Florida forever
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- June
- 16
With the passing of Tim Russert, a few thoughts occur to me.
The first is that he was preparing to leave this world and didn’t even know it. Much like Princess Diana divesting herself of her gowns at a public auction before she died, Russert was engaged in saying goodbye — having his staff on “Meet the Press” to wrap up primary season; going off to Rome with his wife and son. Yes, these can be seen as mere passages in a man’s life and acts of leave-taking only in retrospect. But life has a way of tying up the loose ends without our realizing it.
The other thought is that he always seemed to me like a man who was about to sit down to a big, thick juicy steak dinner. He attacked everything he did with that kind of gusto.
Not everyone gets a chance in life to live out his passion. For him and for us it was a lovely thing that he did. I remember in particular the installment of NBC’s “Meet the Press” that marked the first anniversary of 9/11. It was a healing program of faith, without being sanctimonious or overbearing.
For the most part, the three-day TV wake staged by NBC has been appropriate. Some might deem it excessive. But then, death is always excessive if it’s happening to you or a loved one.
One request, though, NBC: Please stop attributing the quote “To him to whom much has been given, much will be required” to St. Luke. Rather Jesus says this is the Gospel written by St. Luke.
Russert was a famously prepared journalist. The NBC staff should be no less in paying tribute to him.
And as for you yourself, Tim, Godspeed. We’ll miss you. But then, we’ll always have Florida.
This entry was posted
on Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 4:35 pm by Georgette Gouveia.
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