`` Honey , '' she said , `` you do n't know me , but when I saw you standing up here on this hill , I knew that you must be one of the girls and I could n't help myself but to drive up here and let you know how much me and my whole family loved both of your parents . They were real special people . '' I thanked her for her kind words as we stood side by side gazing down at the graves of Govs. George Wallace and Lurleen Wallace . After a few moments , the woman leaned into me and spoke almost in a conspiratorial whisper . `` I never thought I would live to see the day when a black would be running for president . I know your daddy must be rolling over in his grave . '' Not having the heart or the energy to respond , I gave her bony arm a slight squeeze , turned and walked away . As I put the remnants of the graveyard spray in the trunk of my car , I assumed that she had not bothered to notice the Barack Obama
Editor 's note : Peggy Wallace Kennedy is the daughter of George C. Wallace and Lurleen Wallace , who both were governors of Alabama . She lives in Montgomery , Alabama , with her husband , Mark Kennedy , a retired state Supreme Court justice . They have two sons , Leigh , a decorated veteran of the Iraq war , and Burns , a college sophomore . Peggy Wallace Kennedy says her father sought absolution for his segregationist views . MONTGOMERY , Alabama -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- I heard a car door slam behind me and turned to see an elderly but spry woman heading my way . The night before , a gang of vandals had swept through the cemetery desecrating graves , crushing headstones and stealing funereal objects . My parents ' graves , situated on a wind-swept hill overlooking the cemetery , had not been spared . A large marble urn that stood between two granite columns had been pried loose and spirited away , leaving faded silk flowers strewn on the ground . I was holding a bouquet of them in my arms when the woman walked up and gave me a crushing hug .