Diamond Nine-Patch

I wasn’t old enough to vote for Jimmy Carter in 1976, but if I was I wouldn’t have. In fact, I voted against him four years later and celebrated when he lost. Between his claim to have seen a UFO and consulting his preteen daughter about nuclear weapons policy, Carter was in my opinion not our most dignified president. But his behavior after leaving office has really impressed me. When he and Rosalyn left the White House, they moved back into the little one-story brick ranch house they built in Plains, Georgia in 1961. They’re still there. (Compare that with the Obamas’ $5.3 million digs.) For more than 30 years he’s been a staunch supporter of Habitat for Humanity – not just writing checks, but wielding hammers. This year he leased ten acres to build a solar farm that will supply more than half his home town’s energy needs.