This Race Is Over
Couldn't his heart have held on until November 5?
One last whiteboard moment here.
Today just took my breath away. But there is a lot of work to do, a lot of work. So I cried, came home, put on my sneakers, and went to work out until I could feel my own heart thumping against my chest. Tim Russert is gone, but between now and November this country has to engage in a discussion and a selection process that is unprecedented. Who is going to sit in that seat on Sunday morning? Who is going to say things like, "There were no weapons of mass destruction" -- speaking truth to power? How will any of us stand the election without that white board?
My sis and I were trying to pin the death on some sinister conspiracy. Nobody, especially not a top NBC newsman, just drops dead of a heart attack at work. But it turns out that he was sick, he had been controlling the plaque in his arteries with medication and exercise. But a bit of it broke off and killed him.
I tried to find out what Tim Russert's favorite song was. I learned he liked Van Morrison, another good Irishman like himself. I can't think of a better sendoff, really, than Into the Mystic. It's one of my favorite songs ever, so beautiful.
Today we sustained a terrible loss. We lost a talent, an American spirit, a navigator, a renegade. Tim Russert slipped into the Mystic when we weren't looking, to "smell the sea and feel the sky". I feel surprisingly sad, and lost. But he's free, and now we really have to think for ourselves. I hope we can manage.
Peace to you, Tim Russert.
posted by Mando Mama @ 8:06 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
I am shocked and sad. I didn't know he had a heart condition. 58 is too young to go.
Yeah, I am still adjusting. My dad died at 57 but he smoked and drank coffee and George Dickel somewhat interchangeably and never went to the doctor. The night leading up to his heart attack he was sick as a dog, but he wouldn't let my mother do anything. So, we all got what he deserved. But Tim Russert collapsed in the middle of the day working at NBC DC. Did he have no warning signs at all? It's just weird. Does no good for me to ask the question because he's "at the wrong location" so to speak. It just stinks. Really stinks. There is nobody to step into that role.
My father-in-law was overweight, but had an EKG a couple months before he died and it showed no irregularities or indication he had blockage. He and was on a pretty strict low-fat diet as well. He had a heart attack, and the ambulance was there in five minutes equipped with a defibulator - but he still could not be revived. Even with all our modern technology, death can occur without warning.
What a terrible loss for the honesty of our nation.
Hello Ips,
I knew I left someone out of the father's day piece...
That must have been a shock as well, but you're right, the truth is, you just never know. As much as humans think we can outwit biology, death is just not something we can control, just put off a while. At least Tim Russert died doing what he loved, even though election night will never be the same.
Gorgeous song, MM. Thank you.
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