A Letter to Luke Russert

Dear Luke,

I'm sure you're still in shock. Your dad died so suddenly. The hardest thing you had to do this morning was get out of bed and look at the front page of the paper and see the headline that your father had died yesterday. I'll try not to say the cliches, you'll hear plenty of those over the next few days. That's part of the territory. It just kind of has to happen. Its part of the "play," if you get my meaning. Don't worry, it helps to some degree.

Your father meant a lot to a lot of people. Millions of people looked at your father as a friend. The first thought I had when I heard your father died was "whose going to man the eraseboard this november?" I'm sure I wasn't alone.

You will hear a lot of good things about your father in the coming days. If you watched the television or looked at a newspaper within the last 24 hours you've probably already heard and read some of them. Those are the things you need to hear and remember. When my father died those little words and rememberances helped me more than anything. They inspired me to live differently to look to the future differently.

I've found myself getting a lump in my throat when I see something on TV about your father. He was a good man, I can tell that. He lived what he believed and he loved unconditionally. Those things people are going to say, those platitudes and those condolences they'll be heartfelt, let them settle in deep in the little place between your soul and heart, next to your dad memories. Those will settle in and grow. You'll get your strength there.

Take care, man. Things are going to be okay.

Peace,

Karl