Former US President Carter passed away, often said he shares the same birthday as China's National Day

Former US President Jimmy Carter had one life but perhaps many lives' work, and they ended locally Monday, December 29, at age 100 – at his home in Georgia where he was often seen in recent years in a wheelchair while enjoying the fresh air and the company of his beloved cat, Panda.

Reportedly in declining health in recent years, Carter died surrounded by family members as the nation was fast approaching another potentially grim anniversary – the third year of its struggle and suffering amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The former president quietly passed away on another important, but often overlooked annual observation: the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the US. Carter, whose political career was defined by many disappointments and setbacks, was proud of that historic accomplishment, a policy decision he made 43 years ago after inheriting the negotiations from former US President Richard Nixon.

The modest man known for his simple ways – a peanut farmer's son who served his country with the sincerity of a Christian and a humanitarian – leaves behind a legacy for the ages that only those in history's rear-view mirror could truly appreciate. Carter was one of those Americans who was often underestimated, or so it seemed during his tumultuous presidency, which was defined as much by his personality as he was a product of his times. He was a small-town Southerner who tried to be a progressive, presidential and yet ordinary – "Just a country boy trying to make a way in the world," is how he would often introduce himself to strangers. He was many things to his many friends who would tell you, "That man truly lived and loved a great life!"

The Carter family farm and its humble legacy was what often defined the former commander-in-chief. It's where this son of a prominent businessman learned the virtues of hard work, tolerance, and compassion while laboring alongside the family's African-American workers and later proudly served in the US Navy, including on the USS Wyoming and USS Kearsarge aircraft carrier, a time in his life he always cherished as a young, ambitious US Navy officer. It's no wonder why the soft-spoken Georgian would be remembered as a president who often went out of his way, even as a former president, to help a fellow man in need. His faith in God was perhaps the only constant in this life.

In his book, "Jimmy Carter: A Man Called a Leader," authors Jimmy Piersall and William Seng observe, "Carter's faith was with him, his faith carried him through life's tragedies and disappointments, and that same faith carried him when he fell from national prominence…Jimmy lived out his life's mission in a way that made many proud, and his friends proud to know such an honorable, decent and compassionate man."

In another book, "A Good And Faithful Servant: A Life of Jimmy Carter," Douglas Brinkley reminds us in his conclusion about Carter, "[The former president] became one of the most widely admired and respected American statesmen of the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Carter, as it turned out, was in exile to nowhere."

In recent years, Carter was regularly spotted around his neighborhood in Plains, Georgia, where the locals treated him with love and fondness, calling him "Jimmy." But to some who lived through the Carter presidency, those same words – "just Jimmy" or "Jimmy, not President Carter," were an insult and a reminder of his failed presidency.

Carter – the small-town politician, who often seemed out of his league and temperament in the nation's capital – is often criticized by scholars and many Americans who lived and experienced the angst of his administration as one of this country's worst presidents and perhaps one with a lack of a vision of the American people. The man who always claimed he would be a president for all people was often regarded by some as a "weak" and ineffective leader.

Even in hindsight and history, it's been a tough sell for many Americans. According to an Economist survey of US historians in 2018, Carter ranked 27 out of 42 US presidents and tied with John Adams as the "worst" president in modern times; former President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to Carter as the country's "worst" president. The former president from Georgia did not have many political admirers or heroes – and he made that clear many times during his presidency and afterwards, but he did share a special bond with former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat for helping broker a peace deal that helped bring a fragile end to decades-long Middle East wars and hostility involving Israel and Arab states (Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his decades-long efforts, which continues today as former President Carter, as a private citizen, helped resolve conflicts in the Horn of Africa and Haiti). His most memorable "good neighbor" friendships, however, were with many leaders and people from the Asian continent – especially from China and Indonesia (the Carter's were long-time admirers of Indonesia's "Father of the Nation" and First Republic President Sukarno) – which is ironic coming from a man who is remembered as the "Accidental President" and a man whose "Southern Strategy" during his 1976 US Presidential campaign failed to bring any Southern state on Election Day. Carter's only "accidental friend" while President was arguably former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson, a Democrat from Texas, one of the many conservative Southern US states that turned its back on its son from Georgia, who was ironically born and raised on land given to his father by a former Confederate Army soldier, a reminder of the region's dark past of racism and segregation.

