Jimmy Carter is in hospice care.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/18/jimmy-carter-hospice-care-health

I really, really wanted to meet him when my schooling was over.

I lead small group at our church, which used to be called Adult Sunday School.

Years ago you could sign up, show up and attend the Sunday School that he taught at his church.  I asked my small group how cool would it be to attend his class? Where else can you go hang out with a President?

The finest former president this country has ever had!  

Regardless of how you feel about how he governed, there can be little doubt about what a decent, good man he is.

That makes me sad. I have so many good memories involving him. 
 

I lived in Americus GA for about 15 years (next to Plains). Attended his Bible study many times. Crew leader on a house he built. Did some work in his home. Spent time hanging out with his Secret Service detail. 
 

My favorite memories of him were when he would come to town to buy wood for his woodworking projects. He'd hang out at the counter with the rest of us nobodies wearing Bibb overalls and chewing on straw. Couldn't tell him from any other farmer. The SS detail always looked completely out of place. They'd leave in 3 or 4 matching blacked out Suburbans, except 1 would have some lumber  sticking out the back. 
 

He's a great man. 

Probably the last great president. Been downhill ever since.

Pete

I think he used his "Former President" status better than any other Ex President to help the world , 

Can they make a run of Billie Beer so we can have a cold one in his honor ?

Reddit post pointed it out but the Onion.com really nailed they're list of presidential reviews.

"Thirty-ninth president of the United States, whose four years in office were somehow the least impressive of his entire life. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, prosperous farmer, nuclear engineer, reformist, and governor of Georgia prior to becoming president in 1977, Carter strangely hit the most pronounced lull in his career during his single term as the nation’s chief executive. While his presidency was marked by occasional successes such as the Camp David Accords, Carter’s professional life really took off again when he left office. In these years, he founded a human rights nonprofit that won him the Nobel Peace Prize, went on international diplomatic missions, and became the public face of Habitat for Humanity, worthy accomplishments that made his four years as president of the United States a blip in an otherwise distinguished lifetime of public service."

Thirty-ninth president of the United States, whose four years in office were somehow the least impressive of his entire life.

They sure nailed it with that one. That's a life anyone would be proud of. 

My grandfather was a Democrat serving in the House during Carter's term. Said he was a terrible leader because he thought he knew better than everyone in Congress...

...mostly because he did, but he made it clear that he cared about what was correct, not about anyone's ego, and that didn't win you friends in Washington.

He is the reason Americans can legally brew their own beer.

... and a former Submariner.

I had the pleasure of working with him on a Habitat project. Great man, the world needs more like him.

mad_machine said:

 Great man, the world needs more like him.

Sorry World... not gonna happen.

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

mad_machine said:

 Great man, the world needs more like him.

Sorry World... not gonna happen.

berkeley that. It's "NoT gOnNa HaPpEn" suddenly becomes real when you internalize it.

I don't know Jimmy. I've wanted to meet him for years, wanted to send him mail for years, and suddenly I'm finding that shoulda woulda coulda has bit me in the ass again. I've wanted to ask him for YEARS how to do what he does- how to actually make change, how to actually make a difference- But now I'm questioning that maybe the fact I waited so long to ask the man IS the reason I'm not making said change. 

So berkeley this "Not gonna happen" E36 M3. Jimmy wouldn't say that. Jimmy dared to believe in the inherent goodness in man, and now like Norman Borlaug there's an entire continent's worth of people who's lives he's touched and improved. 

I'm still gonna try to send that letter. And I think I'm gonna work harder, to stop thinking about all the good I can do.

President Carter's Navy service and philanthropy were very good. 
 

He would be far more fondly remembered had he never been president. 

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

Send the letter to Rosalynn.  He didn't do it without her!  He might be "out front" but she is there with him.    

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

That was intended to be a compliment to the former president. 

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

He touched and improved much more than just a single continent. 

tester (Forum Supporter) said:

President Carter's Navy service and philanthropy were very good. 
 

He would be far more fondly remembered had he never been president. 

I don't think anyone would have ever heard of him if he was never president. He'd just be a dirt farmer from south GA. 
 

I agree that his presidency was ineffective, but he used it to build all the amazing things he accomplished.

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

OH! My bad man. I'm just, so goddamn tired of doomers.

I'm really glad to hear the warmth and respect coming from y'all. Our lives shouldn't be defined by our failures. He wasn't always lovable. He could be sanctimonious at times. But he worked longer and harder at making this world a better place than almost anyone, and for that I am humbled and inspired.  

A great man.  We need more like him.   

When he was 95 he fell - at work the next day.  
 

The last guinea worm must be nervous. The Carter Center's work to eradicate it has been nothing short of amazing.

"it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you It's what you leave behind you when you go"

Jimmy's leaving a lot of good things behind.