lottery in a big way. When that happens I do hope I will get all of my money back.

Maybe, but hope springs eternally.

Copyright (c) 2016
Eugene Carmichael

Not a very Merry Christmas story

We have a gentleman living in our community who is a veteran of World War II. He is in his 95th year and loves to talk about his life of adventures, and to listen to him is a marvellous education in itself. His memory is as clear on things that happened many years ago as though they happened just yesterday.

However, one of his stories has so incensed me that it should be committed to print form, so I will do that for him.

He was a part of the landing force on D-Day and carried on throughout the whole war, and survived to tell the tale. He did that so that we are free from the yoke of Nazism. To have served for so long makes him a true hero in my eyes, along with all those who served and fell. So, it was only right and reasonable for the survivors of his regiment to be called to Buckingham Palace to be recognised and honored by the Royal Family.

He received an invitation on nicely embossed plain white card and arrived and together with his compatriots they walked into The Palace along the red carpet, but at a certain point he realised that for those who held similar cards to his they were ushered to the left while others who held invitations that were gold embossed went to the right. His group were led to what might have been at one time the stables, while the others went into the Palace proper.

The were very nicely entertained, but fed on a lacklustre lunch, and Prince Charles did make his rounds stopping at each table to commend the men and women.  What took the shine off the event was the fact that they, who were prepared to give their lives to allow the British way of life to continue were segregated into the lesser class, while the others were wined and dined because of....what?

Correct me if you think I'm out of order, but I think this was an outrageous thing to do to people who were so deserving of the utmost respect of the nation. To go to all that effort to insult them by herding them into a second class group when they had every right to go first-class all the way beggars belief.

Yes, they should have been feted, but if not done properly, then it was as bad as not having been done at all. The Royal advisors have a lot to answer for. Far from honoring this gallant and patriotic gentleman, they inflicted an insult upon him that he has never forgotten, and will take into his grave.

For those responsible I say, shame! shame! shame on you!

Copyright (c) 2016
Eugene Carmichael

It's El Gordo Time again

The annual EL Gordo fever is growing as we approach December 22nd, 2016. That's the day that the draw will take place for the greatest lottery in the world. It is so great because it offers a real  chance to an unknown quantity of people to win some usable quantities of money, but no one walks away with one or two hundred million euros. This is simply because no-one needs to win that much money.

When ordinary people win such huge amounts of money they are presented with an equally huge problem in that they will need to conserve and manage such a gargantuan windfall, and the average person will have no idea how to do that. (Usually the aftermath makes very grim reading indeed.)  Anyway, if we win more than 15 million euros we will have more than our fair and reasonable share of good luck. There will be many, many people who will not agree with me, but that's my opinion.

By the unrestrained joy that is unleashed on that day throughout the country, and the world I think the vast majority would agree with me. Don't be greedy-think of the other needy neighbours. I am betting on one major roll of the dice. I have chosen our number and I have put enough money on it so that if the number comes up for first prize I will be set for the rest of my life with money left over to continue to help my family. If not, and if the number is not called at all I lose 200 euros - again.

There is a movie presently playing that has a terrific story line: a number of men holding a specific number who live in a small mountain village win first prize in El Gordo. The problem is that these tickets were only sold in a nearby brothel, so they are absolutely toxic. You can claim your prize with anonyminity, but you cannot use the money in any real way without giving the game away. I wonder how that ends?

So, on the 22nd December, from early morning I shall be stuck in front of the TV from the starting bell just in case our number comes up. I am the treasurer of our consortium of about 3000 people, and it will be my job to see that all are paid in a timely fashion. This will be a really nice problem to have and I would absolutely love the challenge.

Please wish me luck...the good kind.

Thank you.

Copyright (c) 2016
Eugene Carmichael

Fighting, Screaming and Yelling all the way.

Kevin Baker made me do it. My good friend Kevin dragged me, screaming, fighting, and yelling all the way into the 21st Century. Now I am the proud owner of an iPhone 6 Plus. I haven't completely forsaken my Nokia tiny palm mobile. Now I have two phones, but I have taken so long to step up my game and I really don't have a good excuse. I simply have not felt the drive to go modern all these years.

Kevin assures me that it will change my life. I think Kevin was embarrassed by being associated with a friend who was so behind the times when he is this super, on-the-cutting-edge kind of guy. When the mobile phone was first introduced I was steadfast. I would not have one because I just didn't want to always be available. Before the introduction of the mobile the best anyone could do was to have a long extension cord that allowed mother to be hanging out the clothes while talking to a friend.

