A column on wellness should not only feature suggestions on how to live a better life: physically, emotionally, perhaps even spiritually. It should also showcase exemplary lives — proof of what it means to live well and at its core, BE well.
We fondly call him“The Cardinal†— a name that belies that fact that he has been happily married (to Dolores Sackermann) for 68 years with a brood of five children, nine grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Yet this term of endearment is ever so appropriate for the reverence and admiration for which he is viewed. Always engaged and charming at the youthful age of 91, he attends a neighborhood Mass daily. Armed with a gentleman’s cane and a constant smile, he could give Sean Connery a run for his money any day.
For those of us who have been lucky enough to know him, Julian Carmona is truly exceptional…. although I daresay that he may cease speaking to me (and his daughter Minnie) after this article is published for his humility is just as disarming as his trademark smile.
The Cardinal was born in Iloilo in 1922 with wanderlust. After high school, his insatiable desire to see the world and all it had to offer found him enrolled as a merchant marine to earn money for college. A few years later, he was at La Salle after doing exactly that. But six months into his studies, the war broke out and the Japanese occupation set in. Undaunted, Julian weathered the storms of hardship and proved resilient and enterprising. His career found him at the helm of companies such as Shriro Philippines, California Manufacturing Corporation (CMC), both in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, and then later on head of all Asia for the Corn Products Corporation in Hong Kong (mother company of CMC).
Equally dedicated to his family’s well-being — with an emphasis on the importance of education, Julian kept them closely-knit and constantly loved. Truly admired by many of his colleagues for his commitment and example as well as being known in all circles as the quintessential gentleman, he later retired to a quiet life in San Francisco.
However, his “quiet†retirement proved to be short-lived. Enduring a heart bypass in 1991, his family was convinced he was granted a second life, but as fate would have it, 11 years later he was given a third. On his 80th year, a car accident left him with 17 fractured ribs, one month in ICU and one month in rehab to learn to walk again. Now, another 11 years after, we find him in Manila (no driving allowed) faced with other health conditions but limited by none — still strong in body and as for his spirit, capable of running a full marathon.
Sounds inspiring at 91 years old, doesn’t it? But where is the proof of wellness? Aye, there’s the rub….
It’s not so much what happens to you in life as what you do with what happens. As his son says, “Dad turns lemons into lemonade.†If you actually listen to his story and then listen to him, you will never detect a scintilla of hardship but rather always, always an overflow of humor and of optimism. I guess that’s what happens when you make it a habit to do the best that you can and surrender all else to your God. Yet this absolute surrender is also tempered with absolute dedication to moderation, balance, and discipline.
At sunset, on a regular day, you will find Julian enjoying a glass of red wine (or two) in his living room, watching as a blue sky turns crimson. Almost looking like the “Godfather,†he will undoubtedly claim his treasure as being family and friends — making him wealthy beyond compare. You will find him equally engaged with an accomplished contemporary as he would a 16-year-old neighbor as she ponders what career path to take. He speaks to old couples and young ones and when asked the secret to his almost seven-decade marriage, he nonchalantly whispers, “Just stay alive.†How simply wonderful can that be?
He will enjoy an excellent meal with all the trimmings but will head down to the gym for his treadmill time with equal gusto. He will be the first to come at Mass and the last at the Communion line and in between, sitting devoutly in the middle pew ready to give a sermon just in case… and such wisdom he could genuinely share. But true to form, he will just smile, tap you on the shoulder and if you’re lucky, he’ll let loose an all-knowing wink — almost as if to say all is well. You are well. I know God is watching.
There is so much to say about his joie de vivre — the joy for life — but even more to say about all the love in his life. Here is a man who has managed to live each day in complete clarity and with an amazing courage — not because he knows all the answers but rather because he’s certain that in the end all questions will be answered, that there is nothing to fear and everything to love.
It is this that makes Julian Carmona special. It is this that draws so many to him like moths to a flame for Light is always special.
I asked his daughter Minnie if she had a magic wand and could give him any gift, what would it be? “Perpetual good health and life,†she exclaims.
To live forever…. something that many wish for themselves but something very few wish for other people.
In this generation, in a world of rock stars, for those that know him at 91 years young — only the Cardinal rules.
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E-mail: tcbautista@arkeology.org.