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The AIH transcript for December 30, 2024

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PETER ARMSTRONG: Hello, I'm Peter Armstrong, sitting in for Nil Köksal.

CHRIS HOWDEN: Good evening, I'm Chris Howden. This is As It Happens.

[theme]

CH: Tonight:

PA: Building a legacy. The late Jimmy Carter was a president, peacemaker and peanut farmer. But our guest hopes he's being remembered for his humanitarian work, including bringing Habitat for Humanity to global prominence.

CH: Raising a glass. A Georgia man tells us about his family's particular friendship with the former president who launched his campaign for governor in the bar they owned.

PA: In his own words. When Solomon Ratt was sent to residential school, he was told to forget his culture and language. Instead, he kept his mother's stories close and wrote his own as well.

CH: Turning a page. Tonight, we'll revisit Nil's conversation with the educator and author about how reading and writing helped him heal and reconnect with his Cree identity.

PA: Getting a bad unwrap. A Toronto artist has figured out a remarkable way to re-gift people's worst presents: put them on display at the Museum of Bad Gifts.

CH: And...Brain freeze. New research suggests that our minds don't actually work quite as well as you might expect. In fact, they're much, much slower than you might hope.

CH: As It Happens, the Monday edition. Radio that's always ready with the quick synapses.

Part 1: Carter Obit: Habitat For Humanity, Carter Obit: Bar Owner, Bad Gifts Museum

Carter Obit: Habitat For Humanity

Guest: Rob DeRocker

CH: It's rare that most Americans agree on anything. But U.S. President Joe Biden spoke for the majority in his country when he said "we would all do well to try to be a little more like Jimmy Carter." Mr. Carter was the Georgia peanut farmer who became the president of the United States, and the U.S. navy submarine officer who spent his post-presidency fighting for peace. He died yesterday; he was 100 years old. In 1978, while he was in the White House, his efforts to secure a peace in the Middle East stunned the world. Here is Jimmy Carter announcing the Camp David accords, that saw Israel and Egypt agree to end their decades-long state of war.

SOUNDCLIP

JIMMY CARTER: When we first arrived at Camp David, the first thing upon which we agreed was to ask the people of the world to pray that our negotiations would be successful. Those prayers have been answered far beyond any expectations. One of the agreements that President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin are signing tonight is entitled A Framework for Peace in the Middle East.

[clapping]

CH: Jimmy Carter's accomplishments as president are a subject of debate in the United States. But his efforts to foster peace and human rights after leaving the White House made a global impression. Enduring images show the former President swinging a hammer and hoisting a two-by-four for the non-profit group Habitat for Humanity. Over the years, President Carter would help to build more than four thousand homes. And it all began with a project in Manhattan in 1984 -- a project run by Rob DeRocker. We reached Mr. DeRocker in Sleepy Hollow, NY.

PA: Rob, how would you describe your first meeting with Jimmy Carter?

ROB DEROCKER: Well, I was 25 years old. I had never met anyone of that stature before. And my instructions were to meet him at the Waldorf Astoria Presidential Suite. It was as if someone had taken a vacuum cleaner hose, and stuck it in my mouth, and pulled out all the moisture. [PA chuckles] I was so nervous.

PA: Yeah, I bet.

RD: And, but then I kind of kicked it in. And I, there's a famous restaurant here called Juniors here in New York that makes spectacular cheesecake. And so, I bought three of them, and I presented them to him and said, this one's for you and Mrs. President. I didn't even know what to call her. And I said, this one's for your appointment secretary. And I said, this third one is for these, these fellows, for taking such great care of you. [PA chuckles] And I nodded to the burly Secret Service people. And he was very gracious, of course, and said, well, thank you, Rob. Thank you very much. That's very nice. But you know, Peter, you can read somebody's bubble thoughts.

PA: Right.

RD: And I'm sure his were am I in New York City? This was the hokiest thing I've ever experienced in my life. [PA chuckles] But he was very kind. And then we got, we got in the car with the Secret Service to go from the Upper East Side where the Waldorf-Astoria was to the Lower East Side, which at the time had the highest homicide rate in the city.

