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Article: Tree of life. (boyhood carvings on the tree trunk of an old birch tree)
- Article from:
- American Forests
- Article date:
- November 1, 1992
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 American Forests. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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An ancient beech bridges the widening gulf between boyhood and mandreams.
I grew up in the woods behind the house of my childhood, a 50-acre sprawl of wildness firmly situated within the city limits of High Point, North Carolina. Anyone could tell you where "the woods" were, for there the neighborhood kids converged each day after school and all day long in the summer. We built leaf forts and log forts, underground forts and tree forts. We caught snakes and frogs and terrible colds. We swore alliances and broke our trusts. We learned to love and to lie while we defended our allies, attacked our enemies, and wrought--or so we thought--pure havoc on the free world.
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