I had just walked in my front door this afternoon when my cell phone started ringing. It was Mom. As we briefly chatted, she was also turning on her TV for her daily dose of Election ’08 news coverage.

My mom loves politics, you see. If you call my parent’s home around dinner time during a weekday night, you are sure to hear MSNBC or CNN in the background. I’ve lost count of the number of times she’s told me “sshhh, one second, let me hear this” because she’s been simultaneously listening to me while also listening to one of her favs: Tim Russert, Keith Olbermann or Chris Matthews.

Today, I didn’t hear the usual “sshhh, hold on a sec”. Today, I heard a heart-felt “Oh, my God…what…oh, noooo….”

That is how I found about Tim Russert’s passing today due to a sudden heart attack. Through my mom’s tears. We ended our call prematurely. It was just too much.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I was going through some old Oprah magazines before recycling them and I came across a short article about Tim Russert and his son, Luke. It was a fairly short first-person article by Tim, yet once reading it, you could just feel the inmeasurable love Tim had for his son — his only child. This time around, I was just as moved by the proud father’s words as I had been the first time I read them.

I wasn’t sure if my mom had ever read this article or seen a photo of Tim’s son and knew she would enjoy it. Since I didn’t want to forget to get the article to her, I ripped it out the magazine and immediately put it in the side compartment of the bag I always take with me when I visit my folks.

Recently when I was visiting, I gave the article to Mom. “Thought you’d enjoy this article about your boyfriend,” I told her as I handed her the folded-up page across the kitchen table. I had always teased my mom about having a crush on Tim Russert. When I would tease her, she’d just smile. Yeah, my mom loved herself some Tim Russert. Needless to say, I was quite fond of him too.

We both thought he was a brilliant man–a well-versed and insightful political commentator and journalist. No one on television interviewed like Tim Russert. He asked the tough questions and showed up prepared. He could be aggressive, yet still never stopped being the Tim we loved. He always had that wicked sense of humor and no matter who sat across from him, he never lost his warm, congenial and respectful nature.

Tim was one of a kind. There was just something about him. He had undeniable charisma. He was compassionate. He was the quintessential “jolly, good fellow.” I tend to be a good judge of character and it was obvious to me that the persona we saw on television was no act. The man was authentic. That was just him. And we loved that guy.

Tim was like a member of our family. Over the years, he made us laugh. He made us think. He made us proud.

Today, he made us cry.

Tim Russert will be sorely missed. He was a true class act.

Timothy J. Russert
May 7, 1950 – June 13, 2008

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My heart-felt condolences go out to the extended Russert family. I sincerely hope that Big Russ, Ms. Orth and Luke find some comfort in knowing how much their beloved touched us all. You are all in my prayers.