Livy Carter – In Memorium

The Caribbean Is One Nation.

                                 Livy Carter – In Memorium

The Late Livingstone Carter

By Pachamama

We are born alone

We die alone

Only love and friendship

Help us believe, we're not alone

(Hunter S Thompson (sic))   

On Tuesday 17th June 2014 Cleveland Livingstone Carter (Livy) transitioned to another state of being. I would like to think that he is now with our ancestors but he was a Christian man and possessed strong beliefs in those traditional values. So for this moment and for my friend Livy, I hope that he is right and that I am wrong.

Livy was a special human being with a deeply rooted sense of right and wrong. In another time and space he would have been a social activist of world renown. In a space unencumbered by a certain kind of history he might have found politics as the best means of service to humanity. In the end it was service to others, from his younger days and for most of his life, that separated Livy from the many. Those of us who knew him well would sometimes suggest to him that he needed to re-order his priorities, but not Livy. For he believed in helping others and that helpful nature informed his character as the most decent human beings.

In recent years I witnessed this remarkable father and friend carry the heaviest burdens any human being can be expected to bear. He carried those burdens with the highest sense of decency. And although conditions were getting more grave he would still occupy himself with the struggles of others. He would still find the energy to speak to those of us who would constantly call to enquire about him. He would still see the usefulness of engaging us with matters for which he was the expert. Though severly weakened he would still find the energy to speak publicly about health issues with a sense of courage and determination. An act of and within itself was his ultimate gift to all of us.

My thoughts are with has family. I trust his life's work will help us all to create the better world that is possible. That his memory gives his family the strength to fill the void his passing has created. A great oak has fallen and its sound will forever reverberate throughout the universe.

Farewell Livy. Sleep well, my friend. Sleep well

The Mahogany Coconut Group joins, in expressing its condolences, to the family of the late Livingstone Carter, and wish them great strength during this difficult period.