Reflections on the Life of Henry Rival Archer, HBM

The English language has many words to describe this man who was so gifted, so giving, and so kind; but not enough. Dad, Henry Rival Archer, HBM was born on March 3, 1918 and died on April 19, 2019. He was 101 years old. I have always felt a special bond to my Father because we had birthdays close together. He, March 3, his birthdate said his mother, (or March 5, assigned to him at registration).  Me, March 1. So, every year when I celebrated my birthday, my heart turned to his. But there are other important characteristics than a mere birthdate cannot fairly express so, I have chosen four words to describe my Dad.


Dad (1918-2019)

Industry – He was the hardest-working man I knew. No job was too hard. Although never receiving a formal high school education, he mastered skills of accounting and business management under the guidance of his mentor, Mr. RJD Nias. He came home every afternoon after working as a grocery store manager, put on his work clothes and headed out to the garden – a place he loved, and diligently did his gardening until late into the darkness. He continued this habit until past his 100^th birthday when his strength finally failed him. Well into his 90’s he won a gardening competition organized by the Tobago House of Assembly and copped the first place monetary prize. He rose to become the general manager of a chain of supermarkets owned by the community - the Tobago Cooperative Society, Ltd. In 1970, due to his public service, he was honored by the government of Trinidad and Tobago and awarded the Humming Bird Medal, Silver, for Cooperative Development.

Honesty – He was honest to a fault. As a child he taught me how to do the church treasurer's duties - posting the tithes and offerings for each giver and making sure the postings matched the monies received; and I would observe him as he did the accounts for the Carnbee Cooperative supermarket, of which he was the manager. He would spend hours, sometimes days, going over the accounts to ensure the credit and debit sides of the ledger, the expenses and liabilities vs the income, to ensure that when the books were audited every penny was accounted for.  On occasion after posting the church funds, the postings did not balance with the money received. As hours passed by, unable to find the error he would take 10 cents or 25 cents, or whatever was needed, out of his pocket and added it to the account to make sure it was balanced. He taught me honesty.

Frugality – Not stinginess; not miserly; he was a giver who found a way to donate thousands of dollars to help scores of young people attending primary, secondary school or college. Many young people – relatives and strangers – spent months, sometimes years in our home because he, along with my Mom, wanted to provide them with an opportunity in life. He used his money wisely and pooled his resources to be used in the best way possible. Nothing was wasted.

• He collected scrap metal and wood he used in building and repairing.
• He would save his daily government stipend from his weekly trips on government business because he considered it additional income he could live without.
• For years, he accumulated property, paying month by month until paid off and gave everyone of his 9 children and two of his grandsons a plot of land.

Spirituality - He believed in God and what God could do for him. His parting words to us would always be, “Boy (Girl), stay close to the Lord!”  He believed in prayer, praying unceasingly for us his children and grandchildren. And of course, is there a person in Tobago who would not have heard the message he received in a dream. “Henry go tell everyone, ‘Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy!’” He missed no opportunity: maybe at a funeral or a wedding or on the inter-island ferry heading to Port of Spain, Trinidad. And before you brush off his dreams, vision, or intuition, let me share a personal story. After leaving the island shores to continue my education in the United States, my wife and I vowed that we were going to make it on our own, that Daddy had given enough. One day, with only about 50 cents in our possession and wondering where we were going to get the next meal and the baby diapers for our baby, we received a call. “Boy, I was thinking of you all, and I sent you something.” But the next day an envelope arrived in the mail with a generous gift to see us through until I could receive some money as a student worker at Andrews University. This was the age of snail mail. Long before I was in need, he mailed a check.

Mom (1922-2017)

And he believed in family. Though several of his children and grandchildren migrated to the United States, he did not miss the graduations or weddings of his children or grandchildren, until too feeble to travel.



And his optimism. He never thought he could fail at anything he did! He was a mighty man, a giant of a man – all 5ft. 5in. of him. How well we remember him singing one of his favorite ditties, “Things are getting better!” And hearing him repeat his favorite Bible verse from Isaiah 54:17: “No weapon that is formed against thee (me) shall prosper...” There was something about Dad that made you confident about life and that if you suffered any unfortunate situations or difficult times occurred, he was there to give you a hand; and at times we all needed it and received it.