With a mobile phone our stress level automatically rises because the phone might ring at any time. I was having a business lunch with a lady when she suddenly leaned down, picked up her handbag and held it to her head. " I thought I heard my phone ringing," she said. I thought she had suddenly lost her mind.

Humans were not structured to always be instantly contactable. It seems that the ringing of the phone must be replied to right away. Whatever we are doing when the phone rings we drop that and respond.  That's the way it has always been. I have been in a long line at the bank. The teller is hard pressed to serve us, when the telephone rings. She ignores us to take the call. I just wish she could give me money through the phone.

We see it depicted in movies where a couple are making love and the phone rings. "Just a minute. I got to take this." What! Are you crazy? That's when you know you are sick. Go to a doctor now.

The good thing about having waited so long before moving up to a Smart Phone is that I have seen what bad and deadly habits can be formed if you allow them to start. I have made myself some promises that I will keep. Not to do so will be to complicate my life to no end.

With my little Nokia I would carry it around in my bag all day, and if it didn't ring I never touched it. I read my e-mails when I got home and was sat in front of my laptop. If I needed to send an urgent message I can only think of two times when it was so urgent that I went to a Locutorio to do it.

Promise number 1.When and wherever I sit down to eat I will not take out my phone and place it on the table. I will continue to not answer it while eating.

Promise number two: I will continue to not answer an incoming call while driving. I could ask Siri to read me the text of an incoming Whatssup message, but I won't. My attitude is that there is absolutely nothing in my life so urgent that it can't wait until I get to a convenient place to pull off the road, shut down the motor, and then see what all the fuss is about.

Promise number three: I will never walk and stare into my phone to send a text or read a message from someone. Perhaps I will take an incoming call while walking, if I can figure how to do that, but I will never fall into the habit of not being aware of my surroundings because I am totally concentrated on my phone. People have walked in front of trams and oncoming traffic and been killed.

It is true that when I have been expecting an important call I have taken my mobile into the bathroom with me, and I have had perfectly comfortable conversations while sitting down in there, but at least if I continue to do so my conversations will not be under the Face Time app.

Promise number Four: This could be the most important promise of all, is that you will never see a picture of the meal I'm about to eat, taken by me with my iPhone. Never! Never! Never!

I am perfectly aware that we all hold in the palm of our hands the most powerful device in communication, and I am a long way away from discovering the full capabilities of what it can do for me. I am quickly becoming comfortable with it and I am starting to feel like a pro. But here's the thing: I am in charge of it, not the other way round. I tell this to Kevin and he sniggers. He says that everybody does it. Well, not me Kev. I am one of a kind.

Stop laughing Kev.

Copyright (c) 2016
Eugene Carmichael

Pick Pockets Spoli everything

This past week has been the week of my wife's birthday celebrations. We rode the AVE fast train from Valencia to Madrid in Preferente, or First Class. Now we are hooked! No more Tourist class for us.

We arrived there and took a taxi to our hotel on the Grand Avenue. We checked in and we pushed the button for the lift. There was a man standing there who was well dressed, and in spite of the fact there was a lady he insisted on entering first.(He needed to be behind us.) We were three in that small space. He pressed the first floor and as soon as the lift began to move he moved closer to me. I should have followed my first mind, which was to allow him to ride up by himself as I thought it peculiar that he pushed ahead of us to get in first.

He asked "Cafeteria?, Cafeteria?" At that point I concluded "Here we go again." I covered the point of my man bag closest to him with my hand and sure enough there came his left hand that was covered with his coat and he encountered my hand. I tickled his fingers and he jumped back. I smiled and admonished him not to do that. I didn't just get off the boat pal. His eyes went as wide as saucers. When the door opened he shot out and was gone. The danger was that I didn't know what he had in his right hand, which could have been a knife in case I tried to take him down.

We called the desk and gave them a description. They thought something was strange because they did notice him entering the lift with us, and then immediately he came down the stairs and out of the hotel. They called the police and within half an hour he had been arrested as a person of interest who was well known to them.

He got nothing from me as my things are secured with chains within my bag. I learned that many years ago when that foiled four beautiful Eastern European women who accosted me in broad daylight, surrounding me with their gorgeous bodies which they rubbed against me while trying to steal me blind. They actually had pulled my wallet and a second bag with my credit cards from my bag, but because they were on chains they became confused and the tugging alerted me as to what was going on. Again, they got nothing.