PA: Yeah, I think it's worth just sort of signaling that because it, like when people think of the Lower East Side today, they think of a pretty gentrified area. Can you just like when you got him into that neighborhood, just describe what he was able to see from there.

RD: Well, there was the place, the neighborhood had largely been arson out. And, you know, landlords had set fire to their buildings because they were not getting enough to meet the rent rolls. And it was, you know, abandoned building after abandoned building and empty lot after empty lot. And, you know, the primary enterprise was narcotics.

PA: You took him there to the Lower East Side to show him a building you were converting into housing. What was it like to sort of go from, as you say, the Waldorf Astoria to this place with him and how did he react?

RD: What really moved him was when we went into the building, we went up to the roof of the building. The junkies had taken out the marble slabs of the building and sold them. And so, the day before, we had to put up a temporary wooden staircase so we could get to the roof. And we get up there, and he looks one way south and sees the World Trade Center and Wall Street and all that it represented, and then looks north and sees midtown Manhattan and all that it represents -- the power and the money. And then he looks in the backyard of the building, this rubble-strewn lot, and he sees an elderly woman cooking her breakfast over an open fire. And that was because she had no heat or gas in the buildings, in her building.

PA: Wow.

RD: So, that moved him. And he would later write about it along the lines of, you know, here in the richest city, in the richest country on Earth, we, we have this.

PA: Right.

RD: And so, when we got out of the street, and he was getting in his, into his car, much to the relief of the Secret Service, he turned to me and he said, Rob, Millard Fuller is my boss. Millard Fuller was the founder of Habitat for Humanity down in Georgia. And he said, if there's any way I can help you here, just let him know. Well, you know, what do you say when a former leader of the free world says, let me know how I can help? I didn't know what to say. [PA chuckles] And so, I just kind of blurted out, well, you know, thanks, Mr. President. Maybe, maybe you can send some volunteer carpenters from your church. And he said, we'll think about it. Thought about it for a day, called Millard Fuller and said that not only was he going to send some carpenters, he was going to be one of the carpenters. And that changed everything. So they came about four or five months later and Habitat became an instant, you know, it became instantly on the, on the global stage.

PA: And, you know, he's become famous now as the guy swinging a hammer, like actually out there doing the work. What was he like to work with?

RD: Humility is the word that comes to mind right away. You know, he slept in, on a bunk in dormitories in the church that I was attending in Hell's Kitchen. And with, with five other guys in that dormitory. And one day, we took the subway to work. One day, we ran down to the project. And when people said, you know what, what should we call you? He said, Jimmy. So, he was, he was humble and also had a good sense of humor. There was one point at which a member of your fourth estate during a presser said, well, how is it like being a former vice president? [PA winces] And he said, well, you know, never having been a vice president, [PA chuckles] I really can't tell you. And then he turned away with a wry smile and he said it shows how fleeting fame is. But then I also saw his intensity. He would do the press, the pressers because he knew what it would mean for Habitat. But he really wanted to get back into the building and do the work. And so, here you had a guy who had been carrying the nuclear football just 39 years, 39 months prior to that. And now, he's down on his hands and knees in a slum on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, hammering plywood onto a floor.

PA: I wonder, just in closing, what you think your experience should tell us about Jimmy Carter's role in the world and about, you know, the legacy he leaves behind?

RD: You know, you get different opinions about his presidency. I don't think there's any question that he's been the best ex-president, former president, that the United States has ever had. And Carter is in his own stratosphere in that regard. So, you know, I appreciate the chance to do this, if only to honour this remarkable man.

PA: Well, we appreciate the chance to hear all these great stories. So, thanks for this. Really appreciate it.

RD: Happy New Year.

CH: Rob DeRocker was the founding executive director of Habitat for Humanity in New York. We reached him in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

[cold into next story, no music]

Carter Obit: Bar Owner

Guest: Brian Maloof

CH: Last night, patrons at Manuel's Tavern in Atlanta raised a glass to remember Mr. Carter's time in the Oval Office -- but also his time in Manuel's Tavern. The former president launched his campaign for governor in that bar in 1970. And he spent many a night there in the years since. Brian Maloof is the owner of Manuel's Tavern. We reached him in Jasper, Georgia.

