On Jimmy Carter

I plucked President Carter’s The Virtues of Aging off the library shelf and since I’m midlife refitting, I took it home. My mother always said, “It’s hell to get old.”, why not work to attach some grace to the concept? Let’s see what old Jimmy has to say. 

The President

There’s a photograph of me, wearing my favorite orange tight rib mock turtleneck, blowing out four birthday candles. That very same day, James Earl Carter Jr. was elected President of the United States. He’s the first president I have actual memories of, and most of those were because his daughter is also named Amy. My young mind felt famous by proxy. She even wore glasses! Other than that, I paid little attention to what was going on. I suppose I saw the lines of cars at the pumps on the news, but the story behind it never sank in, it wasn’t something I experienced. Admittedly, though he isn’t considered to have been that good of a president, anyone who decreased imported oil barrels while tripling federal wilderness lands and installing roof solar panels in the late 70s has his head and heart in the right place. Before it even registered, he had left the big white house and I didn’t think much about him for many years. 

Peace from Plains

If I’m talking truth, I hardly knew much past the popular tales, the hostage crisis, the rock and roll president, Habitat for Humanity. It wasn’t until I watched Jonathan Demme’s documentary “Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains.” that I fell in love with the man. Authenticity is hard to come by in any egomaniac that aspires to the presidency, and he seemed genuine. More relevant than ever, the film follows the book tour he did for Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. I learned about his role in the Camp David Accords, his Nobel Peace Prize.  I watched people stand in line to have him sign books, showering him with appreciation and honoring his courage.

Aging

I admired him out there throwing hammers for Habitat for Humanity, building houses past 90 years old. I’ve been saying it for a decade now, I might cry when Jimmy Carter dies.  Now I’m sure the man’s got flaws like anybody, but in the last eight years especially, it’s nice to feel like there’s still someone out there with integrity.  He’s not flashy, he lives in his same old house in Plains, GA, celebrated his double-diamond anniversary with Rosalynn. I thought sure he wouldn’t last the year out after the love of his long life died, but no, still alive.  At 99 he’s probably holding out for the centenarian chip.  Every time he’s trending, I, like many others, have heart failure thinking that this is the time, but no, still ticking. 

The Virtues of Aging turned out to be a nice little book. Valuable, yet predictable advice: use your body, use your brain. It’s got some useful information on a host of senior volunteer organizations. He talks about his role models, he talks about the difference between getting older and growing old. This man published that book in 1998 at 73 and has managed to live a quarter century more, amazing. Clearly he’s doing something right. In 2016 he published A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety, still going strong celebrating the aging process. I’ve got a good while to go to even attempt walking the longevity road that Jimmy’s shoes have trod. Keep active, keep healthy, most importantly keep engaging with life.