First Few Clues

[seannm]

All,

 Forrest has said, in the 2013 TFTW book signing video, and I paraphrase: "If a person reads the poem over and over and are able to decipher the first few clues they can find the treasure chest" 

 So what are the first few clues?

 In the 2016 Columbia podcast audio when Forrest was asked to read part of the poem he says: "I'll read the first few lines", he goes on to read the first two stanzas, then calls that the first few clues.

you can here that audio here: www.wradio.com.co/escucha/archivo_de_audio/para-encontrar-mi-tesoro-de-us2-millones-deben-descifrar-mi-poema-forrest-fenn/20160710/oir/3184644.aspx

If we are to believe Forrest that the first few clues are completely encased within the first two stanzas, then clues four through nine must then be outside of those stanza's

And if the "first" clue is simply "Begin it where warm waters halt", then what are clues two and three?

Are we to believe clues two and three fall between "And take it in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk. Put in below the home of Brown."?

What are the first two clues that the LGFI can figure out but not get closer than with only the poem, map? 

What about Rocking chair ideas can lead one to the first few clues but a physical presence is needed to complete the solve?

Here is a possible scenario:

Clue one: Begin it where warm waters halt and halt it in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk.

Clue two: Put in below the home of Brown.

Clue three: As I have gone alone in there and with my treasures bold, I can keep my secret where and hint of riches new and old. 

Now if Rocking chair ideas can lead us to these first few clues, then yes a "physical presence" is then needed for us to go alone into that isolated location, but since the LGFI is in fact a little girl she cannot get closer because she cannot go alone in there because she would possibly need some help, Forrest has alluded to such.   

And if you read the first stanza with the idea that you are standing at the physical embodiment of what "From there", in the poem, represents, you get the idea that you must go alone into that isolated place that a person would not normally go, that place that is no place for the meek, this is much like Forrest going into the cemetery by himself in the chapter "Surviving Myself".

And for one who had correctly deciphered these first few clues they would have not only figured out the correct starting point, but they also would be more that half-way to the treasure, metaphorically speaking, and might be able to walk right strait to it. 

So it seems, as Forrest has mentioned, that several to many have solved the first two clues, but went right past the other seven not knowing they had been so close. Therefore, is it not possible that whatever the first two clues are they give us the correct starting point and then "from there" we must go in there alone or otherwise, but we pass this correct starting point not knowing we had been so close because we may not be following the clues in the right order. 

Seanm

[goldilocks]

"Ron, your question sounds like a travelogue, but I’ll answer it. No, I don’t want to be that bold. But I will say that I walked less than a few miles if that will help. I just looked “few” up and one definition is “scant.” Why do I sound like I’m talking in circles? f"

Few and scant = hardly any. They may be in second stanza and not in first at all.

Clue one: Begin it where warm waters halt
Clue two: NFBTFTW
Clue three: Put in below the hoB.

As far as LGFI:

"Hi Forrest, we are now aware that the poem is a map. If the poem is a map and will tell us exactly where to go, why couldn't the little girl from India get past the first two clues? I think it's because after solving all nine clues from home, the ocean prevents her from journeying to the precise location to retrieve the treasure chest. ~ Lagerta the Bold"

FF: "Dear Whoever Asked This Question, Thanks for answering it for me. f"

I agree the clue order is the crucial part...to put them in correct order and keep them consecutive (and contiguous on the ground or on a map IMO).

[Deleted]

I think that if you've solved the first few clues, that the others have the same secret method the poem possesses. This aids you in finding the treasure.

[CJ]

I think that the first three are:

1. Begin it where warm waters halt - and this is the most difficult to nail down because it's "waters" and not "the waters"...could be anywhere.
2. Take it in THE canyon down. If you start in the right place, there's only THE canyon.
3. Put in below THE home of Brown. - again - you'll KNOW - because it's THE home of Brown - these are no longer multiple choice.

Maybe you can find those first two on a map...maybe even the third one - but I think LGFI can't find anything else because from there it's not a place on a map...you have to see the clues in person - and if you're a searcher, you'll recognize (some?) of them.

