The peanut farmer President with a heart of gold.

What an anomaly—such a humble man became president of the USA. And what incredible work he did with his life and power after his presidency.

I (John here) had the good fortune of getting to meet Jimmy Carter and his wonderful wife Rosalynn (pronounced Rōsalynn, btw) in San Diego at the Del Coronado Hotel. They (and their substantial security detail) had come out to do a book tour and support the Carter Center, a non-profit that has successfully fought major healthcare problems and promoted peace worldwide.

With Jimmy and Rosalynn

I was running a company named Trikke Tech at the time, and President Carter’s son, John, reached out to me to let me know that his folks had taken to riding our fun fitness vehicles and that his dad wanted to see if I might like to go for a Trikke ride. As he said, “Mom and Dad love to ride them and Dad thought you might be able to get a little press out of it.”

When the President asks you to go for a ride, wouldn’t you say yes?

Which is what I did. So, When the date was finally set and all systems were go, I called my good friend, Bill Schlueter, who had helped me get the Trikke business off the ground, and asked if he could help arrange a little local press down in San Diego. He pulled it together; here’s the short news video below:

What struck me first about meeting Jimmy Carter was his unguarded and clear, blue eyes. At 87 years old, he had a completely kind and almost hypnotically intentional gaze. You could feel immediately that when he set his mind to something, it was going to get done. And his lovely wife Rosalynn was right there on the same page. With their secret service detail swirling around them on electric Trikkes, she was smiling, playful and a little bit sly. As we were talking about how much they loved riding Trikke, she said, “I like to go for a ride and come back home and jump in the pool!”

Fixin' the President and Rosalynn to take a ride

I wish I could have had the time to build homes with them for Habitat for Humanity. Or even more - to work with them to help the millions of the poorest people around the world get out from under the abuses of deadly diseases. The work that he and Rosalynn did is far too much to paraphrase – please read this article in the NY Times. Needless to say, he has done more impactful post-presidential work to help the poor around the world than any president in history.

Thank God for people like Jimmy Carter that do so much for others – especially for the least fortunate. He took his leg up and ran with it. Jimmy Carter is a model to follow for any person with extraordinary power. May we all find time and a way to help others in need.

Here now,