History

  Setting aside any political  feelings I have to say I'm opposed to all this displaying of the presidents body. Jimmy Carter, peanut farmer, naval officer, president and man of faith is someone to be admired. I didn't always agree with his politics, that's true enough but that doesn't define his character. You know you really have to give recognition to those worthy of that, even when you disagree. He was president from 1977 to 1981, a time while I was in the Navy. I wasn't paying a whole of attention to what he was doing to be honest about it. Something about SALT and the Camp David accords. His brother Billy was selling beer. 

  So I won't attempt any discussion of his abilities as the commander in chief. I'm sure he did his best and what he truly felt was right. I do not question his integrity. Perhaps all his work after his presidency was a form of atonement in his eyes, I cant say for certain, but he did a whole lot of good. Does the motivation matter? That's another topic of discussion for another day. When he was president I was under thirty years old, just a youngster. History will judge Carter and all the others and the opinion will change with the historians recording that. At the moment Carter is being hailed as a heroic figure and justly so, he just died. You don't speak ill of the dead. 

  The thing that bothers me is this tradition of hauling the presidents body around the country. It all just comes of like a side show to me. I get the "lying in state" tradition to give the nation an opportunity to grieve and pay their last respects. Perhaps that is a part of the cost of celebrity, and the president is as much a celebrity as any entertainer. I do believe they should have a choice about that however. If their last wished were to forgo that and have a private service that should be honored. I haven't heard exactly what Carters wishes were. All I hear about is his body being displayed here and there, then the capitol and then a private service in Georgia. Maybe that is his wish but I sure wouldn't want my body dragged around the country like that. In fact, I'm going for cremation. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. I don't want anyone looking at me while I'm dead saying, he looks good. I won't look good, I will be dead. Heck I don't look that good alive. 

  It will eleven days after his death when he is laid to rest beside his wife. That's an appropriate phrase, laid to rest, what with all the traveling he has done. That will begin tomorrow and end on the ninth. Jimmy Carter lived to one hundred years old. It was a good long life. A one term president that will become just another name in the history books. He had four children which I haven't heard anything about over the years. The number of grandchildren he has is also unknown to me. Someone has to be in control of all of this and the management of his legacy. I expect that can be a burden to his family. My family will have no such worries! Before his passing if you asked anyone under the age of say twenty five or so who was Jimmy Carter, I expect many wouldn't have had a clue. 

  Since my birth ten presidents have passed away, Kennedy was, of course, assassinated. He is the first I remember anything about. I was ten years old at the time. Strange I don't remember hearing about Truman in 1972 or Eisenhower in 1969. LBJ in 1973. I do remember Nixon, Ford, Bush and now Carter. That means 21.7% of all the presidents we have had died in my lifetime thus far. There have only been 46 you know. Seems like there should be more. Hoover, Truman and Ike all seem like historical figures to me, just names in the history book. All three were alive after my birth. Ike I knew as a general but FDR as a president. That's how history recorded them for me. Hoover and Truman? Don't know much about those guys at all. Will Carter be remembered? Only history knows that answer.