That Time My Wife and I Shook Hands with President Carter [View all]

I can't remember the year, but sometime in the 90s, my wife and I were flying back to California from Minneapolis. Our departure was delayed, because "A First Class passenger is being boarded." Annoying, but not very much. The plane took off and we settled into our in-flight routine.

About halfway through the flight, I noticed a couple of men in dark suits walking slowly down the aisle through the poor people's section of the plane. Hmm...I thought. "What the heck?" They walked back up the aisle, back into the forbidden First Class section. I shrugged. Whatever...

A couple of minutes later, the men in dark suits reappeared, followed by another man. I poked my wife, who was reading a book. "Jimmy Carter is walking through the cabin," I said. She looked up. "I'll be damned," she remarked.

We watched as the two Secret Service guys and President Carter made their way slowly through the cabin. Carter was speaking to and shaking hands with every passenger on the plane who wanted to shake his hand. Eventually, he made it back to our seats near the rear of the plane. He extended his hand to us. Kathy said something like, "It's a pleasure to meet you." I said, "Thank you for your service, sir." He smiled at everyone as he made contact with them.

That, apparently, was a common practice for our 39th President, whenever he flew on commercial airlines. He made a point to walk through the cabin to greet the rest of the passengers. Thinking about it, that was just like him. A genuinely nice man with great manners who recognized that shaking hands with a President is something most people never get to do.

It was nice to meet you, Mr. President. Thank you again for your service, sir!