For the past week, I have been blog-stuck. Don't get me wrong ~ there have been plenty of things to write about: the amazing conversation I had with my fiction editor; the special men I have been meeting on my site; the...not so special but definitely interesting men I have met on the site; Nemeria's wedding; the Summer Solstice; giggling before sleep because my life was just so damn good... You get the idea.
But none of it felt right somehow.
Sunday was Father's Day. It's one of the three days that still consistently sting. My mother sent me a Father's Day gift. Tim Russert's new book. This has certain duality for me. First and foremost, Tim Russert is my single favorite journalist working today. He will go in the annals with the likes of Cronkite and Koppel. The night of the Bush/Gore election when he was sitting there with a white board and erasable markers, I remember thinking "I wonder if he realizes his life is about to change and he's about to become the news' 'It-Man'" Secondly, I am learning he is a good father.
I don't know Tim Russert. I will never know Tim Russert. Six degrees of separation be damned ~ this man and I will never be friends. Which means I have never seen him parent. I don't have to.
When you are raised by a man who loves you, respects you, likes you ~ all unconditionally ~ you know what it sounds like when you hear it in someone else. Tim Russert is a good dad.
He is also an amazing writer. His stories are gentle, almost soft, and yet I find myself wanting more of his stories, less of the stories he is setting up. Yes, I can read Big Russ and Me, the book that started it all. But that's not what I want to read. I want to read more of his stories about his son, Luke, and how the two of them relate.
So, if you are looking for a good book this summer, to enjoy under a nice tree with a glass of whatever, or on the beach, or sitting in front of your air conditioner ~ may I recommend Tim Russert. He' worth it.
Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.
3 comments:
thanks for the revieew on a good book. i've been waiting for a book coming out late July , this might tie me over and then of course there is your book to hit the shelves in Sept in the Boston area. I am buying two for my 18 and 19 y/o kids who love english and writting.
peace
What a terrific book review. I'm sorry your loss still stings.
I'll definitely get it. I've always loved him, too--this despite the rumor that he was caught wearing a Bush lapel pin. Some years ago I wrote to him looking for a job, though I have zero experience in broadcast journalism. He took the time to write back the nicest note. Still have it.
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