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BlueIndyBlue

(96 posts)
11. I did the same thing!
Sat May 20, 2017, 09:43 PM
May 2017

I traveled to Georgia from Indy to hear his Sunday school message about two years ago. It was right before he announced the cancer diagnosis that he had received and the Charleston church massacre was the previous weekend. Unfortunately I wasn't able to arrive right before 10 am but more like 8 am. It was still fun though as we got a speech from one of the elders of the church. She told us how to address him (President Carter not Mr. President as there is only one of those at a time), topics he wouldn't discuss and when taking pictures with him we had to stand on either side of him and Mrs. Carter. She explained that they have never let anyone come between them for over (at that time) 70 years and they weren't going to start now.

He was very engaging and smart as a whip during his talk. I wish I had been old enough to have appreciated him when he was in office but I was just starting high school and not very interested in political things back then. I stayed for the pictures and as the only African-American there that day he made a special point of motioning me over and speaking to me. I was caught off guard and tongue tied and walked away thinking of a million things I wish I had said. Such a once in a lifetime experience. I highly recommend anyone that has the ability to go hear and see him. Also afterwards, take a tour of Plains. They have preserved the downtown as it was when he was elected. I also visited the Carter Library in Atlanta. It was totally fascinating to see all the history of the time.

One last travel tip, about an hour away from Plains is Warm Springs where FDR died. I veered off after leaving Plains and toured the grounds. They have a museum and have preserved the home exactly like it was on the day of his death. It is much smaller than I would have thought but is in a beautiful place. It is also a National Park Historic Site.

K&R...That's Great!!! spanone May 2017 #1
That is so totally cool! Thanks for sharing! skylucy May 2017 #2
That's awesome!! Amazing story! Docreed2003 May 2017 #3
O, MY LORD! How Wonder FULL! furtheradu May 2017 #4
Righteous is always good. Not when it's equated to religion. erronis May 2017 #9
I also love and respect the Carters, but Brainstormy May 2017 #16
Briefly, the lesson was from the 8th chapter of the book of Acts. Tanuki May 2017 #19
I met President Carter once. He has the most amazing eyes. Lochloosa May 2017 #5
This is amazing! Thank you for sharing it. nt LaydeeBug May 2017 #6
And to contrast....... MyOwnPeace May 2017 #7
I love Jimmy Carter. lucca18 May 2017 #8
Thank you for linking to the Carter Center. Their work is Tanuki May 2017 #18
thanks for such an upper of a thread rurallib May 2017 #10
I did the same thing! BlueIndyBlue May 2017 #11
I envy you . . . President Carter is the politician I became involved for . . . Imhavr never been Liberal In Red State May 2017 #12
what an amazing experience proud patriot May 2017 #13
About 18 yrs ago, spouse & I went to Plains as part of an Elderhostel group. No Vested Interest May 2017 #14
Lucky! Allow me to repeat, he is/was OUR GREATEST PRESIDENT. joanbarnes May 2017 #15
Thank you for sharing your story! CrispyQ May 2017 #17
Wow something to add to my bucket list dembotoz May 2017 #20
You should go if you can! Here is his schedule: Tanuki May 2017 #21
these date are a bit quick but thank you dembotoz May 2017 #22
Keep checking the website if you can't go that soon but are interested in going later. Tanuki May 2017 #25
thank you so much for sharing such a lovely day with us!! niyad May 2017 #23
got to meet him at a tech fair in Cairo years ago - my pic with him is one of my treasures DrDan May 2017 #24
What a great memory. n/t Paper Roses Feb 2023 #26
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