I remember a time (about 1988) where I was sitting in my parents' bedroom on a floral loveseat (that rocked) watching Tom Brokaw on the Nightly News. He did a story on a former POW from the Vietnam War that had spent almost 6 years in a Hanoi prison. I remember hearing Tom talk about how he was beaten and had thoughts of suicide. He showed this photograph and I thought even at that young age, "I could never go through that." Tom talked of his service, his undying love for his country and it ended there for a while.
I heard his name over the years because he was a Senator from Arizona, but not much because the news wasn't in those days what it is today. You didn't get news all the time and there was so much to cover in the short amount of time that the news was on that you didn't get everything from everywhere. Then in 1998 the news starting buzzing that a certain Senator from AZ was considering running for President. Instantly I started reading what I could and backing him. I got my 2-year-old child telling everyone about the hero, John McCain (she even convinced Santa Claus on her dad's news show that he needed to vote for John McCain). Well, George W. Bush won on Super Tuesday and he was out, but he had released a book that would change everything for me.
Faith of My Fathers was released and I devoured it. I read it twice back to back at first because it told not only the McCain family history but also a tale of America the Beautiful. I really think all Americans should read a book like this to understand how we have such a great country and how proud we should be that we do. This war hero became the greatest American of my lifetime at this time.
The next few years I was able to listen to him more because he released more books, we now had news anytime we wanted it and we had the internet. I found his email on the internet and emailed asking him to autograph my books. His secretary and I would go back and forth for the rest of his life (and a bit after) conversing and getting my books signed.
In 2007 he said he was running again. I was all over whatever it took to get the word out to vote for him. I went to Alaska in June and heard about this Sarah Palin, at this time she was just a Govenor in Alaska and not known anywhere but there. We went to the Capital there in Juneau and the local guides on our tours told us how wonderful she was for their state. I started studying her "rogue" style and I did indeed like her. In August McCain picked her for his running mate. I was excited to have a lady that wasn't fancy dancy on the ticket. The problem was she kept talking, but I didn't care because my candidate got the nomination! I did like her attitude, spunk and desire (I may have been a tad jealous that she got on the National stage---even though she wasn't ready and not a good choice for him). The next little bit of time was fantastic! He was riding high and doing well. He was then up against Barack Obama who had more money, charisma, and big backers. His dream was just as big as McCain's. McCain was trailing but remained classy to the end of the campaign. I was working the election polls and my husband texted me that it was over. I was so very sad. His dream ended that night, but so did mine...I really wanted him to be President.
Over the next few years, there was plenty of time to see him fight for America from the Senate floor. He wrote more books, showed us his comedy side, fought with Presidents and other Senators....he showed us he was "The Maverick".
I was very sad when he announced his brain cancer. There was no known cure and it was super aggressive. He would be dead in about a year. Those words are still hard to type out here...dead in about a year. He made a documentary about his life and titled it after his favorite (and my second favorite) author's books; For Whom the Bell Tolls. It was a moving documentary and I may have cried a few times. I do have a few quotes that I had to write down while watching, and I will leave you with those...one is from his chief of staff and the two from Senator McCain himself.
“If he showed us how to live, he’s also showing us how to die.” Grant Woods
"We need to give the American people what they deserve. And right now, they're not getting it."
“I greet every day with gratitude. . . . I’m confident and I’m happy. I’m very grateful for the life I’ve been able to lead. And I greet the future with joy.”
Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers by Sara Ackerman
