Thanks, Neal, for pointing out that we’ve made the NYT crossword puzzle, again. Names from the strip (I don’t want to spoil the puzzle for anyone!) show up there periodically, and it’s always a hoot.

Now, I hope you will forgive me if the commentary this morning is a bit inhouse, and I wouldn’t bring it up here at all, except you probably were exposed to the situation through stories in the news media two years ago. (Has it been that long?!) You will remember the oak trees at Toomer’s Corner, a landmark of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. They were poisoned by a wayward Alabama football fan after Auburn beat Alabama in 2010. The trees are still alive, thank you, but they are very distressed. They certainly will die an untimely death, whether this year or later. Now, a bit of background: the significance of the trees, and the reason they were targeted for attack, is that it has become a tradition for students and fans to “roll” the trees with toilet paper after an Auburn football victory. This past weekend, after a rare Auburn victory over a minor-league opponent (We’re having a down year.), the trees were rolled for only the third time this season. And, as has happened before after the “impromptu” pep rally, someone set the toilet paper on fire. You can imagine what this does for the debilitated trees, although it’s true they probably are going to die anyway. My point, fellow Auburn alumni, fans and students, is, maybe we should let this tradition die with the trees. We haven’t exactly been doing the oaks any favors over the years The toilet paper was removed with fire hoses before the trees were poisoned; now its done by hand by men in bucket trucks. That’s a rough thing to do to any tree, and it is kind of, well… juvenile. Anyway, that’s the opinion of this alumnus.