Looking Back

When I was a freshman in high school, a simple man from Plains, Georgia was running for President. Of course, I was not old enough to vote, but our school held a mock election, where everyone could get involved and campaign for the person they thought would make the next best President. From the moment that Jimmy Carter started running for office, I was impressed with him. I was impressed with the fact that he seemed like "the man next door" and he seemed to actually have strong, genuine feelings about making this great nation of ours a better place to live. He impressed me so much that I even wrote a letter to him and told him that if I was old enough to cast a vote, I would give him my vote. I wished him luck in the campaign and said that I hoped to see him taking the Oath of Office for President of the United States. A few weeks later, I actually received a letter from Jimmy Carter, along with an autographed picture. He thanked me for my support. I remember on election night sitting in front of the television set waiting for updates on the votes, and eventually, it was declared that Jimmy Carter would indeed be the next President. I was very happy. To my surprise, as the Innauguration neared, I came home from school one day to find an actual invitation to the Presidential Inauguration of Jimmy Carter! I could not believe it! Somehow (I think my dad was the culprit), the town paper found out about my invitation, and came to the house for an interview and I made the front page of the Marion Star!! In the next couple of weeks, we started to make plans to attend the festivities in Washington, D.C. I thought the day would never come, but after many sleepless nights, we were on our way to the Capital! My parents and I got to meet with our Congressman, who, by the way, even invited us to stay at his home during our stay. My parents declined, but looking back, I thought about what an honor that was. Instead, we stayed at a very nice Holiday Inn in Maryland, and commuted into Washinton for the Innaugural events. We even got to see Martin Luther King, Sr. give a speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. My father, with map in hand, directed mom and I to all the various activities, and seeing Jimmy Carter sworn in as President was one of the greatest moments of my life! We even had an invitation to go to the Presidential Innaugural Ball, but we didn't attend that. Instead, we headed back to the hotel and watched that on television. The way I look at it, I was part of history. I got to watch Jimmy and Rosalyn walk the parade route and wave to everyone, I got to watch him be sworn in as President of the United States. It's a memory I will never forget. My parents and I had such a wonderful time, and I know that financially, we probably couldn't afford this trip, but I think that they knew that this indeed was part of history, so they did everything they had to to make it all happen! That's how my mom and dad were. Their famous saying was "robbing Peter to pay Paul", and I'm sure that's what happened in order for this trip to take place! Thanks, mom and dad!

Until next time..........

p.s. On an unrelated note, check out my brother's blog, entitled Leaving Nadderby. It's worth checking out!