SI VIS AMARI, AMA* MY JOHN MCCAIN MEMORY

Watching Meghan McCain’s emotional eulogy for her father this morning, I was mesmerized, like most of the nation, by this inspiring woman. Her father must be proud. One section really hit home for me:

“John McCain was not defined by prison, by the Navy, by the Senate, by the Republican Party, or by any single one of the deeds in his absolutely extraordinary life,” she said at Saturday’s ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral. “John McCain was defined by love.”

Ms. McCain gave us all an additional gift this morning, a revelation about Senator McCain’s relationship with his family, a facet of his extraordinary life into which many probably did not have much insight. Her words reminded me of my one, chance encounter with Senator McCain at an airport.

It was 2009, and I was waiting at the Southwest gates at Phoenix Sky Harbor for a flight back to the Bay area. Glancing over to the next gate, I saw a small, gray-haired man in a suit standing for his flight. It took me a minute to realize it was Senator McCain. Wow, he also flew Southwest! So I took the opportunity and walked over to introduce myself and thank him for his service. He smiled and asked me about myself.

I only told him two things. First, that my father was a Navy veteran (Korean war) and that secondly I worked at Cisco. He smiled and looked me straight in the eye and told me to thank my father for his service.

Cisco’s then CEO and Chairman John Chambers was close to Senator McCain and played a key role in the 2008 campaign. I asked Senator McCain if there was anything he wanted to tell John Chambers. This is what he said: “Cisco is a great company and you have a great leader. Tell John I said hello and am thinking about him. I owe him a call. Tell him that I love him.”

I flew back to San Jose and wondered about what it would be like to share a message of love with my Chairman from a legendary American. I left John Chambers a voicemail and passed on the message.

Later that evening, I checked my voicemail and there was a response from the boss.

“Alan, thanks for sharing the message,” stated John Chambers. “Senator McCain is a great American and a great person. I love him too.”

I lost my father almost 2 years ago to the same aggressive brain cancer, glioblastoma, and too stood in a house of worship, like Meaghan McCain, doing my best to tell our friends and family about my father’s message and deeds of love. I know hard that speech that was to deliver and how magnificent a job she did.

*Si vis amari, ama — If you want to be loved, love.