PA: Brian, what's the mood like in Manuel's Tavern today?

BRIAN MALOOF: It's sad. President Carter is a source of tremendous pride in the state of Georgia. He's been involved in so many things outside of his presidency that have benefited the state, the city, the community, the neighborhood. And to have him pass away has left a big void for a lot of people.

PA: There was something of a celebration there last night at the bar, glasses raised in his honour. You weren't there, but what did people tell you about how it went?

BM: So I spoke to several people this morning that were there last night, and they talked about how touching it was. So many wonderful stories about President Carter and his visits to the tavern and what it's meant to all of them individually. It's a big loss.

PA: Now, you were there, of course, for countless other Jimmy Carter visits to the bar. How did Manuel's Tavern become his kind of watering hole in the first place?

BM: My father opened Manuel's Tavern in 1956 and was always involved in politics. And eventually, he became a politician. And then that led to him being the head of the Democratic Party for the state of Georgia. But along that path, President Carter was serving in the Georgia state legislator, and Dad and him met and established a friendship. And when President Carter was running for governor of the state of Georgia, he announced that he was doing that at my father's restaurant, which I now own.

PA: Just describe the, both the bar, but also the atmosphere at Manuel's.

BM: So, it's incredibly humble. It's the least pretentious place you would ever go. It's like a blue-collar hangout that a lot of CEOs like to come into. You could be, and I've seen this, I've actually seen this, governor of the state of Georgia, Roy Barnes, sitting at the bar next to a plumber.

PA: Right. [chuckling]

BM: And it's fantastic. Even opposing politicians come there to meet to work out issues. And there's actually a lot of things that get accomplished at the tables at Manuel's Tavern. When they talk about that, that smoking room that, you know, all these decisions are made, that's kind of what we are.

PA: I mean, it says as much about you and your family and your bar as it does about Jimmy Carter, doesn't it?

BM: I think it does. We don't want anything fancy, but we do want things to be right. My father did a lot of local politics, and his big thing was to make sure that the water comes through the faucet, the trash gets picked up and the crime is low. And that is my job as the commissioner of this county, which is what my father had. And President Carter's opinion or philosophy, I think was very similar. It was just like, treat people decently, see if we can unite folks that have differences and see if we can move the country forward.

PA: And it must be an amazing day to try to patch together all these old memories of President Carter, Governor Carter, of, you know, customer, friend of your business. What memories stand out to you today?

BM: I think what I was always, always impressed by was when he did come in, it didn't matter daytime, nighttime, didn't matter what the circumstance was. When he came in, all the customers stopped, and they stood up to pay respect.

PA: Oh wow.

BM: It was really, really neat to see that. And he didn't expect it. He wasn't working the room. He was just politely going through and shaking hands and saying hello. It was, it was wonderful to say.

PA: Did I read somewhere that he spent a couple of New Year's Eves at your bar?

BM: He, we got a call from the Carter Center, I want to say it was about six, seven years ago maybe. The whole family, the whole Carter family, was trying to get together for New Year's Eve. And of all the places in the entire state of Georgia they could have gone, called us, which was just phenomenal. Now, I know it had a lot to do with the fact that we were incredibly convenient. But also, they could have gone anywhere they wanted to, and they came to us. And it just makes you feel good inside. And it spoke volumes to the character of the family and, and who they are.

PA: He wrote you a letter in 2004, sharing his condolences after your father died. Would you tell us what the letter said?

BM: He acknowledged, you know, the friendship that he had with my father, and that my dad was very special to him, and what he did for President Carter and his run for president. My dad took a group from Georgia, went to Ohio, and did some, you know, real intense groundwork campaigning. And President Carter felt like that a big part of his victory was attributed to my father. And he acknowledged that. You know, it is pretty amazing to read that in a letter. And he was very sad to see my dad go. And, and he wished me all the best, and knew that we would be successful. I hate to see him go. So.

PA: I bet.

BM: You're getting me a little choked up, Peter. [chuckling]

PA: I bet. I can hear it. And it's real on a day like today, isn't it?

