I am grateful to a good friend who is a court reporter (and incredible artist and calligrapher)—as she graciously recorded stories told quite spontaneously at an open house one winter day.
OFFICIAL COURT REPORTERS – 1
1 FRANCIE’S TREE STORY.
2 About 12 years ago a friend and I were living in
3 Montana. We went out to Idaho. He took me to this
4 forest. And all the trees — it was so enchanted.
5 All the trees had fallen years ago. There had been a
6 fire. And they were burned out in the middle, but
7 some of them were still standing. And you could
8 crawl into a hole in the tree and stand inside this
9 old wood of what had once existed. And there was a
10 hot spring river running through the forest about
11 October, first snow. There was some snow on the
12 ground. And it was just starting, flurries in the
13 sky.
14 And the hot spring river was going through these
15 trees that had, like, their roots had all these
16 gnarled knots like an old woman’s fingers. And the
17 river was steaming up. It just felt like time didn’t
18 mean anything there. And, that just like a little
19 pocket of magic.
20 And we would go inside of these trees and look up.
21 And the wood was all charred. And because of wind
22 and time it had twisted like that. And then, to find
23 these little flowers and moss and mushrooms growing
24 inside. I never forgot that forest. A whole forest
OFFICIAL COURT REPORTERS –
2
1 of trees. Just the feeling of eternity in there.
Contributed by Francie Corry
Leave a Reply