A tribute.

I'm not normally very political, but I have found myself quite sad since learning of Tim Russert's death yesterday. I left work early yesterday afternoon and when I got home, I had an e-mail from CNN Breaking News stating that Mr Russert had passed away, an untimely death, at the age of 58. I immediately clicked over to their website to find that he'd had a heart attack while working on his Meet the Press show for Sunday. He'd just returned from a trip to Italy with his family to celebrate his son's college graduation. Since then, outside of the things I've had to get done last night and earlier today, I have been consumed with listening to the news coverages, the tributes, etc. I just cannot hear enough.

One of the best things when I bought my house was that my bedroom was big enough that I could have a television in there. I'd never had that 'luxury' before, so I was thrilled when it all worked out like it did. In the 3.5 years I've been here, I've gotten used to watching the Today Show in the morning and hearing what's going on in the world before I head out to work each day. With things on the political realm as they have been for a while, Tim Russert was on there most every morning giving the facts and his insight on what was going on. His humor and truthfulness were things that I liked and his was an opinion that I began to look forward to hearing without even really realizing that I did.

It's funny how you can feel like you know someone simply by watching them on television, but that's kinda how I feel. With all the tributes I've heard since yesterday afternoon, it seems like the kindness and respect that I saw him give the Today Show hosts were qualities that were part of his everyday life. For some reason, I don't have a hard time believing that. In listening to him speak, he seemed very 'real' and I have been touched, much moreso than I expected to be, by the tributes I've heard from so many involved in his life....co-workers, employees, friends, politicians, etc, and it breaks my heart that so many of these people feel they have lost someone who was a true friend in every sense of the word. He was evidently a fabulous man and while he did incredible research in his job, he made others feel appreciated, valued, respected and honored by remembering the little things and celebrating the big moments in the lives of his friends, even as busy as he was. It seems that he was filled with such enthusiasm for every aspect of his life....father, husband, son, boss, mentor, political correspondent, spiritually, etc.

He evidently led a fabulous life and set the bar very high morally, ethically and professionally. We should all be so fortunate to have such a balanced life and be remembered so fondly. Even though I didn't know him personally, I'm going to miss him and I'm going to miss his insight as this upcoming election unfolds. It just seems sad that he won't be here for it.

I found this quote earlier this week and it seems appropriate to share here:

There are many fine things which you mean to do some day, under what you think will be more favorable circumstances. But the only time that is surely yours is the present, hence this is the time to speak the word of appreciation and sympathy, to do the generous deed, to forgive the fault of a thoughtful friend, to sacrifice self a little more for others. Today is the day in which to express your noblest qualities of mind and heart, to do at least one worthy thing which you have long postponed, and to use your God-given abilities for the enrichment of some less fortunate fellow traveler.

Grenville Kleiser, 1868-1953
American Author