Plains in Sumter County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
Always a Reckoning
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, June 19, 2012
1. Always a Reckoning Marker
I had a pony then that lacked a way to work and pay her way, except that every year or two Lady had a colt we sold, but still for less than what was due to buy the fodder, hay and corn she ate at times she couldn't be on pasture.
Neither feed nor colts meant all that much that I could see but still there was a thing about a creature staying on our place that none of us could eat or plow, did not give eggs, or even chase a fox, or rabbit, that was sure to rile my father.
We all knew that Lady's giving me a ride paid some on her debt, in lieu of other ways - but there would be some times I didn't get around to riding in my off-work hours.
And I was sure, when Daddy frowned at some mistake I might've made, he would be asking when he could, "How long since you rode Lady?"
Jimmy Carter's 1995 poem, Always a Reckoning, reflects his childhood impression that, in his father's mind, everything on the farm had to pay its own way. The title is a phrase Jimmy often heard his father say.
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Animals.
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Location. 32° 1.6′ N, 84° 26.012′ W. Marker is in Plains, Georgia, in Sumter County. Marker can be reached from Old Plains Highway, on the right when traveling west. Marker is located in Plains, Georgia on Carter Boy Hood Farm Jimmy Carter National Historic Site United States Department of Interior. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Plains GA 31780, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Jimmy Carter Slept Here (here, next to this marker); Jimmy Carter's Boyhood Farm / From Here To Plains (within shouting distance of this marker); Winds of Change (within shouting distance of this marker); The Earl and Lillian Carter Home (within shouting distance of this marker); The Carter Family Garden (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Tennis Court (about 300 feet away); Legacy of an Outdoor Childhood (about 400 feet away); Never Far from Home (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Plains.
Also see . . . President Carter Publishes a Book of Poetry. The Carter Center website entry (Submitted on August 11, 2021, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, June 19, 2012
2. Always a Reckoning Marker
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, August 9, 2015
3. Jimmy Carter
This 1982 portrait of Jimmy Carter by Herbert D. Abrams is on display in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 11, 2021. It was originally submitted on June 25, 2012, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 543 times since then and 15 times this year. Last updated on February 11, 2019, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 25, 2012, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. 3. submitted on February 11, 2019, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
