Pianist David Osbourne announced plans for a Christmas concert at Maranatha Baptist Church on December 22 at 6 pm. Osbourne has come to Maranatha for 38 years, playing in honor of President Jimmy Carter’s birthday. However, he doesn’t recall ever doing anything over the Christmas season. “I’ve always wanted to do something around Christmas.”

Osbourne told how he and his mother were fans of President Carter long before he had the chance to meet him. “It was always my goal to meet him. And one year, in 1977 when he was president, my mother rode down there to Georgia with me. I was going to go for a Summer to perform in Florida, and we stopped in Plains.”

Osbourne recalled that while they were unable to meet President Carter, they were able to meet his brother. “We went to Billy Carter’s gas station and met Billy Carter.” He told how his mother was delighted, saying she; “loved all the stuff about Billy Carter.”

Osbourne said his mother appreciated Billy Carter’s genuineness. “He wasn’t trying to make an impression on people. He was just going to be himself and . . . my mother liked people like that.”

Osbourne told how his mother would have been surprised to learn he eventually became friends with Jimmy Carter. “My mother could not believe any of the stuff that’s happened since her death.”

Osbourne told how he first met Jimmy Carter at a book signing he held at Border’s Books. He was able to give Jimmy Carter some of his music. “I got to meet Jimmy Carter, and I must’ve [stood] in line for three hours. And he was so nice, and I handed him the record. Secret Service took the record, which was the old vinyl record.”

The record also included his phone number. “I never thought anything would come out of that, but I got a call from Dan Ariail. Dan Ariail was the pastor at Maranatha Baptist Church.” Osbourne learned from Ariail about Jimmy Carter’s Sunday school class, and received an invitation to come and play. Osbourne told how the congregants welcomed him, making him feel like more like a neighbor or family member than a visitor. He told how every few weeks, he would make the six-hour trip from Orlando to Plains to perform. “It became a regular event.”

Osbourne eventually moved from Orlando to St. Louis, but he still continued to visit. “I still would go back and play for church there and play for events in Plains.”

Osbourne recalled playing in honor of President Carter’s birthday, including his 75^th. Well known celebrities Pat Boone and Rosie O’Donnell joined him for the celebration. “We went down and did Jimmy Carter’s 75th birthday in ’99 at the Rylander Theater there in Americus. We reopened the Rylander Theatre, which had been closed for years.” Osbourne told how his boss, Johnny Haig, hired an orchestra for the event.

Osbourne expressed thankfulness for his relationship with Jimmy Carter and the rest of the Carter family. “It was just a gift that I can’t explain.” Osbourne reflected on what his mother’s reaction would have been to his experiences. “I don’t know that she would have ever believed all the stuff that’s happened in my life as a result of that meeting with President Carter at that Border’s Books in Orlando Florida.”