an institution is gone.

Over the past five years two men have become fixtures in my life: Charles Osgood and Tim Russert. My Sunday mornings revolved around the New York Times, a cup of coffee, and CBS Sunday Morning followed by Meet the Press. The introduction of cable into my home brought with it Keith Olbermann, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert, but Charles and Tim were there first, and I never changed my Sunday routine. Rather, I would DVR Charles and Tim, so that when Christopher came over for brunch I could go back later and make sure I hadn't missed anything. So it was truly unbelievable to me to hear on Friday of Tim Russert's death. I still find it hard to think that he wont be sitting at the table on Sunday morning. Lots of people are paying tribute to him across the country, and it's impressive to see how many lives he touched. The story that occurred to me this weekend was truly blog-worthy, but somehow missed documentation (I went back and looked) - some might say it's not a fitting tale to tell at this moment, but I don't agree. One of the best first dates I've ever been on ended with watching Meet the Press on Sunday morning. It was back in Boston, and I'd met a boy who loved music, was intelligent, and, as it turned out, kept up with current events. We were at an amazing show - a new band for both of us, I'd heard good things and impressed the hell out of him - and were talking at one point about a recent development in the news. Boy said, "last week Tim Russert interviewed..." and I was gone. Good taste in live music, an interesting, thought-provoking job, and a fan of Tim's?? I'd thought it was too much to ask. We spent the next morning doing exactly what I always did on Sunday morning, and it was fantastic - he had me more excited than any boy in a long time - or since, for that matter. My folks knew I'd been out the night before and called to see how it went; when I didn't answer my phone during Sunday Morning they guessed the state of things. I talked to them later, and all Daddo said was, "Who ever heard of Tim Russert as a pick-up line?" Unfortunately, a month later boy wanted to pursue other things (girls), but at the time, it was wonderful.