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<v Speaker 1>Hey, when it comes to podcast listening, are you like me?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, it's like television surfing. You're like all over

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<v Speaker 1>the place looking for that one thing that you can

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<v Speaker 1>add to your moment of now. Be it four stories,

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<v Speaker 1>be it rock star stories, talking with a chef, whatever

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<v Speaker 1>you're looking for. That's what arrow.net is all about. A-R-R-O-E.net.

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<v Speaker 1>The searching is over. It's all in one place. Enjoy

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<v Speaker 1>the exploration. Hey, thanks for being a part of the conversation.

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Four Stories.

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<v Speaker 2>A series of short-winded adventures within a collection of skyscraping

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<v Speaker 2>trees stuck feet first in Georgia clay right here in Carolina.

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<v Speaker 2>It's been a huge part of my daily journey for

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<v Speaker 2>over 33 years. I am the poet in the forest,

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<v Speaker 2>a children's series written and recorded in the 1990s. It's

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<v Speaker 2>grown into multiple podcasts that now reach around the world,

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<v Speaker 2>and none of it would be possible without this forest

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<v Speaker 2>right here in South Charlotte, North Carolina. At the base

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<v Speaker 2>of Heartbreak Hill sits a sign that reads, RAINBOW FOREST. Well,

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<v Speaker 2>it's time you get to meet what's inspired several generations.

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<v Speaker 2>Long before the paved paths decorated with colorful homes colonized

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<v Speaker 2>around this beautiful lake, slow-moving stream, flatland swamps, and array

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<v Speaker 2>of natural animals, there were families and business owners who

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<v Speaker 2>are said to have raced into this area for the

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<v Speaker 2>beauty of the land, wild roses, migratory birds, and wild grapevines.

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<v Speaker 2>Those before me either forgot to write about it or

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<v Speaker 2>it's buried somewhere inside their family tree. Hey, thanks for

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<v Speaker 2>being a part of the conversation. Welcome back to the forest.

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<v Speaker 1>The heating index today is said to be 109 degrees,

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<v Speaker 1>which is so different compared to 109 when I grew

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<v Speaker 1>up in the state of Montana because it's a dry

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<v Speaker 1>heat area. You still get burned. You still don't do

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<v Speaker 1>your alcohol as heavy as you think you should because

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<v Speaker 1>that 109 degrees, no matter where you are, is going

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<v Speaker 1>to be scalding to the touch. But 109 degrees as

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<v Speaker 1>a heating index in this forest, the first thing I'm

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<v Speaker 1>worried about are the roots of the trees. It's already

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<v Speaker 1>the worst drought that we've had since 2008. And now

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<v Speaker 1>this is really going to be sucking up whatever moisture

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<v Speaker 1>is in that soil. Now, one of the things that

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<v Speaker 1>I ran into yesterday while doing an episode of a

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<v Speaker 1>podcast that I call The Resurrection, I went into the

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<v Speaker 1>soil to bring something to the sunlight. And the one

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<v Speaker 1>thing that I quickly took note of was how hard

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<v Speaker 1>the ground really is. In fact, in all of my

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<v Speaker 1>writing and on that podcast, I compared it to the

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<v Speaker 1>sandstone of the Palisades of the Yellowstone in Billings, Montana,

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<v Speaker 1>which are the rims. It's so hard, the soil, a

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<v Speaker 1>temperature at 109 degrees for a heating index, you can't

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<v Speaker 1>help but wonder, what's really going on down under? What

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<v Speaker 1>is happening to the roots of these trees? And shall

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<v Speaker 1>we expect to have more fall to the floor? That's

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<v Speaker 1>what happens. And when it comes to nature, she's got

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<v Speaker 1>a way. of coming in and vacuuming the floor. Is

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<v Speaker 1>it going to stay 109 degrees just one day? The

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<v Speaker 1>summer has just started. This is the new normal. High temperatures,

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<v Speaker 1>very little rain. And it does scare me just a

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<v Speaker 1>tight bit. Before the days of being called back home,

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<v Speaker 1>the transition, do you find yourself wondering how many of

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<v Speaker 1>these trees will still exist. Because I've been to those

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<v Speaker 1>Montana mountaintops where it's a different season and a different

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<v Speaker 1>tundra all the way around the mountain. Not everybody gets

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<v Speaker 1>the moisture. Not everybody gets the sunshine. What you've got

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<v Speaker 1>is bare ground. 109 today, the heating index. What is

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<v Speaker 1>this the start of? Welcome to our new normal. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for being a part of the conversation.