My Mom, Jimmy Carter and Is the World on Fire?
Simple and Humble
In 2019, my mom, Bertha L Appleyard Magee, aged 95 at the time, fell and ended up with a horrific black eye—well most of the her face was bruised, if we are honest. Actually, the episode soon turned out to be a source of great pride for her, when she learned that Jimmy Carter took a similar stumble, on the very same day, ending up with a matching bruised eye. Each time someone would comment on her obvious injury, she would point out that she and President Carter were each sporting black eyes, so it was a special club indeed. She would emphasize that the falls occurred on the same day, and “you know, we are only a few months apart in age.” Yes, they were both born in 1924, and they had many things in common—beyond birth year and black eyes.
She loved Jimmy Carter, he was her favorite president. She had lived through a few American presidents, many whom she disparaged freely, and one in particular that she despised. I will try to avoid much further discussion of that one, but I will say my Mom was a pretty good judge of character. If it not been for CoVid, my mom would have made it to 100 also, of that I am certain.
My mom was not always the most sophisticated or “cool” person, which naturally, was a source sometimes of embarrassment for me when I was young. But as I made my own mistakes through adulthood, learning from most of them, I gained deep appreciation for her humility and her preference for all things humble, simple and unassuming. She lived in a care facility at the end of her time here, at a time when I happened to be working at a “luxury”, upscale retirement and care community. A colleague suggested I consider moving my mom to our care unit. I quickly shared what a bad idea that would be. “She would take one glance at the reception lobby and immediately have a long list ready of why she wouldn’t want to be there.” She would be just so uncomfortable in that kind of a setting. She was particular about cleanliness and having her surroundings organized and tidy, but forget elegance, luxury and any sort of uppityness. Posh was not for her, she was born in a sod house, and was proud of the fact.
This kind of humility and love of the common, simple life was expressed well through the life of Jimmy Carter. I won’t give all the examples, you’ve seen mention of them in this week’s coverage of his long life. It is easy to see why my mother liked him so much, they were of the same cloth in so many ways. I still have the “Plains Georgia Community Cookbook” that my Mom gave me for Christmas one year. She was such a fan of both the man, the president, and also of Rosalynn Carter.
Of course the timing of Carter’s passing in light of the current presidential transition is on my mind too, and I would so much love to sit and talk to my mom, a lifelong democrat, about all of it. She may have been a humble woman, but she was sharp and astute in world affairs and seeing truth’s—the hidden and the obvious.
A Yellowed old Newspaper
Something additionally synchronous occurred relative to this. I purchased some fragile items at a Goodwill store right before Christmas. When I got around to unpacking them just this week, I saw the old newspaper that was used as wrapping and protection. A full issue of the Topeka Capital-Journal dated January 22, 1981, two days after the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan, and one day after 52 Americans were released from Iranian captivity .
We have been reminded how instrumental Carter was in gaining the release of the hostages held by Iran, and how he was denied the opportunity to announce their release while he was still in office. Having seen similar political dance moves of late, it is so easy to see the patterns. Very clever, having hostages released one day after the inauguration, so very clever indeed.
Coming back around to the character of two people important to this story: my Mom and President Carter, the article makes special note of the degree of emotion in the room when Carter met privately with the 52 freed hostages. He was overtaken, the freed Americans were overtaken, and the photographer left the room. I don’t remember the day, but I am certain the events of that day helped solidify my Mom’s commitment to the Democratic party, her admiration of President Carter, and her often-voiced disdain of Reagan. As Joe Biden said at the services this week, Carter was exemplified by Character, Character, and Character. His preference for character over the kind of showmanship revealed in the timing of the hostage release is likely related to what are perceived as political failures and certainly to his leaving of politics for good.
The Tears; The Connections
So this week’s National Day of Mourning was significant for me—I watched the Memorial service on the behalf of my Mom, shedding tears for us both.
Tears are falling now for the victims of the Los Angeles fires and for the city itself. It is horrific beyond belief. The tears and the tragedy cannot be separated, in my mind, from the discussion of either my Mom’s life or the life and presidency of Jimmy Carter.
You see, in living a simple life (the opposite of living Large), care for the environment and awareness of human impacts on climate patterns and earth’s health are built in, natural to how life is lived. You drive and travel less (you are not so “important” that you have so many places to go, people to see), you consume less, you waste less.
When a president is wise and has foresight, he/she knows a few things about alternative energy, the connections of war, energy demand and the economy, and how to lift people out of poverty. A president of character can serve the dignity of people and nurture the economy at the same time. Such a president doesn’t look at the voting records of a state’s population before sending needed and urgent aid.
So it is all connected. We have lost a great leader-humanitarian, my mom is missing from my life and the voting booth, and the world is on fire because we forgot to stay humble.
Rhonda Magee