All My Alter Egos are Lily White and Male

By Michael Willard

A rather embarrassing development has occurred. It was brought to my attention that while I am a coffee tete-a-tete liberal none of my alter egos are of color or, for that matter, of the sugar, spice and all things nice variety.

This, even though some of my most influential confidants holding top executive positions over the years in my companies have been female. The fact is I have been active in civil rights since the 1960s.

It’s ancient history, but I was unceremoniously asked to leave a private university for protesting an all-white policy, and much later, downed Coca-Colas on my live-aboard boat with Martin King III, the son of the late Dr. King.

I have my garden variety prejudices, but none have to do with color, sexual identity or religion. I believe you have to favor inclusion to really be a red, white, and blue American.

My son Rob is black or bi-racial, as are two grandkids. This, I realize is a gratuitous comment as I chase my penultimate point into a black hole. However, I have a button-busting pride in that family and shout when I can.

But the discrepancy between what is and what should be was brought to my attention by the most chatterbox of my ghostly friends, the Spaniard Pablo Pistachio. Pablo, you possibly remember, was a colorful character in an earlier novel, “Killing Friends”.