the dreaming tree

i’ve been trying not to cry for the last 5 hours at work. and for most of you, this will a) mean nothing, and b) seem really strange. paul eells, who has been the voice of the razorbacks for the past 28 years, died last night in a car wreck. the sports talk radio station here in town spent all morning devoted to talking about paul, who had a reputation as one of the nicest men of all time. many many people called in to tell stories of how he treated them with dignity and respect and kindness in their everyday meetings with him, with no cameras or publicity around. governor mike huckabee said, “The reason that Paul Eells was so beloved in this state was not only for his unmatched professional skills … but for his authentic optimism, kindness, and thoughtfulness.” i mean, the guy really was an arkansas icon. and i usually tear up a little bit when i hear paul’s signature “touchdown arkansas,” but this morning as they’ve been playing back some of his greatest calls, i’ve just wanted to weep, and have had a few tears drop. and then finally i got what i had been hoping for, and that was a testimony from someone who attended church with paul, who spoke of God’s role in paul’s life being quite evident, and not that he was just a nice guy. he truly reflected Christ everyday, and that was really what caused the most emotion to spring forth from me, even now as i’m typing this. i could type for quite awhile longer about paul eells’ affect on me and thousands of others in the state, even though many of us never met him. maybe it is ludicrous to have such an attachment to a radio/tv sports broadcaster, but for razorbacks fans, he has literally been what you think of when you think of razorback football for nearly 30 years. which means for me it’s the only voice i’ve ever heard calling razorback games, so i have no idea what i’m going to do when i hear someone else’s voice doing it. probably cry some more. and i can’t wait to be in the stadium for the first game when they show a tribute on the screen and 70.000+ rabid fans stand and salute the man whose voice captured razorback excitement.