I’ve had a few brushes with fame and significant individuals in my lifetime. Through my work with the youth journalism program Y-Press, I met and interviewed Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. When I traveled to Northern Ireland with Y-Press, I interviewed Sinn Fein politician Martin McGuinness in his home. When we returned to the States, we interviewed his colleague Gerry Adams by phone.

Lately, my brushes with celebrity have been a little more close-to-home. Peyton Manning came into Harry & Izzys and ate dinner at the bar while my husband and I were having drinks there. (He is a part owner of the restaurant.) I saw his teammate, Jeff Saturday, having his car valet parked downtown a few months ago. And former Pacers star Reggie Miller was sitting discreetly in the corner of a popular restaurant I visited once this winter. Really, it’s pretty easy to run into athletes in this town. And, in my line of work, I tend to run into visiting artists pretty frequently too.

But my favorite brush with fame is my most recent. I got to meet my favorite journalist, Tim Russert at the IMA almost 2 months ago.

Long story short, I emailed a jpeg of a portrait in our collection by Hyacinthe Rigaud to one of his producers because our staff had joked for a while that Tim Russert looked so much like the “gentleman” in the portrait. You can judge for yourself. A couple of his producers sent me some kind emails back, asking more questions about the artwork.

Then, the political primary season continued to charge on, and for the first time in 40 years, Indiana’s primary was in the national spotlight.

My friend and colleague, Jyl called me on May 2 to say that she heard Meet the Press was going to be in town that weekend in advance of Indiana’s primary. I emailed one of the producers who I’d exchanged emails with earlier, and I invited their staff to come see the work in person. I figured it was a long shot given their presumably busy schedules. But that Saturday morning, I got back to my car after running the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, and I had a voicemail from his producer. By the time I called her back, they were on their way to the Museum.

I raced up to the Museum from downtown (still wearing my race number), and I got to take Tim Russert and his producer up to see the portrait hanging in our European galleries.

The experience was everything I could have hoped for. I always thought I had a lot in common with Tim Russert. He’s Irish American; I’m Irish American. His parents worked hard to send him to Catholic schools. My parents worked hard to send me to Catholic schools. He loved politics. I love politics. He loved sports. I love sports. He was from Buffalo. I have family in Buffalo. He worked for Mario Cuomo; I interviewed Mario Cuomo. He worked for Daniel Patrick Moynihan. I have a brother named Daniel and a brother named Patrick.

The 25 minutes or so that I got to spend with Tim Russert and his great producer, lead me to believe that everything that his been said about him since his untimely passing is true. We got to chat about Indiana’s presidential primary (and how my friends were divided in their support of the candidates). He commented on the beauty of the IMA’s gardens and grounds, and he said that everyone at our local NBC affiliate had treated him very well. His love of current events was evident, as he already knew the story of the “co-winners” at that morning’s mini-marathon – something I hadn’t even heard myself yet. And, I think he really got a kick out of seeing the portrait that he looked so much like.

I hesitate to pontificate about the death of someone who I met only briefly, but I will point to one of the best lessons I ever learned in school – something that I’ve been thinking about as I’ve watched and read coverage of Tim Russert’s passing. I had a high school teacher who wrote the following on his blackboard everyday: “Prepare through life for no regrets in death.” To me it seems that Tim Russert modeled this idea in the way he lived his life. What a great role model to have.