Man, oh, man! The day had finally arrived. There I was standing in the middle of the sitting area of the Plains Antique Mall, hands nervously clasped behind my back, eyes glued to the door.

I remember the first time I ever saw him — it was on television, and we were sitting in the living room of our home in Murphy, Texas. There he was, as big as life, a peanut farmer from Georgia, a former Governor, running for President of the United States.

In the mind of a seven-year-old, there were no thoughts of the momentous occasion it would be for him to win, especially being seen as the underdog. All I could see was, my dad was from Georgia, my grandparents lived in Georgia and my grandpa grew peanuts. Jimmy Carter was “our” President because of “our” Georgia ties.

It wasn’t until a few years later, after moving to Georgia, that I realized true the statement of him being “our” President was. A surprise visit with my Mom to Plains, to see where President Carter lived, worked, went to school, where his mother lived, the gas station where his brother worked and of course, campaign headquarters was exciting for the almost 10-year-old I was.

When I joined the staff of the Americus Times-Recorder, I never dreamed that I would get to meet the man who had been “our” President.

People in this community talk of President Carter as if he is a friend, a neighbor, an old classmate, and just Plains’ ol’ Jimmy Carter.

Saturday morning, the girl who dreamed of becoming a “Lois Lane” journalist, who dreamed of meeting a President (especially Carter), stood watching the former President get out of the van, and be ushered into the very store I was standing in.

His smile, the pearly white grin for which he is famous, appeared, and his hand was outstretched. My first thought was to stand there and wait for him to greet whomever it was he was looking at.

Then I realized, it was me.

Sitting across from him, asking questions of the former President concerning small-town life, and what he felt like the appeal was for those “city folk” who flock to the small, rural communities, watching his eyes light up with genuine happiness when his wife Rosalynn popped in on her way to do an errand, all I could think about was, how much I was going to owe my bosses for allowing me to represent the newspaper in this interview and how to keep me voice from going up four or five octaves.

When the former first lady explained that she and other members of their home church delivered food every month to those in need in the community, an image popped in my head.

I thought of the other women in Americus, Ellaville and Andersonville who went with their churches to deliver food and do good for those in need. Except for the title of former first lady, Rosalynn Carter was no different than the rest. Her gentleness, her kind words regarding articles in this newspaper, and her sweet concern over her husband’s upcoming schedule reminded me of another mother or two, another wife or two, that I have seen.

And when the President’s ears and eyes perked up at the mention of home baked banana bread, I knew I liked him even more.

Former President Jimmy Carter likes banana bread.

I like banana bread.

I bet most of you like banana bread, too.

When he spoke of his godmother’s preparing a meal for him during our interview, his face brightened as he said, “I remember, she used to punch a hole in the center of a big slice of bread, and she would break an egg and fry it in there on both sides, and it was delicious.”

How many of you have had a similar reaction to a special recipe that an aunt, a grandmother or a mother cooked for you?

Could it be that he is just Plains’ ol’ Jimmy Carter after all?

Yeah, he is.

Two days later, listening to the taped interview for the 400th time, it is a little weird to think that the man who lives down the street, behind the metal gate and rides with Secret Service men, was a former President of the United States.

And he lives right here in rural Southwest Georgia!



Becky Holland is news and education editor of the Americus Times-Recorder. She can be reached via e-mail at becky.holland@gaflnews.com or by phone at 924-2751.