I Was Born in Buffalo, a Year After Tim Russert. He Makes Me so Proud...

[Indi Guy]

Buffalo, New York is known as "The City of Good Neighbors."

Yeah it has it's slums, like any big city; but if you were lucky enough to be born in any part of Buffalo -- you would know thet there is a sense of family with every "stranger" you meet there.

Russert grew up on the South (industrial) side of Buffalo. I worked there as a steel worker at Republic Steel to pay my tuition to college.

The South side of Buffalo was so polluted that you could smell it long before you entered it. Even the chemical plants had smokestacks.

Because of the air quality, I've always felt sorry for the kids who had no choice but to live on the South side of Buffalo. Until today I didn't know that Tim Russert grew up there.

Who knows how much longer he may have lived if he weren't exposed to all those chemicles in his formative years?

I don't know that any of what I say here is important. What I know is the polluted landscape of South Buffalo at the time of Tim's youth.

It's not hard to imagine that Tim's early passing might be related to his growing up at the bases of the noxious industrial smokestacks. You would have to been there to know how toxic the air was.

All this said -- Tim Russert exemplified Buffalo (The City of Good Neighbors) to the world. I'm not a big fan of people making cases for where they grew up, but Buffalo is special in my experience.

Please forgive me if I think my town is somewhat destinctive because its psyche might have helped to inspire the character of Tim Russert.

[DrDan]

1. a few years ago I managed a handful of technical trainers in Florida

Two were from Buffalo. They both were very proud of their city. They talked about it constantly. They visited yearly - and always brought back food that they freely shared. Both were avid Buffalo sports fans.

Perhaps it is the harsh weather. Perhaps the economics. Whatever - sure seems like a tightly-connected community with very proud citizens - to include Russert.

[jumptheshadow]

2. Me, too

I could never be objective about Tim Russert. I would get angry at his television persona, sometimes, then he would just go back to being a distant brother figure. We had too much in common.

We were about the same age, tended to have similar demeanors, and had both been weaned on too many of Ted's charcoal hots. We both grew up Irish in Buffalo, one of the most decent, hard-working and ill-fated cities in the nation.

His roots were in the deeply religious and proletarian community of South Buffalo, although he began to leave that neighborhood behind when he attended Canisius High to the north. Mine were in the lace curtain lawyers' havens in north and suburban Buffalo, although my immediate family's circumstances were often troubled, and I, too, have had to work hard for everything I have ever achieved.

To understand what Tim Russert meant to Buffalo, you have to consider what the city has gone through. Globalization has left large parts of its industrial and residential areas a decaying ghost town. Local political corruption and shady deals stymy almost all well-intentioned attempts to revive its economy. It's a shame, because the city offers miles of cheap real estate and tens of thousands of potential employees who have an old-fashioned sense of customer service and work ethics. Got snow? No problem! If we have a regularly scheduled family event, we'll just allow 45 minutes extra to navigate the streets.

Tim Russert was Buffalo's favorite son. He was a bright, nice guy who didn't attend any rarefied schools and who became perhaps one of the most respected contemporary figures through hard work, smarts and political acuity. He was plain spoken, yet articulate, like many Buffalonians. And he never forgot his roots when he became a celebrity.

Yes, I know, many of you, and some of my friends, hated his "Buffalo shtick." You just didn't understand how uplifting it was to so many Buffalonians who have been through hard times and who felt like family to him. I will never forget, when, at the end of one of his shows, he implored Americans to become Buffalonians for one day and to root for the Bills to win just one Super Bowl. I don't know how many folks actually changed their allegiances that day, but the thought that they might have sure cut the sting of one of those damn Super Bowl defeats.

Put Russert's name up on the honor wall in Ralph Wilson stadium, say I.

[KharmaTrain]

3. Russert The Man Vs. The TV Personality

This was a complex man whose common thread was his passion. It was his passion for politics that took him to the top of the beltway media ladder...a world of cut-throat and "use and be used"...a transitory world of people with big egos and an even bigger desire to be "important". Many out here are caught up in that world as well...wired into a 24/7 world that has made the people whose faces appear on the screen an important part in many others lives. It's an artificial world in many ways as it revolves around the people rather than the issues...driven by polls and partisanship...the elements that make "good teevee". Russert, the TV personality, thrived in this element like a sports reporter does in running from locker room to locker room. He doesn't necessarily play the game, but what he says sure impacts it. It's also not about who wins or loses but who is perceived to be a winner or loser...no wonder Russert was such a big sports fan.

Then there Russert the father, the son...the human. From all that's been said and written, the man was able to divorce his professional life from his personal one...and to do some very admirable things. It's not easy to balance life in the bubbleworld of the corporate media and a family...you have to live the media 24/7...but he was able to find the time to unplug and give of himself to others. It's the side of this man that makes his sudden death such a painful one.

Being that complex man, Russert also mixed his Buffalo and Blue Collar roots with the high-flying, elitist world of the beltway...and dare I say, the jury is mixed. There were times I felt he used those roots, or his past political affiliation to the late Senator Monyahan, as being a shield from being labeled as part of the same elite he interviewed. In time he became as much a part of that culture and more removed from the blue collar world. That is, at least when he was "on"...and that's the Tim Russert most of us saw, not the private one who obviously was very dedicated to family and friends.

Here's a toast to the memory of a man who lived his passions and how its touched so many...some positive, some negative, but no matter what, he's left his mark on American popular culture.

:toast:

[jumptheshadow]

4. That was a great post

Nicely written and you make many good points.