In every country around the world crime takes place everyday.People wake up in the morning and have a shower; they get dressed, have breakfast, and they go to work. Their careers centre around relieving the careless and uninformed of everything they can get. This is their work and they are very good at it.

In our case the man goes from hotel to hotel in the city employing various ruses to strip the newly arrived of whatever he can get. After dealing with the front desk I didn't actually fix my straps to secure the bag because I was only going up in the lift. He was counting on that.

I once stopped at a counter in a shopping centre where there was no  one else around to ask a simple question. The top of my bag was open. Within half a second that counter suddenly became of interest to a whole family. I moved on very quickly, closing my bag in the process.

The moral of this story is that we are all open to suffer loss by theft every time we leave home. We cannot know exactly who is watching us, but we can safely assume our every move is under scrutiny because there are numerous people who are counting on successfully stealing from us.

Beware! Always!

Copyright (c) 2016
Eugene Carmichael

Shocked and Surprised? Not really.

In my blog of last week I suggested to Hillary Clinton that maybe she should have a Concession Speech ready, just in case. In fact I felt deep down that the result we got was on the way. The tip off to me came when the Klu Klux Klan declared they were for Trump; no surprise there, but then placards started showing up saying, "Blacks for Trump." Now, when have Blacks and the KKK agreed on anything?

This election will be discussed for the next One Hundred Years. How did he do it? Scholars will pour over every little bit of it. The Donald ran a campaign of ideas and reversals of ideas; of insults followed by those insulted joining up with him; and of grave threats to do this and that, followed by more reversals until on election day no one really knew what they were voting for.

If this was a plan it was brilliant, it was masterful, and of course, it worked. He got so close to Hillary, the front runner, and then, in a flash of supersonic speed he left her so far behind the result was not even close.

The American system that has the general public go to all the trouble of voting, only to find on Election Day that their popular vote is superseded by 507 super delegates that make up the electoral College must be great frustration for the millions. Those super delegates are supposed to stop the thing that happened from happening. Ironically, it was the popular vote that got it right in so far as the expected outcome was concerned, so what good are the super delegates? I think they are going to come under some close scrutiny.

Now there is rioting in the street. Trump said that he might not have accepted the outcome. Well, get a load of what's going on now.

So many people said they were voting for change. Well, good for them, because here comes change, ready or not.

Someone said that there will probably not be a Democrat in 2020 who will bother to run against him. Well, the next four years will be many lifetimes. It really all depends on what happens between now and then.

Stay tuned!

Copyright (c) 2016
Eugene Carmichael

What a great book I didn't write

I wish I had the political imagination to write the blockbuster book that is presently playing out in real life, but unfortunately I don't. Even if I had no-one would have believed it was even possible. I might have sold a dozen copies so that people could mock me but no-one would have bought a plot that had the most ridiculous candidate come from absolutely last place to be running neck and neck for the office of the United States of America.

I would have had to conjure up the most ludicrous campaign strategy ever. Start by insulting people and countries. Be a person who shows he hates women and Latinos and Blacks and they will join with the white men to form an army of supporters. I would have to make him awfully flawed so that his opposition would fear a victory for him more than anything else  they can imagine. To really confuse them I would have him commit every gaffe that has ever  been done which resulted in those who made such gaffes resign. He would only get stronger Then, I would make the race so close no-one could call the outcome.

And then, for good measure, I would have him actually win. That way I could get several more books out of the situation.

As I said in my previous blog, you may not like anything about the man, but what he has achieved to date does deserve our respect. I'm not talking about praising him or saying that we like what has been done; only recognizing that he has overcome his challenges and has come to a place where he could possibly declare in three days time, " Mission Accomplished!" I think that there is no-one on the side of decency and what is right who would say that 9/11 was a great terrorist accomplishment, but they did get our attention.

I would have also had to make the opponent a strong woman, but one who is also flawed so that voters would not have all that clear a choice.  Here we are, Saturday, November 5th, 2016, and all across The United States, and around the world the number one topic is the American Elections. However it turns out it will have worldwide repercussions into the unforeseen future.

I believe the lady candidate is confidant of a victory. Perhaps she should also have written an acceptance speech of defeat, so to be on the safe side.

Copyright (c) 2016
Eugene Carmichael