Commonwealth Club from San Francisco, San Jose, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that as the keeper and the rest of the world takes a lesson from Jimmy Carter on how to die–with acceptance and dignity; there is this time to dwell on how the peanut farmer from Plains taught us all how to live–with acceptance and dignity, and a whole lot more, like humility, compassion, humanitarianism and basic decency.
The keeper considers it one of the highlights of his newspaper career that he had the opportunity to spend 20 or so minutes, one-on-one with Jimmy talking about who had caught the biggest trout the previous year.
It was part of a three-day float down the Mississippi on the Delta Queen with Jimmy and Roselynn, when the keeper was one of three reporters on board. The event is covered in the keeper’s book “Treeson: an APOLOGIA to Trees,” and when the original story appeared, it resulted in the keeper receiving an official White House photo of himself and the Carters at the Delta Queen railing with press secretary Jody Powell off to the side. The photo is autographed by both Jimmy and Roselynn “With best wishes to a fellow fisherman, Bill Stokes.”
The photo hangs on the keeper’s office wall where he can see it every day. It will stay there until the keeper follows Jimmy up the big hill.
