Speaker 1: Hey, thanks for being a part of the conversation. This
is Forest Stories. I am the Poet in the Forest,
a children's series that I pinned out in the nineteen nineties. Now,
none of it would be possible if it wasn't for
this forest right here in South Charlotte, North Carolina. I
talk about it so much that I thought, maybe it's
time that you get to know what has inspired me
for thirty years. Thanks for being a part of the conversation.
Welcome back to the forest. A thought has fallen into
my heart, planted by my neighbor Fred, You're old grow
with it. Of course I had to reflect on that
I've been a part of this forest for thirty two years.
I'm old grow with it, which could be the very
reason why less than a year ago I decided that
it was time to share the story of this forest
in South Charlotte, North Carolina. The street sign says it's
Rainbow Forest. I gotta believe it. It must be. I
don't see anything else. I don't see pictures of this
forest before we all arrived here. You're old grow with it.
Part of that growth is sharing it. I'm walking up
Heartbreak Hill. We've talked about Heartbreak Hills so many times.
This is a monster of a hill. We've talked about
how Ron he was faithfully out here every day with
his dogs, but as he got older he couldn't do
it anymore. So he drove up the hill, which has
given me the fuel to do this every single day.
When I had my heart attack in two thousand and nine,
I used Heartbreak Hill to strengthen my heart, to get
the beats up, to be able to say I can
do this. This hill will not defeat me. We're going
to win. You're old grow with it. The lake, which
we've not talked about lately because it's not easy for
me to get down to the lake, and yet when
I do go to the lake, it's amazing what is
waiting for the eyes of anybody who ventures in. But
the reason why I don't go down to the lake
as often as I want to because it's always been
my fantasy, my childhood dream inside adults shoes that if
I go down there and get used to being at
the lake, I may lose the fire of turning this
forest into a writer's paradise, into a place for all
creative people where they can come and receive whatever is
going on inside this forest. You're old grow with it,
which inspires my soul because, as the great speakers of
the past have always said, old is not a disease.
It's a gift that not everybody gets to experience. I'm Eryl, Hey,
thanks for being a part of the conversation.