Life of Wry

I’m not sure where I land on this picture, but I’m encouraging myself to appreciate it for the decency, dignity and history it represents.

It’s a difficult picture to look at because.. it’s just such a snapshot of life, of time passing, aging, torch passing. I think mostly it’s because Roselyn is so tiny and misshapen and slightly vacant. Aging is a force you’re not going to beat, and the 90s — if you get that far — are not a picnic. And holy cow, before you know it, you’ve shrunk and shriveled down to a fraction of your previous self. Aging’s a gift, too, of course: the chance to live so fully into one’s 90s, as the Carters most certainly have. So.. I can take it. But it was startling.

And that living room..

The oddness of this photo aside, I’m so moved by this picture — the kindness and respect the Bidens showed in visiting the Carters. Jimmy Carter seems not a president many past presidents care that much about, for whatever reasons. I feel good about a president who would go there.

Two very decent men.

Biden’s nearly twenty years younger than Carter, and, by comparison, at 78, looks like he could wrestle an alligator.

[Our 78-year-old neighbor came over this evening.. appeared at the door and announced she may have just had a stroke. I don’t want to change the subject here so I won’t go into what happened next, but will say that she, at 78, is incredibly feeble and slow moving… not nearly as mobile, alert, and engaged as our Joe!]

Here’s a photo from way back in the day, when Joe was a new Senator and Carter was pres. The time span between the two photos and all that’s transpired to bring us to today fascinates me:

Fun fact: Vicki and Leah were there, sitting on a curb along the motorcade’s route in Plains, GA. They didn’t see much (besides dozens of vehicle — two with flags — and tons of secret service), but they, too, showed up to show their respect.. for both the former president, and for the current president’s gesture.