Opinion : Carter passes away at 100

This weekend President Jimmy Carter passed away at the age of 100. Now I have to admit I don't remember a lot about his presidency other than he was the son of a peanut farmer and his brother Billy promoted a beer. The latter was some kind of scandal back in the day.

His one-term presidency ended with the freeing of the Iranian hostages after 444 days. In an odd bit of family history, an aunt who was a Lt. Colonel served in the Air Force hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany where the hostages were flown upon their release, for treatment. As a soldier, she couldn't tell anyone that she was there with the hostages.

So while I don't remember a lot about Carter's presidency, the life he lived after his service in the White House was more important than probably his four years in the Oval Office.

I do remember this was the first presidency that caused a ruckus in our house a bit. Carter's claim to Christianity got my mom to vote for him, while my dad couldn't believe she did. That was my first intro into politics, well, that and chanting, "Nixon, Nixon he's our man, the government goes in the garbage can" when I was in fifth grand. I had no idea what that even meant, but it was fun to singsong as we walked from the old East school to Lincoln. I suppose like college kids do today chanting "from the river to the sea..." but hey, they are legal adults and should be a bit more educated.

President Carter taught Sunday school at his local church up until he was too ill to teach. Jimmy and his wife Rosalyn were probably most known for their work with Habitat For Humanity. They promoted and worked on the construction of several homes following his work in D.C. The organization gained in popularity thanks to their efforts.

The Carters didn't appear to be involved in any scandals.

He didn't have any kids that were into drugs or in dealings with foreign governments. His family didn't make bazillions from his political service. He seemed to be the last president who served and faded away into private life with no desire to benefit from his service. His kids didn't benefit with mega millions in the bank following their parent's service either. I'm guessing he might have been one of the poorer modern presidents when he died. I don't remember he and his wife cashing in on their service in the White House at all. There was no foundation with their name, and no golden tennis shoes being sold.

It seemed like they served, and went back home to Georgia. They finished their lives quietly just serving their fellow man.

If only politicians did that now. Maybe our current leaders should take a page from his book on serving.

There's no celebrating that he's passed away. It's always sad when a good man dies. Now granted, he doesn't get much credit for governing well, but there's more to life than that.

The Carters knew that. They came, they saw, they went back home. They lived and served and served and served.

RIP Mr, President.