What a country!
We were on our way to Tacy’s “sailing off” ceremony when we heard.
My first thought was, I must have heard that wrong. Kyle hit the brakes, and we turned to each other and said in unison, “WHAT?!”
We listened to the newscaster relay the unbelievable: Tim Russert was dead after a heart attack that afternoon.
As we pulled up in front of the elementary school, I welled up behind my sunglasses. But it was my daughter’s special time, and she deserved my full attention. I pushed the thoughts and questions from my mind.
I returned home to phone calls, emails, and tweets. I turned on MSNBC to watch Keith Olbermann, with red-rimmed eyes, anchoring the remembrances and tributes. It felt surreal. This couldn’t be happening; Tim Russert couldn’t be dead.
I watched on Saturday morning too. Every so often, the realization would hit me again, and the tears would start afresh.
Saturday afternoon, Kyle asked me, “What’s wrong? You just aren’t yourself.”
My voice broke as I replied, “You’ll make fun of me.”
“What is it?”
“I’m so sad about Tim Russert.” And once more, I started to cry.
I can recall many terribly sad moments in our country’s history. The only one that has sparked a more emotional reaction in me was 9/11.
Yes, I’ve joked about my intellectual-turned-physical attraction to Tim Russert. But the truth is that I absolutely loved watching him because he asked tough questions and listened to the answers.
He had no personal or political agenda. He was direct yet respectful, and I never sensed a bias, which made him truly unique among journalists. I watch other journalists to be entertained; I watched Tim Russert to be educated.
In a political season where partisanship is the norm, and the rhetoric grows even more heated than usual, my Independent sensibilities begin to wilt. Inside, I lament, It won’t matter who’s President; how can we get anything done when we’re at each other’s throats like this?
It was Tim Russert whom I saw as the voice of reason, the one person in the news whom I could count on to present a truly fair and balanced view of the issues and the candidates through his rigorous questioning.
Some people, like Kyle, can listen to a variety of sources and piece together the big picture. Others, like me, relied on Tim Russert to cut to the chase. To do his homework in painstaking detail so that we could learn from him.
I regret that I never had the opportunity to meet him, or even spot him around town in Washington. And I know it sounds silly, but I regret that I never wrote him a “fan” letter or any sort of correspondence to express just how much I appreciated his style and his substance.
And as much as I will miss watching him during the rest of this political season and beyond, I have to resist my impulse to disengage from politics. Because NBC is filled with new rising star journalists – bright young minds brought on board by Tim Russert himself – and I’m confident that they will strive to uphold the standards he established.
As a matter of fact, I already have a bit of a girl crush on Norah O’Donnell.
Goodbye, Tim. And GO BILLS!
June 16th, 2008 at 5:39 am
I was shocked when I heard the news on Friday afternoon as well. I sat on the couch last night with the laptop in my lap and watched Meet the Press and cried. Dave asked me what I was watching and I said the same thing – I’m so sad about Tim’s death. As a journalism student, and as someone who once worked in the field, I had a huge amount of respect for Tim, for the kind of person he was and the example he set. He was the best journalist I’ve seen in my time; we’ve lost one of the best.
June 16th, 2008 at 5:59 am
It surprised me, too. And it just goes to remind you how fragile life is.
Note to self: Tell the people I admire that I admire them and why. Even if they are famous, busy, and gazillionaires.
Mommytothemassess last blog post..It’s summer, ummm, yeahhhhhh…
June 16th, 2008 at 7:13 am
I thought of you right away. It’s terribly sad.
(Oddly, I DID once meet Norah O’Donnell.)
mayberrys last blog post..A rose is a rose, and all that stuff
June 16th, 2008 at 7:20 am
Truly, I thought of you when I heard the news as well. (After too thinking, no, that can’t be.. ) and I was going to email you but I thought that might be wierd, considering I’ve never met the man.. I didn’t have the same affection you did for him, but he was on in my house every Sunday for years and he seemed like such a decent, good person- a rare bird on TV, that it was very hard to hear he was gone.
binkytowns last blog post..I wish I were making this up
June 16th, 2008 at 7:22 am
It really hit me hard too. I can’t really imagine the upcoming election without his coverage. ::sniff::
Kimberlys last blog post..Thirtysomething . . . at least for now
June 16th, 2008 at 7:54 am
W and I had just returned from a late lunch, had parked the car, when Tom Brokaw came on CNBC radio. I was and remain devastated.
His legacy is a standard of news reporting and of interviewing that is respectful to both the interviewee and the audience.
June 16th, 2008 at 8:37 am
This echoes my own reaction, although after a good cry I let out a childish damnation for the relentless Clinton/Obama campaign coverage.
amandas last blog post..Hurts me more than it does you
June 16th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Are you kidding me? I’ve been melancholy all weekend. Last night I watched Meet the Press by myself in TEARS. And today I am still bummed. This really sucks and election day won’t be what it used to be.
June 16th, 2008 at 9:07 am
I felt this way about Peter Jennings.
Go Bills, indeed.
Karens last blog post..Dirty Little Secret #108
June 16th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
I get this post. Sometimes we develop an attachment to people we really admire and life just seems smaller without them. The day Lloyd Robertson – an ancient Canadian news anchor I have been watching my whole life – dies I will be a mess.
Don Mills Divas last blog post..Food fight
June 16th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
I’ve also been very emotional about it (and Nate has also made fun of me for it, but a little less than usual).
I keep thinking of Mrs. Chicky’s Tweet:”You know he’s just so pissed that it happened during an election year.” RIP Tim.
Mom101s last blog post..So There’s That.
June 17th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
I felt the same way.
And as a native Western New Yorker, whose parents both hail from Buffalo, it hit closer to home. He was my father’s age, had my father lived past 54. I can only hope the two of them are up there together, two good Catholics and die-hard Bills fans.
Not to mention, Dems.
Here’s hoping they put the good word in for Obama.
Mrs. Chickens last blog post..My Baby’s Got Me Wrapped Up In Chains
June 17th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
I share your grief. He was respected on both sides of the political aisle and that says something. Smart is sexy…and so is humble/loving/respectful. I keep thinking how much Russert probably wanted to know the outcome of this election, especially. And now he won’t. Just so incredibly sad.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:28 am
I cried too.
Aimee Greeblemonkeys last blog post..The Incredible Hulk
January 16th, 2009 at 11:55 am
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