---

I clearly recall finishing Tim Russert's best-selling book, Big Russ and Me, in the summer of 2005 and thinking I just might have read the most charming, poignant and honest book to date.

Big Russ was written as a tribute to Russert's dad - Big Russ - and in large part chronicles Russert's 1950's upbringing in Buffalo, NY, and the lessons he learned as the son of a proud, hard-working, no-nonsense father. Big Russ worked for the sanitation department and also drove truck for a newspaper and was immensely proud to have served his country in WWII and provide for his family. Along the way, Big Russ made certain that his son and three daughters learned the value of hard work, honesty, humility, discipline and faith.

That book, full of memorable personal anecdotes, stuck with me for a number of days. For a multitude of reasons - chief among them my unwavering certainty that Russert was, at his core, a very grounded and humble person - I felt compelled to send an email to him telling him how much I enjoyed his book and what it meant to me.

When I checked my email later that same day, I noticed in my inbox that I had a message from Russert. It wasn't sent by one of his staffers. Russert himself took time at the end of his busy day to respond, telling me he was pleased to hear I enjoyed the book and asked me about my dad and if I had a story to share about him. I wrote a story that chronicled a defining experience with my dad and sent it back to Russert.

It was nearly a month later when I noticed a message from a "Bill Novak" in my junk mail inbox. Not recognizing the name, I nearly deleted the message before I read Tim Russert's name typed on the subject line. Out of sheer curiosity I opened the message to discover that Bill Novak was Russert's editor and was collaborating with Russert to create a second book, Wisdom of Our Fathers: Lessons and Letters From Daughters and Sons. This book was to be a collection of stories submitted by people about their own fathers. Evidently, Russert forwarded my story to Novak and it seemed they wished to include my story in the upcoming book, due for release in the spring of 2006. In his initial email, Novak asked me to call him in Boston and one thing quickly led to another. Shortly after that I received a nice letter from Russert attached to a draft of my story in case I wished to change anything before Novak's final edit. Next came another call from Novak and a contract from Random House, the book publisher. (In keeping with Russert's generous nature, all of the proceeds from the sale of Wisdom of Our Fathers benefited the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.)

Prior to his untimely death on June 13th of this year, Russert served as NBC's senior vice president and Washington bureau chief, managing editor and moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press," and political analyst for "NBC Nightly News" and the "Today" program. He also anchored a weekly interview program on MSNBC called "The Tim Russert Show." Russert was also an attorney and member of the bar in New York and the District of Columbia.

Despite a resume that could easily have put Russert well beyond the reach of common folks, he remained an extraordinarily grounded and humble fellow throughout his years of success and countless accolades. Those that knew him well remarked that he never forgot his middle-class Buffalo upbringing and blue-collar roots.

Despite not knowing Russert personally, our paths crossed in 2005 and I was the recipient of his kindness and personal touch - a couple of thoughtful emails, a letter, a nice note to me on the inside cover of a book. I feel honored to occasionally pull that book from the shelf and read the note from him and see my story associated with Russert. It wasn't until after his death that I discovered how truly busy Russert was day to day. It took some time and reflection on my part to finally realize how fortunate I was to have had him read my story and choose to include it in Wisdom of Our Fathers.

The timing of Russert's death, while tragic, was also in a way profoundly poetic. His untimely death served as a point in time - a juncture - in which we all took pause to remember what is truly important in our own lives.

The most unexpected and indelible lesson Russert leaves us after his passing is that we should keep our friends and family close and let those we love know how we feel before it's too late. For Mr. Russert, that was the way he lived.

---