The Sit-Down Tree

I’ve always been a nature boy. As long ago as I can remember, I’ve loved spending time in the woods, mostly alone. Even though I grew up with two brothers and a sister, my alone time was always important to me.
Even when we first got television at our remote country location, I spent a lot of my time outside the house. I recall when my whole family watched movies on television on Sunday afternoon. I couldn’t sit still that long, and didn’t want to be inside anyway. That was way too many hours not to be in the sun playing.
One of my favorite places to go was to a special tree that grew—no lie—in the shape of a chair. We called it the sit-down tree (that’s how young we were). I’d cross the creek—called Beautys Run—behind our house, then climb the embankment into the woods. The sit-down tree was located less than a quarter mile to my right. From there, I could see over the bank and across the creek into the side field.
Sitting on that tree, with my legs propped up and my back against the main trunk, I’d daydream, making up stories with super heroes, genius scientists, and strong leading men who protected their families from villains and monsters alike. That wasn’t the only place I daydreamed or made up stories. It was just one of the places. Each had its own feel, and each had a way of gently opening the door to my imagination.
The sit-down tree, like other places, was a magical place to be, a place that I can bring back to life even while sitting in a house thousands of miles, and fifty-some years way. That freedom to open my creativity has kept me alive, fed my soul, and is with me always. I wish for everyone reading this to have their own sit-down tree, and may you go there often.
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Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy. He is a Pushcart nominee. His latest poetry collection is “And Now This”. His novels, “Wolf’s Rite” and “Cathedral of Dreams” were ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalists in the science fiction category, and his novel “Sweet Song” won a Silver IPPY Award. His latest science fiction space opera is, “Hear No Evil”, his latest fantasy is “Doublesight”, his latest mainstream/literary novel is “Ten Months in Wonderland”. Terry’s website is: www.TerryPersun.com or you can find him on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Terry%20Persun&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank