1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,399 Hey, thanks for being a part of the conversation. This is Forest Stories. 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,080 I am the Poet in the Forest, a children's series that I pinned 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,119 out in the nineteen nineties. Now, none of it would be possible if 4 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:13,480 it wasn't for this forest right here in South Charlotte, North Carolina. I 5 00:00:13,519 --> 00:00:17,600 talk about it so much that I thought maybe it's time that you get to 6 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:23,600 know what has inspired me for thirty years. Thanks for being a part of 7 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:28,480 the conversation. Welcome back to the forest. We're taking a stroll this new 8 00:00:28,559 --> 00:00:34,039 day to Larry Lane. Larry Lane is named after my wife's first rescue that 9 00:00:34,079 --> 00:00:39,039 came from Los Angeles. We lost him in two thousand and one, and 10 00:00:39,359 --> 00:00:41,799 you know, we honored him. We honored him with his own section of 11 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:45,320 the forest. One of the things that took place, not only did we 12 00:00:45,359 --> 00:00:49,560 plant this beautiful white pine which is now thirty five forty feet tall gives us 13 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:54,479 these unbelievable needles during the fall months, but we also honored a piece in 14 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:58,520 the ground and in it it's a plaque which I got to be honest with 15 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:03,359 you, I had totally forgotten about. And the reason being is because we 16 00:01:03,359 --> 00:01:07,200 were putting down wood chips to fortify the soil, to give this the soil 17 00:01:07,239 --> 00:01:14,519 and other opportunity to give it new energy. And just the other day I 18 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:19,079 noticed something the plaque that we put in the ground. For some reason, 19 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:25,040 this blue piece of stone was speaking out to me. And I've never talked 20 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:29,239 about it on four stories, but there it is. I'm looking at it 21 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:33,519 right now. Larry Anthony is what it says, and it has the date 22 00:01:33,599 --> 00:01:38,680 that he passed away, which was August twelfth, two thousand and one. 23 00:01:38,719 --> 00:01:42,000 And I'm so afraid of this headstone being here in the ground and exposing it 24 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,879 to the rest of the world because there are a lot of children that come 25 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,480 walking in this area, and I would hate for them to think otherwise of 26 00:01:49,519 --> 00:01:53,079 this stone, something that they could steal, something that they think, you 27 00:01:53,079 --> 00:01:57,560 know, belongs to them, because you know, it's just what kids do. 28 00:01:57,519 --> 00:02:01,200 But it's beautiful blue. Even after all of these years, that's two 29 00:02:01,239 --> 00:02:07,319 thousand and one, it's twenty twenty four, all those years, twenty three 30 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:12,919 years have gone by, and that headstone for Larry On Larry Lane is still 31 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:15,840 just as vibrant as his life and what he brought into this forest, the 32 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:19,800 way that he would run through the slow moving stream. He would go back 33 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:23,280 to the lake. He would just get all muddied up and smell like crud. 34 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:30,479 But that was Larry. That was Larry. And today brushing back the 35 00:02:30,479 --> 00:02:35,159 wood chips to look at that stone. Today, a lot of memories, 36 00:02:35,479 --> 00:02:38,680 a lot of love remains in this forest. Hey, thanks for being a 37 00:02:38,719 --> 00:02:39,560 part of the conversation.