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In the business of precision aviation, it is called the ''missing man formation''. It's usually seen at air shows — when jets fly in close formation, to honor fallen pilots of the past, they often fly by the crowd with an obvious piece missing from a diamond formation in the sky. The same could also be said about NBC News, and our viewing audience: we've been flying with a missing man since the afternoon Tim died.

It's been a test of our faith. We believe he is with us in spirit, because we can feel him. We know he meant a lot to our lives, because his absence physically hurts. On the day Biden was named, on the day Palin was named, on the night Obama was elected...I found myself reaching out to him, selfishly wanting to talk to him. He was the man from Buffalo — who conquered New York and Washington and never allowed either city to change him.

We had a lot in common, and we enjoyed the shorthand that friends use. We were both Irish Catholics from ''striving'' middle class families, as we used to like to say. He would ask about my wife and kids and I'd ask about his wife and son. We both drove the same kind of car. We grew up loving the same Presidents and politicians. As a New York Giants fan, I was even willing to tolerate his love of the Buffalo Bills. We called each other ''Brother''.

Losing Tim triggered all of life's clichés: life is too short...you don't know what you have until you lose it...make the most of each day...tell people you love them while you have them around. They're all true. He was the real deal. And here's another one for you: I'd give anything to be able to sit with him for one more day — to bring him up to date on politics, tell him what our country has just done, and hear him say, ''This is BIG!''

Russert, 58, died of a heart attack in Washington, D.C.

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