Watch Jason Carter's humorous, touching tribute to his grandfather at national funeral
There were multiple speakers at the National Funeral for former President Jimmy Carter on Thursday. Among them was one of his grandsons, Jason Carter, who is also a former Georgia state senator and Chairman of the Carter Presidential Center.
Here were some of the heartfelt and humorous parts of his speech:
"In my church, we sing a song that says 'From the moment that I wake up 'till I lay my head, I will sing of the goodness of God.' I don't know how many people in here can say that, I know I can't. But my grandfather certainly can. From the moment that he woke up until he laid his head, his life was a testament to the goodness of God."
"One of the best ways to demonstrate that they were regular folks is to take them by that home. First of all, it looks like they might have built it themselves. Second of all, my grandfather was likely to show up at the door in some 70's short-shorts and Crocs, and then you'd walk in the house and it was like thousands of other grandparents' houses all across the south: Fishing trophies on the wall, the refrigerator (of course) was papered with pictures of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, their main phone of course had a chord and was stuck to the wall in the kitchen like a museum piece, and demonstrating their Depression-era roots they had a rack next to the sink where they would hang ziplock bags to dry."
"Eventually, he did get a cell phone. One time, he called me sort of early on in that process...So I answered it of course and said 'Hey Papa' and he said 'Who's this?' I said 'This is Jason!' He said 'What are you doing?' I said 'I'm not doing anything you called me.' He said 'I didn't call you, I'm taking a picture.'"
"He preached an end to racial discrimination and an end to mass incarceration....He protected more land than any other president in history....He was a climate warrior....By the way, he cut the deficit, wanted to decriminalize marijuana, deregulated so many industries that he gave us cheap flights and craft beer. Basically, all of those years ago, he was the first millennial and he could make great playlists."
"Sometimes I feel and felt like I shared my grandfather with the world....But really, he shared the world with me. The power of an atom, the beauty and complexity of a south Georgia forest. When we fished, he celebrated the majesty of everything from the smallest minnow to that grand circulation of waters, and he shared this love with my boys."
Miguel Legoas is a Deep South Connect Team Reporter for Gannett/USA Today. Find him on X and Instagram @miguelegoas and email at mlegoas@gannett.com.