September 10, 2017 – I’ve been kissed by a President. Yup. You read that correctly.

After high school graduation and before attending college, I didn’t have a summer job. I tried to enjoy those last free days before leaving home. That summer of 1971, I volunteered to help my county’s Chamber of Commerce participate in the STAY AND SEE GEORGIA campaign. The Georgia Department of Industry, Trade, and Tourism planned celebration activities at Lenox Square Mall (which in 1971 was an open air mall with breezeways connecting the stores). They planned to bring together partners in Georgia’s tourism industry to showcase Georgia’s assets and spread a message of “Stay and See Georgia.” Don’t spend your travel dollars elsewhere. With 159 counties to choose among, they wanted travelers to stay and see what Georgia offered.

The campaign was one week long and several of us YOUNG GIRLS manned the booth for our county. We wore our high school’s matching cheerleading outfits so we would all look uniformed. The uniform top was a solid red vest with an Oxford cloth white Peter Pan collared shirt, which the length of the sleeves came to our elbow. We had on white knee socks with still-in-my-closet Bass Saddle Oxford shoes. The knee socks had a tassel at the fold at the top. The skirt was mighty short. It was only as long as your fingertips by your side. The uniform had a red and black pleated plaid skirt for our school colors.

Our county’s only treasure which we promoted was a Roman Catholic Church. Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Monastery belonged to the world-wide Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, or more commonly known as Trappists. This tourist attraction had individuals of all faiths flock to the monastery. The Monastery is sustained through The Abbey Store, a stained glass manufacturing business, a bonsai garden plant and supply business, donations, a green cemetery, and onsite retreats. One can experience this serenity of restful recollection and spiritual renewal retreat on the 2,100 acres for a day, or as long as a week.

Later, in October, 1990, a Conyers, Georgia homemaker by the name of Nancy Fowler claimed that the Virgin Mary appeared and instructed her to relay Mary’s message to all citizens of the United States. The directive ranged from admonitions to prayers to warnings of war. The Virgin’s supposed visits made Conyers one of the longest-lived Marian apparition sites in the nation. Roads going to Mrs. Fowler’s home were clogged with pilgrims yearning to hear Mary’s message. Crowds as large at 80,000 were not uncommon and Fowler had to broadcast her messages over loudspeakers. The overflow of people finally expanded from her yard to her next door pasture. There they prayed in their native tongues (English, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese), filled bottles with water from the Blessed Well, and they opened a bookstore, they even made and sold their own bumper stickers at the store that read, “Eat, Drink, and See Mary!” Not really. But the bumper stickers did exist.

Local government official became wary of the traffic, health, and safety problems and the Archdiocese of Atlanta became concerned that these unconfirmed visions might distract from the true faith. After 1998, pilgrimages to Conyers became less frequent.

 But in 1971, we finished our week chatting with buyers at the mall and handing out brochures of information. It came to a climax when the Governor’s Mansion held a reception for all participants. They feted us to munchies and punch for our week of hard work. We also stood in the receiving line to meet and thank our host and hostess, the Georgia governor and his wife.

Telling my aunt about our upcoming reception, she mentioned we were related (in the South we call it kin) to Jimmy Carter. While in line, I approached the couple. I shook Rosalyn’s hand first and then when I was in front of the Governor, I said, “My aunt researched our family tree and found out we are cousins.” I moved on to the next person to shake his hand. From my peripheral vision, I saw Jimmy Carter leaning in closer to me and then he planted a big kiss on my cheek and said, “I always kiss my cousins!”

Telling this story years later in the 1990’s to a classroom full of high school students, I prefaced my story with “I have been kissed by a President.”

Their response? “Who was it? Bill Clinton?”