During the football game yesterday, we got the news that Jimmy Carter passed away.

Jimmy Carter was the next-to-last president before I was old enough to vote. He was the second president I kind of remember, with Ford before him sticking in my memory because of an attempted assassination, and that he was made fun of for being clumsy.

I barely remember Carter as president, but I do remember high prices, gas supply problems, difficulty people had finding good jobs, and how the Iran Hostage Crisis unfolded to make Carter stand out as an apparently ineffective president.

I remember gas prices swelling, and long lines at the pumps, and tales of even-odd days to get gas in some places. It was before I was driving, so I was only aware of it because of the grumbles of the adults around me. Not just gas prices, but everything got more expensive, and it seemed no one was making any more money. I remember media and social studies current events news about high inflation and unemployment, which is a killer combination.

I'm sure lots of people blame him for those times, but as I've come to learn and believe, there's only so much a president can do, and when groups like OPEC change tactics and essentially rob the world, everything will turn bad in response. We were taught that in addition to having to deal with the economic difficulties, he was an advocate for the environment, had some success brokering peace between Israel and Egypt, and wanted to foster government reform and transparency after a long span of Republican leadership.

Because I was still in school, and it was all over the news, we also were made keenly aware of the Iran Hostage Crisis, as it lasted more than a year, and seemed poised to be the start of the next big war after Vietnam ended. I also recall the timed release on the day Reagan was sworn in to replace Carter. A bit more thumb to the nose against Carter, in part for his support of the ousted Shah Pahlavi, more than a bowing to Reagan's foreign policies. I'm sure the Iranian leadership was pretty much over the need for the hostages, and this timing turned out to be beneficial in both making their statement and getting out of the situation.

I don't know when I learned about Carter's reported UFO incident, but it's been a part of many UFO series since, and I think it's top-tier that someone so visible would admit and report that they had a sighting of something they couldn't identify. There aren't many real advancements, but the stories go that he was the first president who promised to open the UFO secrets, as have several presidents since. Some UFO projects and information collections have been made public, evidently by Carter and other presidents.

There was a story about Carter fending off a rabbit attack in a swamp that I mostly recall from comedy skits and routines, and I don't have any problem with someone perceiving a threat from any swamp creature.

I remember also some moments of media fame about his brother's beer, Billy Beer, even though it was before my beer drinking days. I learned since that this Carter signed the bill that legalized homebrewing, which is accepted at the point where microbrews and production craft beers became a reality that I have been able to enjoy. Those are things that make me go "really, that used to be illegal?" I can understand protective laws around making sure the brewing is done safely, and for ensuring that anything sold or given away has the same kind of health concerns of other food production and sales, but to be completely outlawed feels like something that the reversal of prohibition forgot to allow. Homebrewing beer is pretty safe and simple, requiring little more chemistry and ingredient care than baking a cake, although the fermenting is done under pressure.

Mostly I remember Carter for his post-presidency. He was a face for Habitat for Humanity and brought focus to other humanitarian needs. I only really remember him in the pictures and news around the collections of presidents moments, like funerals and inaugurations.

I do know Rosalynn passed a little more than a year ago, and while Jimmy was in hospice for nearly two years. He apparently said he wanted to live long enough to vote for Kamala Harris, and I'm sure there will be those that suggest the thought of another Trump presidency is what ultimately killed him.

He made it to 100, seemed to be a decent enough fella, and was dealt a tough time to try to be president, but didn't let it define him or turn him sour.