By: First Lieutenant Myles Alexander – January 20, 2012

My freshman year in college I became friends with Gary Carter’s daughter
Christy. She was on the tennis team. We had a small group of us friends
that hung out a lot. When Gary Carter came to visit Charleston he offered to
take the group out to eat after church.

So we all piled into a couple of cars and went to church and then out to dinner at Folly Beach. After getting
many strange looks and interrupted by fans, we then went to one of our
friends parent’s house that afternoon and visited.

The whole time Gary was so very kind, patient and genuinely seemed interested in what we were doing.
I could tell he enjoyed getting to know Christy’s friends. Two of us in the
group played baseball and he enjoyed talking a little about that but he was
more interested in hearing what we had to say than talking about his own
experiences. Never once did he bring up anything about himself unless we
asked him.

It was only one day but I will always remember it and how
friendly and humble he was. All the images you see of Gary Carter have one
common theme. He is always smiling. He was no different in person. He
always will be one of the "Good Guys" in Baseball, and in Life, who did it
the right way and always did it with a huge smile on his face. A man who has
truly loved life and was blessed to play the game we all love at its highest
level.

But more than that he went on to use his status to help so many,
starting the Gary Carter Foundation. (www.garycarter.org) We could all
learn from Gary Carter’s example. Use the talents God has given us as a
means to help others, and leave a legacy that will far surpass our baseball
career. No one will remember what our batting average was. What they will
remember is how we treated others and how we made a difference in other’s
lives. Did we make our surroundings and the people around us better? That’s
what life is all about. Baseball is an avenue to impact others for the
better.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Christy and the entire Carter family
during this very difficult time. May his pain and suffering be kept to a
minimum and may the family have peace to spend time with their husband,
father and leader during these final days. I know one thing is for sure,
Gary Carter will keep on smiling forever.