BM: It is. It's, it's a sad day for us. It's, yeah, he was just a great man. And, and, you know, the news coverage here locally is just nonstop, and it brings up a whole bunch of memories. You know, when, when my time comes, I would love to have just a small percentage of the accolades that President Carter has. It's, it's just phenomenal.

PA: You know, we've been watching all that same coverage. How do you think you'll remember him?

BM: I think I'm just going to remember him as an incredibly humble, wonderful man. I don't know if you know anything about this, but there's Sam Maloof that's related to us as well. And Sam Maloof is a, an extremely well known woodworker. He's considered an artist. Sam's no longer with us, but President Carter and Sam were also good friends. And they built a lot of furniture together. And they would auction the furniture for charities that President Carter wanted to donate to. And the big one with the furniture was Habitat for Humanity. And Him and Sam would sit at the tavern with my father at a table. You could see it on their hands. They had all the furniture stain on their fingers and sawdust on their shoes. And it was just fascinating to see that. I'm just going to remember him as the mountain of a humble man that he was. He was just, just a great guy.

PA: Well, Brian, I'm very sorry for your loss, but I'm just very, very grateful you're able to, to make some time and to share all this with us today.

BM: I appreciate your call, and I'm glad the people of Canada are thinking about us. It's, it's sad and it's going to take a little bit of time to get over this.

PA: Indeed. Well, take good care of yourself.

BM: All right. Thank you so much.

CH: Brian Maloof is the owner of Manuel's Tavern in Atlanta. We reached him in Jasper, Georgia.

[ambient]

Bad Gifts Museum

Guest: Shari Kasman

CH: In many ways, giving and receiving gifts is like exchanging joy and love themselves. But also sometimes it's the worst. Someone staring at you, waiting to see your response, as you stare at the grotesque insult you've just unwrapped, and which you can barely restrain yourself from putting in the microwave until it's on fire. You may have some of those items in your home right now, hidden in a closet until such time as it's socially acceptable to re-gift them. But some of those terrible presents are proudly on display this week at a gallery in Toronto. The Museum of Bad Gifts has been open temporarily since Boxing Day. And the items inside are just as weird and wonderful as you might hope. Shari Kasman is one of the artists behind the display. We reached her in Toronto.

PA: Shari, I have to imagine we've all received a bad gift before. I'm sure I'm guilty of having given them, too. But what's it like to walk into this gallery and see all these unusual items in one place?

SHARI KASMAN: Well, it's interesting because the bad gifts are of a few different varieties. There's the tacky kind, something you might expect in a Museum of Bad Gifts. But then there are things that also are, you know, regular items, a scented candle, for example. It's just not something that this particular person appreciated. And so each item in the museum has a little explanation along with it to describe what makes the item so bad.

PA: You put out a call for people to bring in the bad gifts that they've received over the years. And it sure looks like they delivered. What are some of the strangest ones you've put on display?

SK: I mean, I didn't expect anyone would submit a baggie of cat nails.

PA: What?! [chuckling]

SK: Like trimmed cat nails.

PA: Oh my!

SK: That's, you know, that's a definite weird one. There's a bathrobe that someone stole from a hotel he worked at and then gave it to the girlfriend and then they broke up. But then there's also fossilized dinosaur poop.

PA: Wow.

SK: Yep. You know what's really tacky is this woman came in actually on the weekend after hearing about the museum, and she brought this pink roll of toilet paper with a crocheted pink hat for the toilet paper. And it's just about one of the most hideous things I have ever seen.

PA: [laughing] Now if I've got this right, there's also bad gifts that have been somehow altered by artists that have kind of reimagined the items. What's been done to spruce these up?

SK: Well, there's a television set that has the words weapons of mass distraction on it. And we show it with snow playing behind it.

PA: Right.

SK: You know, you know, fuzz. And then there is this object that looks like a bit like Polka Roo from Polka Dot Door.

PA: Sure.

SK: But it's a marionette and it's just very fun and whimsical and has been made a selection of clothing items and unwanted, you know, textiles.

