The night Jimmy Carter slept over at my house

KINGSTON, ONT.—So, how do you prepare for a U.S. presidential sleepover at your house? I’ve been getting that question a lot since the Carter Center announced that Jimmy Carter, age 98, has chosen hospice care as he faces his final journey. The answer to the question is simple: you clean. And then you clean again. After that, you clean some more. At least that’s what my wife, Alison Bogle, and I did as we got ready in November of 2012 to host former U.S. president Carter and past first lady, Rosalynn Carter (and the Secret Service) here in Kingston, Ont. The distinguished couple, who are my heroes and whom I’ve known for some years, came to town to receive joint-honorary degrees from Queen’s University. When their trip here was confirmed, I telephoned former president Carter and invited him and Mrs. Carter to stay with us. He readily agreed and so our adventure began. In extending the offer of a place to stay, I informed president Carter there were rules he’d have to abide by while at our home: The dress code would be jeans only. He and Mrs. Carter would choose the time for dinner. And, he’d have to plant a ceremonial tree in my garden. With a chuckle, the 39th president agreed to the terms. On my end, I gave him some important assurances. We would have Ontario ice-wine available. (The Carters love this uniquely Canadian product and I always bring a bottle for them when I visit them in Plains, Georgia). He wouldn’t be asked to sign autographs. And, perhaps most importantly, their stay with us would be as low-key as possible. What this really meant was Alison and I would not allow any “big shots” from the university to be on hand. In other words, the Carters could just be themselves. Jimmy Carter's card to Arthur Milnes and his wife Alison Bogle, who hosted the Carters at their Kingston home in 2012 when the Carters received honorary degrees from Queen's University. Image courtesy of Arthur Milnes President Carter liked that. The visit seems a blur to me now. But there are some memories of their time with us I will never forget. The first involved my late mother, Connie Milnes, of Scarborough, Ont. She had first sparked my interest in the Carters (“Jimmy Carter is a good and decent man,” she always said when he was in the White House), it meant a lot to me to tell him of mom’s admiration for him. Mom, joined by my father, also repeated said they felt very safe during those Cold War days knowing it was Carter, a man of peace and conviction, who had his proverbial finger on the button. Sitting around my fireplace with the former president, I told him what mom and dad had shared with me about him. He responded with a gentle smile, and then there was silence. Mrs. Carter then spoke up. “Art,” she said, “that’s how I felt, too.” Over dinner, I also told my hero and friend that he reminded me of Herbert Hoover. “I’ve been called a lot of things,” he replied, laughing, “but never before have I been compared to Hoover!” So I told him the story of the time, towards the end of his life, that Hoover, also a one-term president, was asked by a reporter how it felt that in the twilight of his life that so many Americans—even Democrats— now praised him. “What is your secret, Mr. President?” the reporter asked. “I outlived the bastards,” Hoover said. Now, I have seen Jimmy Carter’s toothy smile of his many times, but never as bright as it did that night in Kingston. Another memory involves Canadian actor Dan Aykroyd, the former star from Saturday Night Live, who famously impersonated president Carter on the show during the latter’s White House years. Aykroyd lives just north of Kingston much of the year and ahead of the Carters coming to town, I invited him to send along a bottle of his famous wine for the couple to enjoy at dinner. So, Dan sent a case, and it arrived at my house a few hours before the Carters’ arrival. “Mr. President,” I said that night, “you should know that Dan Aykroyd has provided the wine for you and Mrs. Carter.” “Dan Aykroyd? From SNL?” Carter replied. “Yes, Mr. President, that Dan Ackroyd. He lives here,” I said. President Carter then offered up his million-watt smile once again and raised his glass. “I’ve earned this one!” he said, adding that Dan’s impersonations of him had been pretty good. At 5 a.m. the next morning, I heard the water running. Once a farmer, always a farmer, I thought to myself as I headed into the kitchen to put on the coffee. We spoke for a long time in my kitchen. Then president Carter asked me if I minded if he took a walk through my backyard and garden. “Of course,” I replied, “and I would feel honoured if you’d allow me to join you.” So, we went for a walk. And I thought then, as I do now today with the news Jimmy Carter is on his final journey, how privileged I am to have called the peacemaker-president my friend. Kingston’s Arthur Milnes is the author of 2022’s 98 Reasons to Thank Jimmy Carter, published to mark the former president’s 98th birthday last October. A journalist, political speechwriter and public historian, Milnes has been writing for The Hill Times since the early 1990s. The Hill Times