Not All !!!

Six years ago today, at almost exactly this time I received a phone call from my mom about my friend Paul. The news gave live continuous coverage of the burning plane in a marshy field.

Paul was a friend of mine. He was also a friend of the poor, a friend to the farmer, a friend to the veteran. Paul was a friend to anyone who did not have a voice.

Paul died, doing what Paul always did. Against advice from campaign insiders, Paul was on his way to the funeral of the father of a friend, because caring for and about people was personal for Paul.

Paul's voice has been silent for six years and perhaps we will never have another like him. But, today, six years later- on the eve of another election day, my sad recollections of that cold October morning are enlightened a bit with a new hope.

Paul would have been enthusiastic about the notion of Barack Obama. I also can't help but beleive that Paul is somewhere watching the events of the past months, and hearing all the things being said about Al Franken- his quirkiness, his temperament, his liberal leanings, etc.

If that is the case, I would hope he is laughing in that full-lunged way that I can vividly remember still, and thinking that he had heard it all before.

Paul Wellstone deserves to be remembered today.

Hear him in the above link as he opposed military action in Iraq, just days before the tragic accident that ended his life. There is also another tribute within the link that is worth a read.

And, just to raise your blood pressure there is this .