It would turn out the Georgia boy's best friends were also Asian. Carter's closest bond – perhaps "best friend" – while still a sitting US President was to the People's Republic of China – a friendship that began with a phone call between former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and Carter in December 1978 that would change not only Carter's political legacy, but that of China, too, which was emerging from the shadow of the Cultural Revolution.

One month following the historic phone call, on January 1, 1979, Carter was back on the global stage, this time to announce to a worldwide television audience that the US would recognize the People's Republic of China – an official US policy that finally made Carter a "world leader" in the view of many Americans. China quickly became Carter's good neighbor. A year later, former Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping visited the "Friendship Welcoming House," where Carter entertained world leaders – and one of them became a good friend, Carter said of the man who would help change the course of history in Asia.

Carter may be remembered as an accidental US statesman, but as a private citizen, he became a true "World Citizen" – an international humanitarian, peacemaker, and activist for human rights who often helped people in war, crisis, and strife. He did this for more than four decades, long after he served in elective office or any formal government service – a true statesman in America and abroad.

In a tribute released by the Carter Center, former President Bill Clinton said, "It was an honor to call Jimmy my friend, and it will be a continuing comfort to know that, though he no longer walks among us, it was he who showed us the way. And for all we have achieved over the past 43 years, we will miss the guidance of the man who taught us to keep faith with ourselves and one another."

Carter had many friends across the Pacific Ocean, in a country where time-honored customs are held in high-regard for elders who make it to age 100. They are known as "hua jiu," or "Flower Age," which are often times to be celebrated with many gifts, including flowers, which are given to people at "Flower Age," as Carter was. Earlier this month in Plains, Georgia, Carter was treated to a tribute to his life by four F-18 fighter jets, escorted by vintage B-25 bombers, which roared over his farm on his birthday, October 1, which is also National Pumpkin Day, according to "The Old Farmer's Almanac" – and Carter was quite fond of sweet and sticky pumpkin pies and other treats. The planes came from the nearby Georgia National Guard base, along with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and some former Georgia governors who attended. Among the gifts and well-wishes from across the globe that "Grandpa Jimmy" had – a term of endearment from China's "Panda King" (Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter always cherished a special bond with the world's favorite Asian giant panda – especially the pandas that were given by China as diplomatic gifts over the last 50 years!) – a letter from a Chinese girl whose family received assistance from the Carter Center to eradicate Guinea Worm, an often-deadly disease in Africa that had afflicted many. There were letters from former Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. Chinese Ambassador to the US, Qin Gang, said in a statement upon Carter's passing, "The Chinese people will always remember his contributions to the growth of China-US relations…The Chinese Embassy in the US will, following Xi's wishes, always keep in touch and continue cooperation with the Carter Center, hoping to carry forward and advance the China-US friendship initiated and cultivated by our elders." And there were many gifts, including flowers, from China.

According to reports, the Carter's home in Plains became a "gift shop" and a "flower market" of sorts. And just as his beloved pandas do, Carter often shared these gifts to people and good friends at a small local hospital, in neighboring Georgia communities, and other charities. He lived a modest yet meaningful life, with simple pleasures of good books, gardening, fishing, cooking, reading, and writing – and of course, being with family. That was Jimmy Carter – a man whose life was filled with simple joy that many of us will never experience. But we could learn from him – and many do on a daily basis – especially his message of love, hope, and friendship to the world. He may indeed be a man who lived many lifetimes – and his good deeds in a good life never ended until the end of his good days on earth.

Now Carter will be with his good friend and partner for 73 years, former US First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who passed away almost 18 months ago, as he embarks on his final good journey. In 2020, President Carter said about his good wife, "We have shared the joys and sorrows of a long happy journey, and we are thankful for a life, together and separately, which has so far been good and faithful."

The good times for Carter are now over as he makes that great trip to heaven, with many "Flower Friends," perhaps including former Chinese premier Deng, who will welcome him in his Flower Heaven. "Flower Friends," by the way to many, are friends worth cherishing until the last flower fades.