Paula Deen has never been accused of low-keying it. And she wasn’t about to start Saturday morning when she swept into this teeny town for a high-profile fundraiser with her good friend, Jimmy Carter.
“Mr. Jimmy, how’re you doin’ honey?” Deen called out as the former president ambled into the Plains Community Center with his wife, Rosalynn, and was immediately engulfed in her enormous bear hug. “I’ve been prayin’ for you so much!”
“We’re doing just fine,” said Carter, who later confirmed with a grin to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Deen was a “big personality.”
The pair hadn’t seen each other for several years — though Deen had kept up with Carter’s cancer battle through mutual friends here, even when she was off doing “Dancing with the Stars” last fall. Meanwhile, Carter had spoken up on Deen’s behalf in 2013, telling CNN there was no condoning her use of racial slurs years ago, but that her sincere apologies suggested she should be forgiven.
So it only made sense their face-to-face reunion would be big news. Even “Entertainment Tonight” showed up to cover “Painting, Paula and a President.”
“This is Georgia’s Hollywood!” Deen, a native of nearby Albany, proclaimed.
Actually, it was an only-in-Plains-type fundraiser for two nonprofits here, drawing on Carter’s and Deen’s shared affection for painting. Some 50 people who’d paid $500 apiece and come from as far away as Oregon and Wisconsin, got to attend an art class with Deen and both Carters taught by Atlanta area painter James Richards. Those willing to shell out $2,000 got to spend Saturday night in the Plains Inn for a sold-out “sleepover” hosted by Deen.
"I'm here for Mr. Jimmy," Deen explained. "He's been so good to me."
And so when Carter agreed to sign and sell to the highest bidder a painting he’d just completed, he likely couldn’t have found a more willing — and effective — auctioneer than Deen. Working the crowd with lines like “It’s still wet!” she got the winning bid up to $7,500, from Joanne Gimbel of Pebble Beach, Calif.
Organizers said the event raised more than $40,000. Still, for all the big bucks and big names involved, it retained much classic small town Plains charm. President Carter wore faded blue jeans and Mrs. Carter sported a walking boot as a result of breaking a toe in two places several weeks ago. All of the food for an exclusive dinner on Saturday night was made by a group in town organized by Sybil Carter, whose late husband Billy was the president’s brother. While Carter worked on his bird painting at one point, Deen fed Secret Service agents ginger snaps from a baggie.
The former president had spent nearly two hours following along attentively in the front row of Richards’s class. Later, Carter said he’d learned something, even at age 91.
“I have a lot of difficulty doing a loose, unrestricted type of painting,” said the Naval Academy grad and onetime nuclear submariner. “I think it’s because I’m an engineer. But my favorite artists are the Impressionists.”
Deen, who’d slipped away for awhile to chat with various people, was impressed by Carter’s attentiveness.
"He's sittin' on up there, behaving himself," Deen chuckled. "I can't sit still for that long. And I certainly can't behave!"
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