Richard Hyatt: Jimmy Carter will fight cancer and 'never lose his dignity'

When I went to see him for the first time in the summer of 1974, Jimmy Carter was sprawled on the floor in his sock feet sorting through record albums ranging from Frank Sinatra to the Allman Brothers.

He invited me to sit down and said he would be finished in a minute.

This was a man who wanted to be president of the United States, and he looked anything but presidential. He was expecting a reporter and a photographer, and he had on a pair of faded Levis and had thrown aside a pair of scuffed up work boots. From the kitchen we heard the sound of Rosalynn Carter washing dishes.

Since then, I've seen him in many settings. I saw him shake hands with shoemakers in a New Hampshire factory. I saw him walk our first astronaut through a Sumter County peanut field. I saw him hug his mama on the platform of the train depot in Plains, hours after he was elected our 39th president. I shivered in the cold as he took the oath of office on Inauguration Day. I saw pride in his face as he talked about receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. I watched him greet Cher at the White House and sing "Amazing Grace" with Willie Nelson. I have listened to him teach Sunday School and pose for pictures with every

tourist that stayed for church.

Over the past 40 years, I have written thousands of words about Jimmy Carter and some of my stories he didn't appreciate one bit. We're older now, and I am still filing reports.

I was finishing a meal at church when the Rev. Jimmy Elder added Carter to the Wednesday night prayer list. I checked my phone and found out about the diagnosis of cancer.

My first thoughts weren't about Anwar Sadat getting off a chopper in Plains or Air Force One landing at Fort Benning. I remembered going to his house, the one where he lived when he and Rosalynn reared their children. I remember that his number was listed and that he answered the phone himself. I remember that when our interview was done, he walked us to the car himself. He issued a statement about his health this week, and it had to be cancer. His parents, Earl and Lillian, died of cancer and so did his siblings, Ruth, Billy and Gloria. At the age of 90, the disease finally turned to Jimmy.

He'll fight it. He'll get the best of help and never lose his dignity. When treatments are done, he'll come home to Woodland Drive. He'll put on his jeans, kick off his boots and listen to music while Rosalynn putters around in the kitchen.

It may not be presidential, but that is Jimmy Carter.

Richard Hyatt is an independent correspondent. Reach him at hyatt31906@knology.net.

This story was originally published August 13, 2015 at 10:23 PM with the headline "Richard Hyatt: Jimmy Carter will fight cancer and 'never lose his dignity' ."