The first paragraph of Jimmy Carter’s “A Remarkable Mother” starts off with a family history of which I had no knowledge about before starting this book. This trivia is, to borrow from his title, remarkable.
Bessie Lillian Gordy was born in Chattahoochee County, Georgia, the fifteenth day of August, 1898, and was one of the most extraordinary people I’ve ever known. She was the fourth of nine children, two of them adopted “double first cousins,” and was described in news reports as “third cousin of U.S. Senators Jesse Helms and Sam Nunn, fourth cousin of Elvis Presley, and mother of President Jimmy Carter.” We children thought this diverse heritage partially explained her interest in politics and showmanship, but not some of her other idiosyncrasies.
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 