The thing that I think everyone missed that he said in the recent interviews was - "You need all of them" - referring to the words in the poem. That leads me to believe that it's still some kind of word puzzle, but I could be wrong. A lot of us have been working many different angles for many years without success.

I have been thinking lately more about the hints. The NM map, the Robert Redford book, For Whom the Bell Tolls, etc.. - I'm starting to think that the things we're missing are simpler....if someone got close in those early years, they were probably thinking that the solution was pretty simple (i.e. New Mexico, hot springs, etc..) - and I think that ultimately that's where it will be found...one final thought - at one point, he almost slipped and said something like "I'd like to go back to my favorite..." and then he stopped...I keep thinking about that - his favorite...hot spring, museum, resort, camp ground....there's something to that.

I hope this helps some of you. I don't post a lot anymore, but try to write when I think I have something that might be of value to others.

[goldilocks]

Forrest said the first clue is Begin it where warm waters halt. That doesn't mean the answer to that clue is not in the first stanza. I believe the answer to the first clue is in the first stanza.

[ironwill]

Apr 17, 2020 9:09:46 GMT -5 seannm said:

All,

 Forrest has said, in the 2013 TFTW book signing video, and I paraphrase: "If a person reads the poem over and over and are able to decipher the first few clues they can find the treasure chest" 

 So what are the first few clues?

 In the 2016 Columbia podcast audio when Forrest was asked to read part of the poem he says: "I'll read the first few lines", he goes on to read the first two stanzas, then calls that the first few clues.


Seanm

WOW I'm impressed that you dug that up...I never knew about it!  This does indeed clarify that there are a few clues in what he read. Given that WWWH is the first clue, that means For sure...stanza 2 has at least 2 maybe 3 or even 4 clues.  I think several would probably pick up at 5+ or at least that's what my gut tells me.   This actually supports the comment he made in that interview that the WWWH stanza sounded like 3 or 4 clues.   KEWL.

[seannm]

Apr 17, 2020 15:17:37 GMT -5 ironwill said:

Apr 17, 2020 9:09:46 GMT -5 seannm said:

All,

 Forrest has said, in the 2013 TFTW book signing video, and I paraphrase: "If a person reads the poem over and over and are able to decipher the first few clues they can find the treasure chest" 

 So what are the first few clues?

 In the 2016 Columbia podcast audio when Forrest was asked to read part of the poem he says: "I'll read the first few lines", he goes on to read the first two stanzas, then calls that the first few clues.


Seanm

WOW I'm impressed that you dug that up...I never knew about it!  This does indeed clarify that there are a few clues in what he read. Given that WWWH is the first clue, that means For sure...stanza 2 has at least 2 maybe 3 or even 4 clues.  I think several would probably pick up at 5+ or at least that's what my gut tells me.

Heya IW,

If, based upon my interpretation of Forrest's comment, that the first few lines and clues are that which he read: the first two stanzas, then are those first few clues only found in stanza two, or is stanza one part of those first few clues? 

I think most searchers, based upon Forrest saying the first clue is "Begin it where warm waters halt", would then interpret the first few clues to be in consecutive order from that first clue, thus the first stanza would not be part of those first few clues.  I don't necessarily agree with this, but I am definitely in the minority. 

I believe that there is a difference in the clues order as we see them in the poem versus how they are to be followed in order to recover the treasure.  As an example: It is obvious that we must know where to begin our quest e.g. the correct starting point, so knowing where warm waters halt is the first thing we must figure out, and once we do that we can then start to marry the remaining clues. But that said, the first clue that we might read when reading the poem is possibly in the first stanza. 

In my interpretation few is three, but Forrest's definition may be different. 

Seannm 

[seannm]

Apr 17, 2020 14:39:05 GMT -5 goldilocks said:

Forrest said the first clue is Begin it where warm waters halt. That doesn't mean the answer to that clue is not in the first stanza. I believe the answer to the first clue is in the first stanza.

