What's in a Eulogy?

Long time NBC reporter and anchor Edwin Newman died recently. Current NBC anchorman Brian Williams announced it on the news tonight. Sad news. I remember Newman in black and white when I watched him on television as a kid. He was a good one.

What struck me was the on-air "eulogy" Williams offered. As one would expect from a colleague, Williams spoke of Newman's many professional accomplishments. Newman was a great journalist by any measure. He reported big stories from around the world. He reported Kennedy's assassination. He informed the world of Dr. King's murder. He did it right. Honest. Fair. Objective.

What seemed missing from Williams' remarks were any accolades of Newman's personal life. He was married. He had a daughter. How did he do as a husband? A father? I would venture that while he was building his career, he spent many nights away from his family. A sacrafice I'm sure. It was a different time back then. Considering the stand-up guy he was, I bet he was a good husband and dad. I don't know.

I do know this...

My eulogy should be simple (and hopefully a long time from now). It won't take long to capture my essence. All ya gotta say is, "he was a good dad." That's enough. That is what matters. Don't wax poetic about my career. My boys won't want to hear it. They don't care that I won some awards here and there or that I had a pretty good run doing something I loved. They need to hear, "your dad loved you more than anything in the world."

We could use a few more journalists like Edwin Newman these days. His integrity will be missed.

And, well, we could use a few more good dads too. Kids need that.


Scott