Jimmy Carter’s hometown touch
Every week, a small crowd gathers at a church in Plains, Ga., for a special Sunday school class, said Mary Ann Anderson in The Washington Post. The teacher: Jimmy Carter, former president of the United States. Carter’s rural hometown (pop. 776) offers a variety of attractions related to its most famous native son. While there, I visited Carter’s boyhood farm, the museum located in his former school, the gas station that his brother, Billy, once ran, and the old depot that served as Carter campaign headquarters. But the highlight was getting to see the man himself, teaching a Bible lesson at Maranatha Baptist Church. Before settling into our pews, about 75 of us passed through a security check. Then former First Lady Rosalynn Carter entered, followed by her husband. The former president spoke to us like old friends, occasionally “flashing a charismatic million-watt smile.” Had he not become a politician, “he would have made a fine preacher.”
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