Goldi,

 I believe that there many searchers who think as you do.  And if one does believe that the first clue is only "begin it where warm waters halt", and that we must first figure that out before moving on to other clues in the poem, then of course they will then look to the information prior to that single line of the poem to provide the answer to "where". 

But lets take a look at something.

 Forrest says, in the Columbia podcast audio that he is going to read the first few lines of the poem, and then reads: (keep in mind he doesn't say: "I'm going to read a few lines of the poem")

As I have gone alone in there
And with my treasures bold,
I can keep my secret where
And hint of riches new and old.

Begin it where warm waters halt
And take it in the canyon down,
Not far, but too far to walk. 
Put in below the home of Brown.

According to my eyes and interpretation that is actually eight lines of the poem, not a few. 

But what if we look at it this way:

As I have gone alone in there and with my treasures bold, I can keep my secret where and hint of riches new and old

Begin it where warm waters halt and take it in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk. 

Put in below the home of Brown.

Now that looks more like a few lines of the poem to me. 

So if the first few lines and clues in the poem are the sentences, as depicted above, then does it not make sense that "begin it where warm waters halt" could be an oversimplification of the entire clue, because "begin it where warm waters halt" it is just a single line of the poem, but a line to Forrest could actually be more than what we see as a line in the poem, it could be an entire sentence.

So maybe we ought to look at the entire sentence: "Begin it where warm waters halt and take it in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk.", as the first clue in it's entirety. 

"It's not just a sentence, is a craft."f

ETA: In poetry, a single line is considered a verse: "Begin it where warm waters halt", but in prose, a single line is considered a sentence: "Begin it where warm waters halt and take it in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk." So is Forrest speaking in poetic terms when he defined the first few lines and clues, in the Columbia podcast audio, or was he speaking of them in terms of prose? 

Seannm

[goldilocks]

Apr 17, 2020 16:22:06 GMT -5 seannm said:

Apr 17, 2020 14:39:05 GMT -5 goldilocks said:

Forrest said the first clue is Begin it where warm waters halt. That doesn't mean the answer to that clue is not in the first stanza. I believe the answer to the first clue is in the first stanza.

So maybe we ought to look at the entire sentence: "Begin it where warm waters halt and take it in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk.", as the first clue in it's entirety. 

"It's not just a sentence, is a craft."f

Seannm

Sean,

It very well could be the whole sentence. So how do you reconcile his statement that there are 3 or 4 clues in stanza 2? Put in (below) is the second clue and (below) the home of Brown is the third? Below could go with either clue. 

Edit: oops that doesn't work because your theory is one sentence one clue...

[seannm]

Apr 17, 2020 16:50:49 GMT -5 goldilocks said:

Apr 17, 2020 16:22:06 GMT -5 seannm said:

So maybe we ought to look at the entire sentence: "Begin it where warm waters halt and take it in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk.", as the first clue in it's entirety. 

"It's not just a sentence, is a craft."f

Seannm

Sean,

It very well could be the whole sentence. So how do you reconcile his statement that there are 3 or 4 clues in stanza 2? Put in (below) is the second clue and (below) the home of Brown is the third? Below could go with either clue. 

Edit: oops that doesn't work because your theory is one sentence one clue...

Goldi,

 In that CBC As it Happens interview, the interviewer reads the entire second stanza and then says, "That seems like a couple of clues to me", to which Forrest responds, "that sounds like three or four to me".  So Forrest never definitively said that there are three or four clues in stanza two, only that it "sounds like" three or four, but that is not definitive proof that it is in fact three or four. 

I think it is best to listen to the audio interview to get the entire context of why he said what he said.

So here is the link to that audio:

www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/sante-fe-treasure-hunt-1.2942225

Now when reading poetry, the natural pauses that occur between poetic verses (aka lines) can sound like separate thoughts, but when reading in normal prose the pauses occur differently, try it yourself.  

So when one reads the poem, as the interviewer did in the audio, the pauses created by the poetic verses may make the second stanza "sound like" three or four clues, but in reality it may not be. 

And I personally love the little laugh Forrest makes after saying that it sounds like three or four to me.  

