Limbaugh's tribute to brother

After reading David Limbaugh's tribute to his brother Rush in the Southeast Missourian, I thought, "Thanks, I needed that." Full disclosure: I once worked at a radio station that switched from country music to talk, and was essentially replaced by Rush Limbaugh.

Honestly, I wasn't a big Rush fan, but that had more to do with us seeing the world differently.

I am, however, a fan of older brothers. And like David Limbaugh, I lost mine early -- at age 48. Rush died at 70, but when you lose a loved one, age doesn't matter. They all die too soon.

Judging by David Limbaugh's tribute to Rush, the Limbaughs understood the concept of family. In this more-heat-than-light world, we can quibble over politics, but there are, believe it or not, more important things.

As I read through the tribute, my mood veered away from any conservative vs. moderate or liberal divide and more toward how much my family seemed to have in common with the Limbaughs: my own big brother pushing me to betterment, and our parents leading by example.

I'm sure that our family dinner conversations over current events differed from the Limbaughs', but we ended those discussions as they began: as a family.

David Limbaugh's tribute to his brother reminded me that this is still possible.

JIM NEWTON, Itasca, Illinois