REAL LIFE HEROES

“Get Carter” and Get Him Fast

A review of “Get Carter

Backstage in history from JFK’s Assassination to the Rolling Stones”

By Terri Marie

If you were in trouble, one line would do, “Get Carter,” and Carter would come to the rescue. I liked Bill Carter the moment I talked to him. Carter never dreamed of becoming an internationally famous lawyer, a Secret Service Agent, working close to Presidents, the Rolling Stones, Bill Gaither or Billy Graham. He never intended the trip through some of the biggest bumps on our twentieth century ride. All he ever wanted was to get a job in Detroit and come back to Rector, Arkansas driving a new car.

“I never planned a course in my life. Even in my days as a mischievous child, I’ve always had a strong faith. People asked me, ‘When did you become a Christian?’ I said, ‘I was born one.” His friend, Ruth Montgomery author of Here and Hereafter, told Carter he was one of the most open people she’d ever met. That’s why he received lots of guidance. “Ruth communicated with the spirits. I’d try my best to trick ‘em. I’d lie to them. Not once did they fall for it. Each time, they set me straight. But to me psychics are a bit dangerous if you’re looking to them for advice, unless you have a relationship with them that’s tested. Carter doesn’t get depressed. “God has got a lot more important things to do than worry about Bill Carter. I think he assigns somebody to that.”

Some of the best advice I ever received was when I was in the Secret Service and thinking about leaving. I went to a friend, then governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, and asked his advice. He looked at me and said, “Why would you want my advice? It would mean nothing to you, Bill. If you want advice, go sit on a log and pray. Ask for guidance from within. That’s where the answer is. God gave you those answers. Just ask that they come out.’ I’ve followed that throughout my life.”

What underlies all of the stories in Bill’s fascinating book is his philosophy of going with the flow. His Spirituality. Following the path laid out especially for him, not necessarily the one he intended. Get Carter is a book packed with fast-paced stories and names familiar to almost every household. “But the Christian television work that I’ve done has been the most satisfying. It’s a better way to end your life.”

“Bill Gaither came to see me and wanted my help. I could feel the spirit of God in the rooms during the shows we did. It brought back my childhood. Bill Gaither is the most non-judgmental person I’ve ever encountered.” Carter stopped doing his other work, focusing on the Gaithers. That led him to Billy Graham. “My mother idolized Billy Graham. Here I am working with him. “If my mother’s looking down on me, she’s sure happy about this!”

Carter was involved in two events with perhaps the most intrigue and mystery of the 20th century. JFK and Jimmy Hoffa’s deaths. “To me, the best politician in the world is one who communicates with you. He comes to your level. That’s why the Secret Servicemen liked Jack Kennedy. Kennedy had a spirit about him that you could feel. People I’ve talked to, said that when he shook their hand and asked them questions, they were totally mesmerized. They had no idea what he said to them. Billy Graham’s the same way. If I was in a dark room with either one of them, I’d know that someone was present.”

“People ask me about Kennedy’s assassination. I’m not going to try to change anybody’s opinion. I formed my opinion based on the facts I participated in. Remember, I grew up in the South. The preachers would preach against the Pope. When Kennedy ran for president, he was very unpopular down South.” Yet that same Bill Carter would’ve given his very life to protect Kennedy’s.

Carter is a Secret Service man with a past. Several pasts. Past lives that is. Though his life is amazingly interesting, Carter remembers other lives. “I had a strong sense that I’d lived before. Some people, especially some of my Christian friends, make fun of me because I believe in reincarnation. Why did I feel that when I was eight years old? I couldn’t have read about it. There was no television when I was 8 years old.”

Carter’s friend, John Harricharan, author of When You Can Walk on Water Take the Boat, told Carter he has past lives in the military. “I relate to that because I’ve tried to avoid taking anyone’s life. Why didn’t I do a certain thing that perhaps would've resulted in someones’ justifiable death? Why didn’t I do it? It was very important for me to live this life without taking another human life - to advance and quit participating in that sort of thing. I know a lot of people don’t subscribe to reincarnation, but I’ve never figured out how Mozart could write classical opera at age 5. John taught me about prayer. I told him, ‘I try to pray, but I get so busy.’ John said, ‘What are you doing when you’re on an elevator? What do you do when you’re driving down the road? Why aren’t you praying?’ Every night of my life since I met John, I’ve said a little prayer, ‘If you’re listening, please guide my life and provide the answers for me as the questions arise.”

Carter mentored some people who became pretty famous. One of those was Reba McEntire. “Reba wanted to learn everything she could in order to succeed. When you’re working with artists, you’re like a basketball coach or any other sporting coach. You lay out a game plan for them and you hope they follow it. Some folks respond and are stars. Some don’t. Reba listened. She was the best student I ever had.”

“One thing I would say to anyone is pray. Open yourself to spiritual guidance. Ask for it. That’s so easy. Even when I wasn’t thinking much about spiritual guidance, they still provided the way for me. Subconsciously I must’ve been tuned in. Maybe God loved me enough to say “You know what? I want you to listen to me. I’m going to show you there’s a better life out there. There are opportunities I need you to be involved in.” Carter sure must’ve listened. The opportunities rolled to his door.

Today Carter continues to coast. “You never know where that flow of life will take you next. And I’m not even gonna try to figure it out. I’ll just be here. I’ll respond.”

Terri Marie
Award Winning Author of Be The Hero of Your Own Game.