14 June 2008
Patricia MaloneyTim Russert and the Buffalo Diaspora
It is a truism that those of us who chafed under the upbringing of our beautiful and frustrating native city become its greatest proponents once we leave its borders.
Thirty years ago, David Sullivan (Canisius High School ’70, MIT ’74, Harvard Law School ’77), a Lackawanna native and older brother of Buffalo News editor Margaret Sullivan, was campaigning for the Cambridge (MA) City Council. He was out knocking on doors one day, and a tousled-looking young man opened the door. Sullivan introduced himself as a candidate. The potential voter announced, “I’m from Tonawanda!”
Sullivan had not mentioned his home town—but there must be an invisible mark on us.
There is nothing a transplanted Buffalonian likes to do more than admit being from Buffalo and talking about Buffalo. Ask any of the native Buffalonians’ friends and colleagues.
Here in Washington, there are thousands of former Buffalonians, most of them longing for some of the comforts of home. Some of us came here for jobs and stayed. Some of us—like former representative Jack Quinn—came, stayed for a long while, and made their way home.
Despite the lack of a decent chicken wing, a high cost of living, and mind-boggling commuting conditions, most of us stay. Hundreds gather each September for an overcrowded event on the Senate side of Capitol Hill called Buffalo Nite (sic), an opportunity to get some Rosina’s sausage, meet Charlie the Butcher, and take home sponge candy.
Among the numbers of relocated Buffalonians in Washington are many in the media. Among that group, there was no greater friend to Buffalo than Tim Russert (Canisius High School ’68), whose weekly audience on NBC’s "Meet the Press" knew all about Buffalo, the world of South Buffalo, the Sabres, and the Bills. Even in death, Russert is linked to his home. Last night, Keith Olbermann’s masterful anchoring of coverage about Russert on MSNBC reached a crescendo when he read Byron Browm’s proclamation lowering the flags to half-mast on city property. Olbermann’s voice broke, and the camera showed our beautiful City Hall.
Tim Russert was many things—an astute political operative, a shrewd journalist, a professional living a very privileged life in the nation’s capital. He always looked like he was having a great time. Most of all, he was the greatest spokesperson that Buffalo has ever had. He never forgot his start, and he never got tired of talking about home. Every Sunday for over 17 years, the rest of the nation got to remember with him.
Tim Russert, his high school classmate Tom Fontana (who named one of the most interest characters in the great "Homicide: Life on the Streets" after Russert, an alleged cousin of the character), and Diane English are some of our generation who have carried home with us everywhere we go.
Tim Russert moved from one of the comfortable and manageable and interesting cities in the US to one of the most exciting and frustrating and interesting places on earth. The weather can stink, but one is never bored for a moment. Those of us who love politics and policy also know that growing up in Buffalo and surviving New York politics is the best finishing school for the world of the Hill and the national media. He never, for one moment, forgot his roots—a true Buffalonian.
“You sound like you’re from the Midwest,” people often say when meeting us.
“No,” we respond. “I’m from Buffalo. Just like Tim Russert.”
Patricia Maloney (Mount St. Joseph Academy ’70, University at Buffalo ’73 and ’02) lives and works in the Washington area.
Copyright 2008 by Buffalo Report, Inc.