Former Us President Jimmy Carter Celebrates 99Th Birthday

Former US President Jimmy Carter, the longest-living president in US history, celebrated his 99th birthday on Sunday, marking another year of resilience after seven months in hospice care. World leaders, celebrities, and well-wishers sent their birthday greetings to the almost-centenarian, while the White House displayed a symbolic giant wooden cake on its lawn, adorned with 39 candles to honor the 39th president. In a video message shared on social media, current US President Joe Biden praised Carter's remarkable qualities, saying, "I admire you because you have such incredible integrity, character, and determination. God love you, happy birthday, pal." In February, when his nonprofit foundation, the Carter Center, announced he would receive hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia, it seemed Carter's health was in a dire state. Nevertheless, he has continued to defy expectations. Despite spending more time resting, Carter, a Nobel Peace laureate and former peanut farmer, has remained engaged with life, still watching baseball games and enjoying his favorite treat, peanut butter ice cream. He even made a public appearance at the Plains Peanut Festival alongside his 96-year-old wife, Rosalynn, last weekend. Jason Carter, Carter's grandson, shared with USA Today last month that the couple was "coming to the end, as we know," but emphasized their contentment, saying, "They are together. They are at home. They're in love, and I don't think anyone gets more than that. I mean, it's a perfect situation for this time in their lives." The Carter Center, located in Atlanta, received an outpouring of over 15,000 birthday messages for the former president, compiling them into a digital mosaic. Notable figures like Willie Nelson, Jane Fonda, former President Bill Clinton, and astrophysicist-author Neil deGrasse Tyson also extended their wishes. Neil deGrasse Tyson remarked, "99 trips around the sun -- congratulations. If you do the math on that, that's nearly 58 billion miles. May you have many more such trips around the sun, in this universe, or the next." The Carter family had previously announced that Rosalynn has dementia, aiming to destigmatize the condition. The Carters' marriage, lasting 77 years, holds the record as the longest in US presidential history, surpassing the 73-year union of former President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush. Jimmy Carter served one term as president, starting in 1976, navigating the aftermath of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal. His legacy includes achievements like the Camp David peace accords and founding the Carter Center, dedicated to promoting human rights and conflict resolution, during his retirement years.