The last shall be first
I first saw President Jimmy Carter when he attended the World’s Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. Later, I did business in Leslie, Georgia, near Plains. My wife and I decided to see Carter speak at his church. I mentioned to the business associate that we were coming for our anniversary. After going through security at the church, we took a seat near the back. A person said, “Are you Dan Kirk?” I said, “Yes.” She said, “You come with me.” “Shall I bring my wife?” “Yes.” We were moved up to the front row. Moments later, we were a few feet from Carter giving his lesson. We had our picture taken with Carter and his wife, Rosalynn.
On Sunday, while I was serving with Rotary to those with food insecurity, my wife sent a text saying, “Jimmy Carter died.” I thought he would approve of what I was doing right then.
DANIEL F. KIRK, KENNESAW
A great man
Sunday marked the death of a great man. Former President Jimmy Carter lived through the Great Depression and the Second World War, and served a submariner during the early years of the Cold War. He was the devoted husband for 77 years of his beloved Rosalynn of 77 years, who preceded him in death by a year.
Carter was a tireless advocate for human rights and free and fair elections around the globe. He labored to provide the simple dignity of shelter, something that most of us take for granted. He worked on the behalf of “the least of us” as a man of a deeply held — and lived — Christian faith.
As he is honored for his patriotism and long public service, I think he will be most remembered for being a great moral leader, something that is sorely needed in this ethically -challenged age. He lived and died by the light of truth, which would have been remarkable had he never achieved prominence. He was a mensch; and as the bard wrote, we “shall never look upon his like again.”
ERIC RADACK, SANTA FE, N.M.
More than a president
Whether Jimmy Carter, whom we lost Sunday after a sublime century of life and service to our nation, was a good president will be hashed over by historians and in memes along rigid partisan lines.
Whatever the case, Carter, who was governor of Georgia when I lived there as a child and whom my sister served as a page, was much more than a good or bad president: He was a good man.
I know that rings hollow in today’s acidic age of gotcha politics and the rationale of “the unlawful ends justify the means,” but after leaving the White House, Carter expanded his legacy to include humanitarian efforts that earned him a Nobel Peace Prize.
Carter, a fellow Navy veteran, rolled up his sleeves building homes for the disadvantaged; many of his political colleagues, past and present, rolled theirs up before punching down.
VIN MORABITO, SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA
