Big Russ & Me

Big Russ & Me

Several months ago I purchased Tim Russert’s book about his father, Big Russ & Me. Like many similar purchases I had plans to read it; but not immediately. Mr. Russert’s (little Russ) sudden death last month changed all that. During a planned trip to Baltimore to visit my 84 year old father I read this wonderful book.

Having a dad who fought and was injured in WW II, having attended a Catholic grade school (St. Rita in Dundalk, Md.) and having attended both a Jesuit high school (Loyola) and college (again Loyola) I could identify with many of Mr. Russert’s growing up experiences. If you have ever had a close encounter with a Jesuit Prefect of Discipline and been given time in “jug” then you will not only appreciate ; but thoroughly enjoy this book.

A quick look at the chapter headings will convince you that if you are a baby boomer you will enjoy this book. With chapters titled: Respect, Work, Baseball, Discipline, 1968, Politics and more you will relive your childhood in these pages.

In the chapter titled Respect you will read: “After supper, nobody had to remind us to do our homework; it was part of our daily routine and we just did it.” Mr. Russert continues: “This may sound hard to believe , but when my sisters and I were in school, homework was something that children did all by themselves.” Additionally Mr. Russert states: “ Self-esteem wasn’t something you started out with; it was a feeling that you earned through hard work.”

In the chapter titled Discipline Mr. Russert recounts the words of warning of the Prefect of Discipline at Canisius High School: “You must be at school on time. If you don’t have an alarm clock, ask your parents to get you one. With punctuality, as with everything else at this school, you will be held responsible for your actions. Getting here on time is not your parents’ responsibility. That is your job. There is one excuse that I will absolutely not tolerate, and that is, ‘My mother didn’t get me up on time’.”

In this chapter Mr. Russert also makes a very timely and telling observation: “ It’s important to have high expectations of children and young people, and it’s equally important to give teachers the authority they need to impose discipline and teach accountability. In this respect, I believe that parents of my generation have often failed our kids. We are so eager to be understanding and sympathetic, that we end up being too lenient, even as we further undermine the already diminished authority of teachers, coaches and administrators”.

In 2006 Mr. Russert wrote Wisdom of Our Fathers --- if it is half as good as Big Russ & Me then it will be well worth reading.