They were paying tribute to him this morning on MSNBC and drew out an interview done on him when he was talking about his dad and the book he wrote about him, "Big Russ and Me." His father was present.
Tim related how he was playing on a youth team and needed a new baseball glove. He finally got a new one from his dad and to his dismay, it "wasn't a Rawlings or a Spalding." It was a brand he'd never heard of. He said his dad could read the disappointment on his face and that was more than any words could say. "He just walked away with his head down. I knew I had disappointed him." Russert apologized to his dad during that interview.
I'd had a similar experience during the end of WWII when I wanted a glove badly and there were none to be found in stores. I was using a boxing glove to catch. My grandmother got me a catchers mitt and I recall how downcast I was over that. Well, I apologize to my grandmother. She had to bring that mitt in from out of state.
Today I appreciate just about any glove as a treasure of sorts.
