At the end of 2012, I was doing three things at once: visiting the old growth forests of the Olympic Peninsula, reading The Wild Trees by Richard Preston, and reconnecting with my old friend Laurence Cole and his partner Deanna Pumplin in Port Townsend.
Also running in the back of my mind was a project I’m doing with a colleague Merrill Watrous; she is developing an assignment for her education students in which they create a digital story about a book they have read that makes connections with their own lives.
All of those came together in this digital story celebrating Laurence Cole as an “old growth friend.” In this video, he and Deanna are seen comfortably at home singing a song Laurence wrote called “Trees Grow Slow.” Slow down, plant your roots, and just listen.
I just grabbed a minute finally to watch this and it is wonderful and heart-warming! I love it in a lot of ways; I too have so many old growth friends and their branches intertwine with my sister Sandy’s old growth friends. On this frigid winter evening in Portland I am warmed in a special way. Thank you!