Former ABC Chief White House Correspondent, Sam Donaldson was one of the most controversial reporters that Washington has endured. He was an equal opportunity nuisance, treating presidents of both parties with equal lack of deference. He was especially hard on former president Jimmy Carter, though.

Donaldson told about traveling with Carter to a small village near New Delhi, India to see how the village solved its energy problem. This was at the height of concern over the energy crisis. This particular village solved its energy problem by throwing all the cow manure from its herds into a large pit, then siphoning off the methane gas from the manure  to light the village lamps.

So, it came to pass that the reporters and the officials with Carter all stood on the lip of this manure pit inspecting the process. “If I fell in, you’d pull me out, wouldn’t you, Mr. President?” joked Donaldson.

“Certainly,” Carter replied. Then he paused and added, “after a suitable interval.”

If you’ve thought about getting even today, forget it. You cannot get “even”, anyway. You reap what you sow.

Tags: forgiveness, Pres. Carter, Sam Donaldson, strife