We are all guilty of it. In fact, we are so steeped in the daily grind that the most common tactic we fall into is taking just about everything for granted. Every once in a while, somebody like Tim Russert comes along who helps us synchronize our hearts and minds to what really matters.
His biography is certainly an inspiring tale. Raised by working class parents in Buffalo, he maximized the sacrifices of his father who worked two jobs to provide a Catholic school education for his children. After working for Patrick Moynihan and Mario Cuomo, he came to NBC and quickly rose up the ranks to ultimately become the network’s Washington Bureau Chief as well as senior vice president of NBC News. It is as host of that network’s Meet The Press, however, that Russert became an institution.
By all accounts, Russert’s unique talents and style transformed political news reporting. His interview tactics became legendary, and he has been praised for exhibiting the highest standards of journalistic ethics and preparation. Perhaps the most concise professional praise that can be heaped on this man is that he was very good at what he did and touched all those he associated with along the way. He seems to have been a very generous and concerned mentor to many journalists, and was loved by his colleagues.
I believe that each of us has a purpose on this planet. It is our duty and responsibility to find that purpose and apply it for the betterment of those around us rather than merely for ourselves. Ultimately, we will be judged by how hard we worked to find that mission, how well we applied it in the service of others, and how we ultimately made a positive footprint on this planet by our presence.
I think that Tim Russert was one of the fortunate, talented people who found his true calling, applied it to the best of his ability and made things much better for others and this society as a result. He clearly practiced his craft with passion, energy, enthusiasm and respect for both what he did and those impacted by what he did. Russert was one of those fortunate people who get paid well to do what they love to do the most but, unlike some of those lucky people, he did not sit back and enjoy the ride. Rather, he worked and prepared tirelessly to raise the standards for both himself and what he did, not to mention those around him.
On a professional level, one can sum up Tim Russert by saying that he made his profession, his colleagues, his interviewees, his guests and himself better while doing what he did best with passion and dedication. He was so good that we came to take him for granted, as if he would always be there grilling politicians, probing scandals or scribbling the answer to an election puzzle on his whiteboard.
Although Tim Russert’s professional life was a model of excellence, integrity and generosity, it was in his family life where Tim took it up a notch even beyond his lofty public credentials. His family values were evident from his work ethic to his two moving tributes to fatherhood, first his own Dad’s and then all fathers. He was clearly a loving, caring and proud father and son, and that trait is even more impressive than his public achievements.
If Russert’s family traits transcended his professional ones, his pride and recognition of his Catholic education is what I find most impressive. In a society where it is popular to ignore, mock or bash Catholicism and Christian ideals, Russert was not afraid to publicly and proudly represent those ideals, support those values and appreciate their impact on his life.
Tim Russert’s life was full of irony. Raised in a working class family, he went on to great professional heights where he came in constant contact with the rich and powerful. Practicing his craft with driving ambition and high standards, he nevertheless had time to be considerate, generous and kind to those around him. By all accounts a devout Catholic, he earned supporters and admirers from all sides of the political and social spectrum. A model and proud father, it was as an equally exemplary and proud son that he earned his greatest family acclaim with his two popular books.
Perhaps the greatest irony in Tim Russert’s life came at his death. This accomplished and excellent son and father who loved politics so much and reported it so effectively died two days before Father’s Day in the heat of what he recently described as the election of our lifetimes. At the end of his last interview for MSNBC, Russert, commenting on the exciting general election just beginning, said “It’s only June, Happy Father’s Day guys”.
Therein lies the final lesson of Tim Russert’s illustrious personal and professional life.
He is a grim reminder that we never know how much time we have left, that it can all stop in the next moment, often when we least expect it. We do not know what day will be our last, what goodbye to loved ones will be our final one or when our assignment on this blue ball we call earth will be over.
Former New York Mayor Ed Koch recalled Russert’s curiosity regarding Koch’s own recent heart attack during a 1999 interview. Russert wanted to know what a heart attack felt like and whether or not Koch believed in an afterlife. Little did Tim know that nine years later he would suddenly find the answer to both questions.
Thus we have the three key lessons of Tim Russert’s life. Never forget where you came from; be proud of your roots and your upbringing, for they helped shape who you are today and keep you grounded. Find out what you were meant to do, what you are really good at, and make sure you work hard to be even better than that while helping all those with whom you come in contact. Finally, appreciate every moment you have, for you do not know when your last moment will arrive.
Tim Russert passed way too soon, but he did so doing what he loved to do after spending quality time with those he loved and while greatly admired by those he touched. Not bad for a kid from Buffalo.
Copyright by Gabriel Garnica