For me, this world will be a very different place. Approaching his centennial year last year March, 2018, we all teased him with cricketing analogies: “Hold your crease, Dad!” “Keep your eyes on the ball!” “Don’t get run out!” “Get the century!” Well, he made it. But permit me to extend the analogy, but from a spiritual perspective. He batted well, made the century and is now retired to start his innings again when the Lord comes to take him home. He died on Good Friday, April 19, 2019 as the Sabbath began. Just like he had always done, he took a Sabbath rest to rise on a “Sunday” morning! That was his "Blessed Hope!" Take a break, Daddy! You batted well!

Why Lance Armstrong Cheated

First of all, full disclosure is required. I am an avid bike rider and cancer survivor.

The recent news story of interest has been the confession of Lance Armstrong to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) during his seven Tour de France victories from 1999 to 2005. Erythropoietin (EPO), testosterone, blood doping, and human growth hormone (hGH) were routinely used by Lance and his teams, as they prepared for and dominated European professional cycle races over much of the last decade. As I listened to the post-confession commentaries on radio and television, analysts were unanimous in their description and characterization of Mr. Armstrong as a liar, cheater, bully, and more. In his article, It’s all about the Lies, Rick Reilly stated, “I've been fooled (for 14 years) and I have been fooled before…I guess I should forgive him… But I'm not quite ready… Give me 14 years, maybe.” The scathing condemnation is appropriate for a man who broke the rules and over many years denied his involvement in cheating and drug use, while attempting to destroy the character, reputations, and financial livelihood of anyone who attempted to reveal the truth about his activities by lawsuits and verbal intimidation. In Lance’s attempt at contrition, “I deserve it and I cannot blame people who cannot forgive me for my actions. I alone am responsible.”


Cycling is a popular European sport. But in America the media cared little about it unless an American was winning races, as was Lance. Before him, there was a blip of publicity when Greg LeMond, the American from California, won three titles in 1986, 1989, and 1990 and the first American and non-European to win. Those of us who follow cycling (at least, European professional cycling) have believed for many years – that Lance Armstrong and his teammates were doping. In fact, most of the podium winners of the Grand Tours over the last 20 years or so have almost all tested positive and been suspended or admitted to drug use. His admission is simply confirmation of what many of us suspected or was whispered for many years. Only the naïve would believe otherwise. If there ever was a place where “everybody does it” appears to be a reasonable application, it was in cycling. So, the seeming surprise about the revelations of cheating appears to be either due to ignorance or naiveté by the news media about this sport noted for its corruption.

But there is another point to this post! The surprise is also noteworthy because I know why he doped. Here’s why! We are embedded in a culture of lying and cheating to get ahead. This is by no means an excuse for Lance’s behavior. (Don’t forget his bullying and Mafia-Don-like attack on his detractors.) The political season just ended revealed candidates – Presidential, Senatorial, and others, who blatantly lied day after day in speeches, ads, through their surrogates, and in character assassinations that would make the most audacious one blush. Anyone remembers the campaign manager who refused to allow “fact checkers” to control his candidate’s message? Anyone remembers the etch-a-sketch quote? Any one aware of the insider trading scandals and profiteering at all cost mentality that has brought our economy to its knees in recent years? Is anyone aware of the inundation of success-by-any-means-possible and academic dishonesty that pervade our nation’s colleges and universities? Is anyone following the apparent increase in the manipulation of scientific research simply to obtain more grant money and pad the resume? Is anyone following the shortcut and/or falsifying of biomedical research by multi-billion dollar biomedical corporations to produce drugs for profit while leaving the health and welfare of the infirmed at risk? Now, there have always been cheaters, and always will be. However, we live in an age where the goal to reach the top is regarded as the ultimate goal regardless of the many trampled at the bottom. American sports have been inundated with drug cheats – baseball, football, track and field. But when our so-called moral leaders – pastors, politicians and congressional hopefuls show little penchant for honesty, why do we expect any different from Lance?

So, why the apparent sudden surprise and vitriol about Lance? Am I making an excuse for Lance Armstrong’s behavior? No I am not! Not even his demonnstrably heroic efforts on behalf of cancer victims and establishing Livestrong get him off the hook. Let’s bring to light all the cheaters and liars. Let’s clean up our sports. Let’s not stand aside and accept politicians who play fast and loose with the truth in order to win a seat or manipulate public opinion whether they are on your side of the politcal spectrum or not. There is a difference between differences of opinion and bald face lying. And like Lance, there are a lot of confessions needed. But no sin is unforgivable and I am drawing attention to the axiom, “He that is without sin, cast the first stone…but go and sin no more.”