Over The Rainbow

I was quite amazed, yet not too surprised to hear Keith Olbermann and Brian Williams report that after Tim Russert's memorial service on Wednesday June, a rainbow appeared over Washington, DC while Tim's brother-in-law played "Over the Rainbow." It just really forces you to step back and think that there must be a higher power at work, and that Tim knew what was going on that sad, but celebratory afternoon in Washington. And it's the same as with my Dad. The night he died, our alarm in our house went off for no apparent reason at around 1am. My sister, who is a nurse, said that based on the time he died, 1am would make sense to have had Dad cleaned up and ready for transport to the funeral home. It was Dad's way of saying he was OK. And Dad, I know that you're still around with some of the crazy things that go on with the TV and VCR in Mom's house!!

I worked for MSNBC years ago, but I didn't know Tim Russert. And I continue to have a great sense of pride for working at MSNBC and the NBC Network. It is still a void in my career I have yet to fill.

Yet over the past week, I felt like I knew him. I cried while watching the memorial service on-line. I didn't catch it live on TV. And regardless of his political affiliation, he just seemed like a genuine nice guy, who loved his work, but loved his family and friends more. And I think for that reason, I feel a sense of loss with Tim's passing.

When looking at my life through a mirror, I just wonder why sometimes I choose to not be as happy as I can possibly be. I wonder why I can't live a life like Tim Russert did? Genuinely happy, so proud of his wife and son, helped others, and was passionate about his work. Now, being passionate about work is one thing. One thing I know from my own experiences is that work doesn't love you back. Yes, you should love what you do, but who really does? But loving your family and friends as much as Tim did is something to be envious about. From what I could tell from his memorial service, Tim didn't have a lot of real close friends, but those he did, he loved greatly. Why isn't everyone like that? Wouldn't this world be a happier better place?

Though at times I can be stupid and thoughtless, I love my wife and family passionately. And I truly do care about my close friends. When I'm a father, I truly hope that I have the same sense of pride about being a father to my children that Tim Russert did.

Today, I want to live a happy, fulfilling, proud life like my father did and like Tim Russert did. It's a choice. I'll do it.

A Sobering Father's Day

I understand that I haven't blogged in a while, and for anyone out there who reads my blog, my apologies. It just hasn't been a priority for me lately. But I'll try to be better at it.

Dad, we visited you today for Father's Day. We rubbed the lottery tickets for you. We won $7! Not bad. Since I knew you'd be upset if we left the winning tickets for you, we just left the "official... losers" for you. I remember a long time ago, you used to collect them and you had a stash of them in your night-table. That was a long time ago!!! I hope you're doing OK, Dad. I miss you.

This past Friday, Tim Russert of NBC News' Meet the Press suddenly died. He died of a heart attack. It turns out that Tim had heart problems similar to my Dad. Now I didn't know Tim at all. I didn't meet him when I worked at MSNBC. So maybe it's silly to feel bad that he died, and that the tributes on television this weekend did bring me to a few tears. But yet, I feel sad.

Events like that of Tim Russert do bring life into perspective. It reminds us of what is important.. family, friends, love, and G-D. Not working 20 hour days at work at a job that may or may not reward in ways that we deserve. The thing is, while we have the right perspective now, it fades, and we all go back into our old habits of worrying about the wrong things.

Happy Father's Day, Dad. I love you.

McCain 2008