The New Year Begins

New Year's Day was, as I recall, a quiet day. Actually, I don't remember it very well. I don't remember going anywhere, and do remember listening to a TarHeels/Louisville MBB game on my Tunein Radio app, which the Heels lost. The morning of Jan 2nd, we had our retired clergy meeting at the Dummerston Church, and had a good discussion. Friday we had an odd situation. I had responded to an Internet offer and arranged with a roofing company to send appraisers to assess our roof and make an estimate on replacing it. The shingles are not leaking, but they are 25 years old. The appraisers never showed up, and never called to explain. Was the whole thing a scam? If so, what do they get out of it? We waited for them all afternoon. Friday evening, I led a Dummerston Church choir rehearsal for an anthem and Introit we were singing Sunday. There were only seven of us, including Mary Westbrook and me, but it went well and we sounded good on Sunday.

Jimmy Carter

I want to add my voice to those honoring Jimmy Carter on the occasion of his death at the age of 100 on Dec. 29th. I agree with those who regard his presidency as more effective than it was seen at the time. I think the Iranian hostage crisis and the failed attempt to rescue the hostages when a U.S. helicopter crashed, cast a pall over Carter's entire presidency, and was exploited by Reagan (who as I recall made a secret deal with the Iranians to wait until after Reagan was inaugerated to release the hostages). And his post-presidency work and accomplishments have been remarkable - uniquely so, I think. His honesty with the American people was highly commendable. But I also have a personal reason for speaking out. I met Jimmy Carter and visited with him. And believe it or not, that happened right here in Brattleboro. He made a campaign stop here in 1976. I don't remember if it was before the primary election (which was held on Town Meeting Day, March 2nd, my birthday!), or before the general election in November. The event was at what was then the Community College of Vermont building overlooking Putney Road up behind Fast Eddies (I think). Somewhere (I can't find it at the moment), I have an enlarged photo of me talking with Jimmy Carter. I knew the photographer and he gave me the print. I'm sure I must have shared with him my own roots in Georgia - my father was born and raised in Georgia and got both his Associate's Degree and Bachelor's Degree from Georgia colleges. (Young Harris and Piedmont). I guess a lot of Vermonters didn't quite know what to make of a Georgia peanut farmer as president, but I had no trouble with that. I did a little research and found that Vermont's response to Carter is a bit bewildering. He won the Democratic Primary in Vermont handily, getting 46% of the vote in a 4-person contest. But a few months later, when VT Democrats met to elect delegates to the National Democratic Convention, they sent only 3 out of 12 delegqtes committed to Carter. And in November, Republican Gerald Ford defeated Carter in every county in Vermont! There were individual municipalities that Carter won, e.g., in Windham County he won Putney (not surprisingly), but also Westminster, Ludlow and Marlboro (more surprisingly) and lost Brattleboro! He was a person of faith, but his faith was surprisingly nuanced, especially for someone who grew up in the Southern Baptist tradition. His fundamental belief was the supreme importance of doing good to others, and that he did, again and again. I hope I will be able to watch his funeral(s)- the one in the Washington National Cathedral is most likely to be broadcast, but I would like to see the one in his home church too. Rest in Peace, Jimmy!

President Jimmy Carter (1924-2024)