Russert writes about lessons from his father, lessons for his own son

Published: 2004-06-17

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Just in time for Father's Day, Tim Russert, moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press," has written a memoir about the lessons he has learned in life from his father and the lessons he hopes to pass on to his son. "I wrote the book to affirm my dad's life," Russert said in a June 7 telephone interview with the Catholic Standard, newspaper of the Washington Archdiocese. He was in California to promote his best-selling book, "Big Russ & Me," published by Miramax. "He was born during the Depression. He left school in the 10th grade to serve in World War II," he added. The television journalist noted that his father survived a terrible plane crash during the war, then returned to the Buffalo area to support his family, which grew to include four children. He held down two full-time jobs for 30 years, working with the Sanitation Department and driving a newspaper delivery truck. "I grew up in a south Buffalo Irish Catholic neighborhood. Everybody was Catholic," Russert remembered. "The reason (his dad) worked two jobs was to send his four kids to parochial school."

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