PA: I love it. Now, did you bring in some of your own stuff? What did you contribute to this?

SK: I did. So, the first thing that came to mind was this framed cat food packaging that someone once gave me. I have a cat allergy, and I don't particularly like cats, [PA chuckles] but I have this very adorable cat in a frame. And so, the friend bought me framed cat food for my framed cat, which is, which is kind of funny, but it's not something I really want to have around. I hide it in a dark corner most of the time.

PA: Totally fair!

SK: And I've also contributed a very odd-looking candle holder. It looks like a portion of a tree with a zebra's head protruding from it. And I got this because after finding a plastic zebra many years ago in Wales, a friend started giving me zebra items. Anything zebra she could find, essentially. And so, of course, the zebra's head protruding from a log as a candle holder fit the bill.

PA: Absolutely. I have to ask, you've put these now on display. You're on the radio talking across North America, talking about these. Do the people who gave you these gifts, do they know that this is how they've ended up?

SK: I mean, the people who gave me the gifts I've just talked about.

PA: Yeah.

SK: Might find out this way. And, and for me, it's all in good fun. But on the other hand, I've had people tell me that they were reluctant to contribute items because of how the person might feel if they saw that this item they had given ended up in the museum. But also, I've had people say, I can give this to you for your museum because the person who gave it to me has already died.

PA: [chuckling] Oh dear. Now, what is, you know, a bad gift to one man, another man's treasure and all of that. A lot of these items, as I understand it, are going up for auction, and the proceeds will go to charity. Have you had much uptake on, on the, on the bidding so far?

SK: There have been a number of bids on the items. At least two items have two bids already. The starting bid for every item is $5. And, for example, there's a dog toy that's like a purple pig, kind of looks like a hippo. And this object also makes a farting sound when you squeeze it.

PA: [chuckling] Well, of course.

SK: And, yeah. And so, that has two bits on it already. So, this auction is going very well.

PA: Nice! But are some of these gifts simply loaners that they don't want to let go of forever?

SK: Oh yes! Some, some items are just on loan to the museum. For example, this pewter plate that a couple got as a wedding gift from a family member. And they don't like it, but they can't part with it. So you can understand the sentimental attachment of that kind of item.

PA: Right. Absolutely. All right. Listen, I think we're going to leave it there. But this has been fantastic to hear about. And I can't wait to hear how the auction goes.

SK: Well, thanks so much for chatting with me about this. I appreciate it.

PA: Have a great day.

SK: Yep. Bye.

CH: Shari Kasman is a multi-disciplinary artist and one of the creators of the Museum of Bad Gifts, which is open until the end of this week in Toronto. That's where we reached her. We would genuinely love to hear from you about any particularly bad gifts you've received -- or given. Call Talkback at 416-205-5687 or send us a voice note -- or an email -- aih@cbc.ca

[jazz]

Slow Brain

CH: We're at the point in the holidays where I feel it's important to make sure that everyone knows today is Monday. Because the only critical thinking I'm capable of just now is deciding whether the turkey in the fridge is still safe to eat. I always decide it is, until the day I abruptly realize that it is not. And it's easy to blame the copious amount of chocolate and mind-numbing holiday movies for the numbness of our minds. Because on a normal day, our brains work a lot faster than this…right? I mean, Elon Musk seems to believe that our minds works so fast that he wants to do away with this slow, boring, outdated way of communicating -- "talking" -- and just plug our brains directly into computers. And that guy is full of good ideas that are deeply rooted in science. Which is why new research published in the journal Neuron is shocking, and frankly insulting. Scientists have found that our brains actually think at an excruciatingly slow speed -- the equivalent of about 10 bits a second. While our sensory systems gather data at about one billion bits per second. And the brain, it turns out, can really only do one thing at a time. Which means that if Elon Musk succeeded in hooking his brain up to a computer, he'd be able to communicate at about the same speed as if he used a telephone. Something scientists have dubbed the "Musk illusion." So, bad news for Elon Musk. But good news for all our addled brains this holiday: because it turns out it truly is the thought that counts.

[hip-hop]

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The AIH Transcript For December 30, 2024

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