There’s a big storm brewing across the midwest and Washington is already bracing for the cold snows to come. Erin and I took Malia for breakfast and then shopping for groceries this morning and then said our goodbyes. Instead of getting to the Smithsonian museum as we had planned, we opted for a short stop at the Washington National Cathedral, where the winds were howling at the awesome bronze gates at the front doors and people were getting tours in the soaring nave.
Next Thursday, Jimmy Carter and his remarkable century of life and service will be honored in a state funeral at the cathedral.
Carter was the first president I was aware of as a child and I admired him then and throughout the decades. Soon after I moved to Hawaii, he was on a book tour and I waited in line at Ala Moana to buy a copy of his memoir, Turning Point. I’m holding it now and looking at his signature. A few years later, when he was promoting his book of poems, Always a Reckoning, and Other Poems, Erin and I went through the line at Booksellers in Beachwood. President Carter’s work on fair elections and global health inspired both our graduate studies in public health and medical journalism.
I wish I could be in Washington for the memorials to President Carter, but I’m glad to have stepped into the sacred space in which he will be remembered by this nation.
© Anton Zuiker