Lillian's Son

I'm a huge fan of Jimmy Carter's. As far as I'm concerned, he's the bomb.

Although I shouldn't use the word bomb to describe him because he, like me, is a peacenik.

Do you remember years ago when his mom, Lillian, retired from being a nurse in a rural Georgia community? She could have done so many cool things since her son was a super star. But she signed up with the Peace Corps and spent two years in India.

The lesson that "there's always work to be done" wasn't lost on me.

Of course I didn't like waiting in those lines at the gas station in the 70s.

Most ex-presidents make a ton of money. This hasn't been Carter's goal. He used to make furniture in his workshop but since he made about one chair a year that wasn't real profitable.

Like many people, I've occasionally had difficulty articulating my beliefs - about my faith, social issues, government, etc. I don't like arguments and I don't like negative talk.

TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE FOR!

A couple of years ago I was getting ready for a long drive. A friend lent me Carter's book on tape, "Our Endangered Values." As he began talking I thought "That's exactly what I believe." Then I tried hard for the next eight hours to find something we disagreed on. It didn't happen.

When I got home I bought the book and read it carefully. We were together on every chapter. Trust me, this doesn't happen often.

Jimmy has a movie coming out. Oscar winning director Jonathan Demme made a documentary when Carter was publicizing his VERY controversial book on the middle east.

It's coming to main stream theaters. Look for it. You'll be a better person for seeing it whether you agree with him or not.