Today was the 21st annual Plains Peanut Festival and Parade and besides Mr. Peanut and Buddy McNutty the guest of honor was former President Jimmy Carter. Every year the script is pretty much the same. In the morning Carter gives out the trophies for the winners of a 5K race, at 11:00 am Cater and a crowd of several thousand reviews the Parade from the Plains Historic Inn. Next, the 39th President and Rosalynn, his accomplished partner of 71 years, signs books (limit 5) at the old Billy Carter service station. In between there are rides for the kids and lots of food and vendors. Plains is sort of a real life Mayberry. The biggest employer in town, besides the old Carter Peanut Warehouse, is the National Park Service which maintains two excellent museums and has restored Carter’s boyhood farm in nearby Archery, GA.
At. 6:00 PM the Carter’s attended a banquet held by the Carter Political Items Collectors followed by a dance in downtown Plains. The featured speaker at the banquet was Sir Simon Burns, a UK Member of Parliament who traveled from London to honor Carter “and his legacy of Peace and Human Rights.” How’s that for a schedule for a couple, both now over 90. Carter will turn 93 on October 1. Early tomorrow morning much of the crowd will stay over to attend Carter’s “Sunday School” at Marinatha Baptist Church. I’ll get up at 5:30 AM to make sure I have a seat at church.
For me, the most memorable moment of the day was right before the parade when much of the crowd spontaniously serenaded Carter by singing Happy Birthday. Also, during the four hours or so when I attended the festival, I never heard the curse words “Donald Trump.” At least for today, Plains was a Trump free zone.
Anyway, Y’all should consider traveling to Plains sometime and nearby Americus, home of Habitat for Humanity and thier global village. The Peanut Festival is always on the third weekend in September. Bobby Kennedy once said that it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness. The Grateful Dead sang that “this darkness got to give.” Plains is just the sort of place that makes one proud to be an American again even in the dark ages of Trump.