Seannm

[harrytruman]

Apr 17, 2020 16:22:06 GMT -5 seannm said:

So if the first few lines and clues in the poem are the sentences, as depicted above, then does it not make sense that "begin it where warm waters halt" could be an oversimplification of the entire clue, because "begin it where warm waters halt" it is just a single line of the poem, but a line to Forrest could actually be more than what we see as a line in the poem, it could be an entire sentence.

So maybe we ought to look at the entire sentence: "Begin it where warm waters halt and take it in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk.", as the first clue in it's entirety. 

"It's not just a sentence, is a craft."f

ETA: In poetry, a single line is considered a verse: "Begin it where warm waters halt", but in prose, a single line is considered a sentence: "Begin it where warm waters halt and take it in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk." So is Forrest speaking in poetic terms when he defined the first few lines and clues, in the Columbia podcast audio, or was he speaking of them in terms of prose? 

Seannm

Sean, I continue to admire your tenacity and miss your shows, but here are a few thoughts:

1) Yes, Forrest was reciting more than "a few" lines of the poem, but it's entirely possible that he intended to recite the first few lines but then just kept going, all the way through the first eight lines. (He followed up by saying that there are 24 "stanzas" in the poem, which is a good reminder that just because Forrest says something he thinks is correct, in the moment, doesn't mean it is correct.)

2) Just because we can depict the first few lines as sentences doesn't mean that those first few sentences are the first few clues (though I think most searchers would agree that those first few sentences contain the first few clues, largely because Forrest has told us that the second and third sentences contain "three or four" of the nine clues).

3) In July 2018, Candy/Jonie asked: "Mr. Fenn, Does the first stanza in your poem reveal where searchers are supposed to begin when looking for 'where warm waters halt' or are we only supposed to pay attention to 'where warm waters halt' and one day say 'why didn’t I think of that' when the true solve is revealed?" Forrest responded: "Jonie, The first clue in my poem is WWWH. I have said that several times over the years. If you can’t find that location you cannot find the treasure."

Personally, I think the nine clues can/should be married to nine distinct locations on a map, and I think this is how Forest defines the clues (e.g., "The clues did not exist when I was a kid but most of the places the clues refer to did"). So, according to the guy who wrote the poem, the first clue is not "begin it where warm waters halt" or anything beyond that. The "first clue in . . . [his] poem" is simply the place/location "where warm waters halt." We begin the first leg of the journey there, at that location, captured in/by those four words.

Then we "take it" to (and, because he gives us a physical distance, through) the next location.

Then we "put in" below the third location, etc.

One location, then another, then another, in order -- contiguous, consecutive, chronological. I think anything beyond that reflects overthinking, overcooking, etc.

[harrytruman]

Apr 17, 2020 17:22:24 GMT -5 seannm said:

Apr 17, 2020 16:50:49 GMT -5 goldilocks said:

Sean,

It very well could be the whole sentence. So how do you reconcile his statement that there are 3 or 4 clues in stanza 2? Put in (below) is the second clue and (below) the home of Brown is the third? Below could go with either clue. 

Edit: oops that doesn't work because your theory is one sentence one clue...

Goldi,

 In that CBC As it Happens interview, the interviewer reads the entire second stanza and then says, "That seems like a couple of clues to me", to which Forrest responds, "that sounds like three or four to me".  So Forrest never definitively said that there are three or four clues in stanza two, only that it "sounds like" three or four, but that is not definitive proof that it is in fact three or four. 

I think it is best to listen to the audio interview to get the entire context of why he said what he said.

So here is the link to that audio:

www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/sante-fe-treasure-hunt-1.2942225

Now when reading poetry, the natural pauses that occur between poetic verses (aka lines) can sound like separate thoughts, but when reading in normal prose the pauses occur differently, try it yourself.  

So when one reads the poem, as the interviewer did in the audio, the pauses created by the poetic verses may make the second stanza "sound like" three or four clues, but in reality it may not be. 

And I personally love the little laugh Forrest makes after saying that it sounds like three or four to me.  

