A Lesson from John McCain

I learned a lesson from John McCain many years ago about being too thin skinned. I met him when he first came to Arizona and helped him with a project when he was initially doing public relations for the Hensley Company. Then, because of that early connection and our common military background, I was happy to support him when he first ran for congress. After he won that race I saw him at several community events and, because he went to the Naval Academy and I attended the Air Force Academy, McCain liked to joke that I could have gone to the Naval Academy if my parents had been married.

That joke always brought a laugh from the audience but, after I heard it two or three times, I got a bit irritated and complained to him. He immediately stopped making the joke and it was several years later when I realized how petty I had been in complaining. Once he moved from the House to the Senate I did not see him as often and, even though my concern seems like a small issue now, it is something that causes me to remember him fondly. What a great sense of humor. I will miss him.