baltimoreblackwoman

Meghan McCain’s fierce and fiery
tribute to her father,
Senator John Sidney McCain III,
was the same tribute
I delivered for my father,
Oliver Fitzhugh Oldham,
eleven years ago.

It was the tribute
all daughters deliver
for their fathers.

You could see it from the tears
being wiped from the faces
of the women in the audience.

The lessons Meghan learned
are universal:

Getting back up on that horse—
Or bicycle, or skates,
or to the head of the class.

Going to political meetings,
be they local or national.

Watching your Dad
at his work place.

Being sung to by your Dad
when you are afraid
of the thunder
or the top of the Ferris wheel.

Receiving his verdict,
Yea or Nay,
on your choice
of a boyfriend or husband.

Meghan, dear girl,
we have all stood at podiums
in churches large and small,
declaring to the World:

My father was
my teacher, counselor, and friend.
And I will be strong for him
until the end.

So, Meghan, dear girl,
I salute you.

As my father would have said to me,
“You done good.”