Some Things are More Pressing Than Shameless Self-Promotion or Plant a Tree for the Auburn Trees

I fully intended to post about my media one-two punch when I Got To Be on the radio and in the online edition of the local paper on the same day.  I know; I will give you a moment.

But, last evening, I read what is quite possibly the worst story I have ever read.  Some Very Bad Man decided that it would be a good idea to poison two huge, 130-year-old trees that the folks at Auburn University celebrate under whenever they beat Alabama. The kids and other fans would get together after a victory and roll the trees, which means “hooting, hollering, and tossing toilet paper up in their branches to watch it trail gloriously back to earth, leaving pristine white streamers to adorn the trees.”

Apparently, an Alabama fan enraged over a loss, decided to retaliate.  Not by stealing the Auburn mascot or by taking out a full-page ad in the local paper stating Auburn Sux. No, this guy decided to poison the trees.  Apparently, the dose of herbicide he gave these beautiful trees was over 50 times the strength of a lethal dosage.  And now, the trees will die a slow, horrible death, and there’s just nothing anyone can do about it.

The students gathered on February 16, after they learned that the trees were dying, for an impromptu tree rolling.  I would like to think that the trees appreciated the gesture.  I’d also hope that the folks at Auburn would use the wood from the trees to build a Memorial Structure–maybe a gazebo or something.  As to the Very Bad Man, I prefer not to think about him.  He is beneath my contempt.

What I propose is that anyone who reads this and is moved by it go out, buy a small tree, and plant it as a living memorial to the Auburn trees.  You can let me know if you participate, but you don’t have to.

Update:  My friend Thomas (find him @travelingscreen on twitter) and his wife, Roberta, are donating to American Forests in the name of the Toomer’s Oaks.  What a wonderful idea.  You could also donate to the Arbor Day Foundation or any other organization that supports the environment in general or trees in particular.

And that’s all.  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.  I’m going tree shopping.