Following the shady corruption of power in the Nixon administration, the American people were ready for a newcomer outside the beltway of Washington, D. C. In walked Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter (1924 -2024), a peanut farmer from Plains who was a Sunday School teacher in a Baptist church, a man with a reputation for honesty and integrity. He was just the recipe needed in the 1976 election after the Watergate years.
I had followed and admired Jimmy Carter even before his run for governor of Georgia in 1970 so I was hopeful for what his administration could accomplish from the White House. Alas, being an outsider in Washington must be much more difficult than I thought; for Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter it was a mountain too high to climb. The many good measures he accomplished including the Camp David Accords were often lost in the rhetoric surrounding the hostages in Iran that were released on the day Ronald Reagan took office at the end of Carter’s one term.
Jimmy Carter was only 56 years old when he left the Oval Office for his home in Plains, Georgia, in 1981. He remained a constant voice for the poor and disenfranchised from his post-presidency bully pulpit throughout his life. In 2002 Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his open resistance to the War in Iraq in addition to his countless contributions toward creating and preserving democracy around the world. The Carter Center in Atlanta has been a model for presidential libraries, a thriving institution whose motto is “Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope.”
During the last years President Carter not only wrote thirty books but also found a passion for painting. Pretty and I are always grateful for the Christmas cards we have received every year from Rosalyn and Jimmy Carter, and we are particularly happy whenever the cards are works of art by the former president.
2023 Christmas card from the Carter Center was this self-portrait
One of my favorite memories of President Carter took place in his hometown of Plains when Pretty and I were part of a tour group sponsored by the Carter Center in 2002. We were running late for our lunch with the group, had picked up our plates at the buffet, and had begun to select our food when I heard a voice behind me say, do you have plans to sit with anyone? I turned to see Jimmy Carter in line behind me and almost fainted. Rosalyn and I would like for you two to join us at our table. We sat down beside them, and I immediately became mute. Pretty, on the other hand, carried the day with her entertaining chatter with President and Mrs. Carter as we dined on fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and delicious desserts. I think I was finally able to speak but made an inane remark that was unremarkable. Jimmy and Rosalyn sharing fried chicken with Pretty and me – they couldn’t have been more gracious, more engaged. I remember wondering how many dignitaries had eaten fried chicken with them at a White House state dinner.
Rosalyn and Jimmy Carter working together on Carter Center project
I find it difficult to say goodbye to former President James E. Carter, Jr. He has been a part of my political consciousness for the past fifty-five years – more than two-thirds of my life. He was an uncommon man, flawed like the rest of us, but someone who came from a tiny town in Georgia to tackle the world’s problems from his unique position in American life.
Rest in the peace that passes all understanding, Mr. President. You earned it.
I'll Call It Like I See It 
Comments
17 responses to “Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope: the President from Plains”
That is such a moving story Sheila. I got a little emotional.
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Losing Jimmy Carter is an emotional time.
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What an incredible experience.! He’s always going to be a shining example of decency, love for our fellow man and kindness.
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Thank you for your comment. A wonderful example of a life well lived.
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What an amazing encounter. Yet seems so typical of the man. A giant.
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That’s exactly what we thought. So typical of the man. And Rosalyn, too. She couldn’t have been nicer. I really was in awe during the moment. Felt surreal. And yet, there we were.
And now here we are saying goodbye one last time.
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A giant. Good description. Thank you very much.
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Sheila, I wouldn’t have been able to speak either. I probably would’ve lost my appetite too, even though fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn are the food of gods!!! I’m sorry for I know you truly admired the Carters. It’s almost like the final goodbye to that Greatest Generation. He did earn eternal rest.
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Ann, you would have done much better than I did!! I know you could have had a bite of two of the home cooking!!
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a really remarkable man. Such a shame things were stacked against him in office. The world did better from him in his many years afterwards. Thank you Jimmy. And how lucky were you to meet them!
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Yes!!! At the end of the day we had a barbecue and then square dancing on Main Street of Plains. It was such fun to see them dance together – they really were genuinely nice people and could cut a rug, as we say in Texas!
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Cut a rug! Must remember that one.
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Yes! File that one away!
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That is such an adorable portrait of him, isn’t it? Think of it, he had a WHOLE LIFE after he left the presidency. How amazing is that?
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Jimmy and Rosalyn offer a glimmer of hope to those of us who struggle to do more than just hang around! They were amazing.
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Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So true. Please tell me I’m not the only person who remembers her name being pronounced Rose-Lynn or if your ear is discerning Rose-uh-Lynn. It’s driving me crazy that the world has forgotten that. I am assuming she ended up going with the flow?
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Absolutely! She did go with the flow. When he spoke about her, I got the Rose part down, but not sure if he added the “uh” or if he said it without it. I’ve always thought I heard Rosealynn, but I wouldn’t bet on it!! I hear a lot of people call her Rahsalynn, but that’s not what Jimmy called her. We were so lucky to have met them in that setting. We visited Plains several times, but that was the only time with the tour group. It’s Carter Country.
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