1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,359 Speaker 1: Hey, when it comes to podcasts listening, are you like me? 2 00:00:02,799 --> 00:00:05,559 I mean, it's like television surfing. You're like all over 3 00:00:05,559 --> 00:00:07,440 the place looking for that one thing that you can 4 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:10,439 add to your moment of now. Be it forest stories, 5 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,560 be it rockstar stories, talking with a chef, whatever you're 6 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:16,879 looking for. That's what ero dot net is all about. 7 00:00:17,199 --> 00:00:20,879 Arrooe dot net. The searching is over. It's all in 8 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:25,359 one place. Enjoy the exploration. Hey, thanks for being a 9 00:00:25,359 --> 00:00:28,879 part of the conversation. Welcome to Forest Stories, a series 10 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:32,079 of short winded adventures within a collection of skyscraping trees, 11 00:00:32,119 --> 00:00:34,719 stuck feet first and Georgia Clay right here in Carolina. 12 00:00:35,439 --> 00:00:37,320 It's been a huge part of my daily journey for 13 00:00:37,359 --> 00:00:40,240 over thirty three years. I Am the Poet in the Forest, 14 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,600 a children's series written and recorded in the nineteen nineties. 15 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:47,399 It's grown into multiple podcasts that now reach around the world, 16 00:00:47,719 --> 00:00:49,840 and none of it would be possible without this forest 17 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,799 right here in South Charlotte, North Carolina, at the base 18 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:56,920 of Heartbreak Hills. It's a sign that reads Rainbow Forest. Well, 19 00:00:56,920 --> 00:00:59,759 it's time you get to meet what's inspired several generations 20 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,880 long before the paved paths decorated with colorful homes colonized 21 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:07,359 around this beautiful lake, slow moving stream, flatland swamps and 22 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,840 array of natural animals. There were families and business owners 23 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:13,040 who are said to have raced into this area for 24 00:01:13,079 --> 00:01:16,560 the beauty of the land, wild roses, migratory birds, and 25 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:20,400 wild grapevines. Those before me either forgot to write about 26 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:24,560 it or it's buried somewhere inside their family tree. Hey, 27 00:01:24,599 --> 00:01:26,519 thanks for being a part of the conversation. 28 00:01:27,519 --> 00:01:33,560 Speaker 2: Welcome back to the forest. New Year's day, brand new fresh. 29 00:01:33,879 --> 00:01:36,799 But is it New Year's Day? In this forest has 30 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:41,400 always been known for those that are chasing resolutions, you know, 31 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:44,319 to get the mind, body and soul back in shape, 32 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:48,599 to kind of get back into a journey of thinking, 33 00:01:49,359 --> 00:01:51,560 to get the ball bouncing one more time, because that's 34 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:53,519 what a new year is, you know, that twenty four 35 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,719 hour period known as January first of every single year. 36 00:01:56,799 --> 00:01:59,959 There's so much pressure with what's happening in the world 37 00:02:00,239 --> 00:02:01,560 that you sit there and say, well, how can I 38 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:05,439 make a difference. The only thing I can change is myself. 39 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,080 And here I sit out here in this forest and 40 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:12,680 I'm not seeing any New Year's resolution people chasing any 41 00:02:12,759 --> 00:02:15,319 dreams to get the body back in shape to sit 42 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:17,680 there and work and try to figure out what the 43 00:02:17,719 --> 00:02:20,560 sunshine is going to be in the next three hundred 44 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:22,800 and sixty three days that sit in front of you. 45 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:27,479 But yeah, even the lake, I don't hear anybody outside 46 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,759 having conversations. I don't hear anybody clinging their teacups or 47 00:02:31,879 --> 00:02:35,400 sharing a mimosa or even a bloody mary. Because this 48 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:40,240 is the morning after New Year's Eve. That's celebration and 49 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:44,319 how well did those go last night? Are the gatherings 50 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:50,599 of people really really happening? Hear of them? But this 51 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,639 thing called friends giving that seem to be the big 52 00:02:53,719 --> 00:02:56,759 dot on the map this year? How many people actually 53 00:02:56,759 --> 00:03:00,879 came to that celebration? And are we changing as a generation? 54 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,080 And what will it do to those that follow us? 55 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:06,599 Kind of a heavy subject when it comes to sharing 56 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:11,280 forest stories. But that's where I presently stand in this forest. 57 00:03:12,159 --> 00:03:16,800 New Year's Day usually when people are out there trying 58 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:22,080 to sink their teeth into that new year resolution, and 59 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:26,159 there's nothing going on. In fact, the peace and tranquility 60 00:03:26,159 --> 00:03:29,000 that is happening here outside of Jazzy going crazy. You've 61 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:33,000 overseeing a couple of deer that is the peace and 62 00:03:33,039 --> 00:03:35,879 tranquility kind of reminds me of the days of the 63 00:03:35,919 --> 00:03:39,360 COVID lockdown when I would be walking through this forest 64 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:45,680 and there was nobody, No birds, no squirrels, nothing, not 65 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:48,919 even the scent of smoke in the air. And that's 66 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:53,680 the way this New Year's Day actually feels. Nobody showed up, 67 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:58,960 so I have to ask, are we really here or 68 00:03:59,039 --> 00:04:01,879 is this the upside down world they speak of and 69 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:06,039 stranger things. Thanks for being a part of the conversation.