Youmans is currently working on her memoir, titled Wise Cracker: A Good Girl in the Deep South. She is an accomplished author of two award-winning poetry collections, Lyla Dore and Dirt Eaters, and serves as a professor in the MFA program at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
In 2017, Youmans took a trip with her two teenage children from Jacksonville, Florida, to Plains, Georgia, to attend a Sunday school class taught by former President Jimmy Carter at Maranatha Baptist Church.
This journey was prompted by her son Gibson, who wanted to celebrate his 17th birthday by visiting Carter. A passionate admirer of Carter’s presidency, Gibson had recently composed a high school history paper on the Carter administration and the rise of arch-conservatism; the family had also been unsettled by Donald Trump’s inaugural address that month, which spoke of “carnage.”
The family spent a memorable Saturday exploring Plains, where they visited Carter’s childhood home, his peanut farm, his brother Billy’s gas station, and the train depot that served as his presidential campaign headquarters in 1975. Together, they explored the visitor’s center, which is located in the high school that Carter and his future wife attended, taking pride in viewing Carter’s Nobel Peace Prize and snapping photos at a replica of his Oval Office desk. The experience was a nostalgic trip back to 1976.
That year, Youmans was just 10 years old and vividly recalls the American Bicentennial celebration that permeated every aspect of life—television, magazines, and special merchandise. From scented stickers found in cereal boxes to commemorative soap, it felt like a national celebration that everyone was invited to, and she was fully engaged. She embraced her childhood enthusiasm, celebrating by learning military songs, memorizing the Gettysburg Address, and putting on a variety show with her best friend in their neighborhood.
Among her proudest moments were four poems she wrote for the nation’s 200th birthday, which helped her win a regional talent show for Girl Scouts. Considered a notable achievement, she competed against diverse talents, including musical and martial arts performances.
What fueled her excitement further was the presence of Jimmy Carter, the southern peanut farmer from Georgia, who represented a connection to her family heritage. Carter’s warm demeanor and down-to-earth persona, coupled with his intelligence and calmness, instilled in her a sense of pride that made him feel like a distant relative.
As a child, she imagined scenarios where she could meet him, thinking that their shared love for reading would bond her with his daughter, Amy, potentially leading to playful encounters at the White House. It disappointed her that her father did not vote for Carter, but she cast her own vote in a fifth-grade class election, marking a small act of rebellion. Yet, she remembers her father expressing relief at finally seeing a Southern man represented positively on television.
Over the years, Youmans observed a shift in the meaning of patriotism, particularly as conservative Christians mobilized into voting blocs during the late 1970s, the emergence of Newt Gingrich’s “Contract for America” in 1994, and the rise of the Tea Party. By the time Donald Trump assumed office in 2016, the concept of patriotism seemed to be appropriated entirely by the Republican Party and many Christian communities.
In retrospect, the storming of the Capitol on January 6 marked a turning point for her perception of patriotism, transforming it into something less about shared pride and more about anger and control.
However, during her 2017 visit to Plains, she felt a wave of nostalgia, recalling the essence of patriotism as she listened to Carter teach Sunday school and took photos with him and Rosalynn after the service. The joy she felt as a child returned, leading her to reflect on whether someone like him could ever again hold the presidency.
Now, eight years later, as she recalls that journey, she hears echoes of Carter’s ideals in recent speeches by Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, emphasizing the importance of government serving its citizens fairly. As Uncle Jimmy approaches his 100th birthday on Tuesday, he stands as a testament to the enduring impact of goodness in leadership, fueling her renewed faith in the hope that his vision for the future can once again materialize.