A Noble Man
It was nearing the end of November, 2005 when I called Michael and told him that I was going to be standing in blustery freezing cold temperatures outside the Sugarhouse Barnes and Noble awaiting to meet President Jimmy Carter. Security requested that lines to meet the former President be constructed outside the building and not within.
I recall Michael’s voice as empathetic, a tone of concern for withstanding wintery conditions in less optimal clothing, but my only concerns were those of the children and their well-being. Michael was the perfect person for them to be with. He would feed and bathe them while I waited for my turn to enter the building.
Still bald from a year of chemotherapy and radiation, I wore a newly knitted thick wool cap upon my head to retain whatever heat I could conjure up. I didn’t mind any inconveniences. I knew the books I would purchase and get autographed and was excited to give them away as Christmas presents for family members. 2005 was a tricky year for our family. Spending the majority of it in and out of hospitals, I was just pleased to be out and about in a rather celebratory holiday mood.
What’s a little frozen rain accompanied by a chilly wind factor when I could meet a former President of the United States?
I had just started my sophomore year at Woodrow Wilson High School when Jimmy Carter became President in 1977. I remember thinking that, although I cannot yet vote (I was just 16 years old at the time), he was the first President that I took a genuine interest in.
I can remember Billy Beer and the jeering Jimmy Carter received for the sake of silly antics his older brother Billy conducted.
I can remember Lillian Carter, Jimmy’s mother, and her honorable nursing occupation. President Carter always cared and protected her.
But mostly I remember Amy Carter. She was just 9, almost 10 years old when her dad was elected and was one of the few who shared a childhood under the roof of the White House.
ALSO, I had HEARD that Pure Prairie League’s song “Amie” was written for her.
Hmmmm ….
Probably not.
I did, however, appreciate the fact that she and I shared the proper spelling of our first name. (Unlike the spelling of Pure Prairie League’s version)
In the end, it would be President Carter’s legacy that I would honor the most.
By now, you have probably read everything there is to read about our longest living President; his charity work, his visionary work for energy efficiency, and his ability to bring individuals together for the sake of creating peaceful nations.
His greatest work came after his Presidency.
“How is Rosalyn doing?”
I asked President Carter as I shook his hand.
“Oh, she’s doing well, really well. She’s home now.”
He made eye contact with me and then fervently signed 6 books that I had purchased.
“Thank you for your service, sir.”
I was hustled along when he had finished.
“Thank you for coming,”
he commented back while extending his hand for the next person in line.
The motorcade was wild with expediency and efficiency. His 80-year old body moved with ease as they hurried him along for his next stop. The secret service would stay with him for another 20 years and for a total of 43 years since his Presidency.
His life would never return to complete solitary, but rather, he would stand for and with many communities
in solidarity.
In his book Our Endangered Values (2005) he wrote,
“As the year 2000 approached, I was invited to speak at the major forum and asked to address this question “What is the world‘s greatest challenge in the new millennium?“ It was an interesting assignment, and I replied, with little doubt, that the greatest challenge we face is the growing chasm between the rich and the poor people on earth. There is not only a great disparity between the two but the gap is steadily widening at the beginning of the last century. The 10 richest countries were nine times wealthier than the 10 poorest ones. In 1960 the ratio was 30:1. At the beginning of this century average income per person in the 20 richest nations was $27,591 and in the poorest nations only $211 a ratio of 131:1!”
Also
“What are some of the other attributes of a superpower? Once again, they might very well mirror those of a person. These would include a demonstrable commitment to truth, justice, peace, freedom, humility, human rights, generosity, and the upholding of other moral values.
“In achieving all these goals, our great country should strive in every practical way to cooperate with other nations, most of which share the same fundamental Ideals. There is an unprecedented opportunity as we enter this new millennium to use our unequal influence wisely and with a generous Spirit.”
As Tiny Tim would say at the end of A Christmas Carol “God Bless Us Everyone!”
Blessings for this new year in honoring Carter’s legacy.