Seannm

I agree that that this original exchange left some wiggle room for interpretation, but I think that went away with this exchange in July 2014:

Question: "You told a reporter that there are three or four clues in the second stanza. Were you telling the truth?" Forrest: "...No, I was not lying but I don’t remember a reporter asking me such a question.f"

I have no reason to think that Forrest was not being truthful about not remembering the original question. So, when told that he had said "there are three or four clues in the second stanza" (not that it "sounded like" there are three or four clues in the second stanza), he said that he would not have been lying if/when he said that -- meaning it was and is a truthful statement.

The second stanza of the poem contains at least three and no more than four of the nine clues.

[seannm]

Apr 17, 2020 17:27:14 GMT -5 harrytruman said:

Apr 17, 2020 16:22:06 GMT -5 seannm said:

So if the first few lines and clues in the poem are the sentences, as depicted above, then does it not make sense that "begin it where warm waters halt" could be an oversimplification of the entire clue, because "begin it where warm waters halt" it is just a single line of the poem, but a line to Forrest could actually be more than what we see as a line in the poem, it could be an entire sentence.

So maybe we ought to look at the entire sentence: "Begin it where warm waters halt and take it in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk.", as the first clue in it's entirety. 

"It's not just a sentence, is a craft."f

ETA: In poetry, a single line is considered a verse: "Begin it where warm waters halt", but in prose, a single line is considered a sentence: "Begin it where warm waters halt and take it in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk." So is Forrest speaking in poetic terms when he defined the first few lines and clues, in the Columbia podcast audio, or was he speaking of them in terms of prose? 

Seannm

Sean, I continue to admire your tenacity and miss your shows, but here are a few thoughts:

1) Yes, Forrest was reciting more than "a few" lines of the poem, but it's entirely possible that he intended to recite the first few lines but then just kept going, all the way through the first eight lines. (He followed up by saying that there are 24 "stanzas" in the poem, which is a good reminder that just because Forrest says something he thinks is correct, in the moment, doesn't mean it is correct.)

2) Just because we can depict the first few lines as sentences doesn't mean that those first few sentences are the first few clues (though I think most searchers would agree that those first few sentences contain the first few clues, largely because Forrest has told us that the second and third sentences contain "three or four" of the nine clues).

3) In July 2018, Candy/Jonie asked: "Mr. Fenn, Does the first stanza in your poem reveal where searchers are supposed to begin when looking for 'where warm waters halt' or are we only supposed to pay attention to 'where warm waters halt' and one day say 'why didn’t I think of that' when the true solve is revealed?" Forrest responded: "Jonie, The first clue in my poem is WWWH. I have said that several times over the years. If you can’t find that location you cannot find the treasure."

Personally, I think the nine clues can/should be married to nine distinct locations on a map, and I think this is how Forest defines the clues (e.g., "The clues did not exist when I was a kid but most of the places the clues refer to did"). So, according to the guy who wrote the poem, the first clue is not "begin it where warm waters halt" or anything beyond that. The "first clue in . . . [his] poem" is simply the place/location "where warm waters halt." We begin the first leg of the journey there, at that location, captured in/by those four words.

Then we "take it" to (and, because he gives us a physical distance, through) the next location.

Then we "put in" below the third location, etc.

One location, then another, then another, in order -- contiguous, consecutive, chronological. I think anything beyond that reflects overthinking, overcooking, etc.

1) Yes, Forrest was reciting more than "a few" lines of the poem, but it's entirely possible that he intended to recite the first few lines but then just kept going, all the way through the first eight lines. (He followed up by saying that there are 24 "stanzas" in the poem, which is a good reminder that just because Forrest says something he thinks is correct, in the moment, doesn't mean it is correct.)


Sure it is possible that he intended to read just the first few verses of the poem, but that is only our conjecture because he in fact did not, so we can only go on what he did read and say. That same thing can be said for him saying 24 stanza's, but we do know for fact that there are only six stanza's and 24 verses in the poem, so again all we have is our conjecture. So are we to assume Forrest doesn't know proper prose and poetry definitions?  And you saying that "just because Forrest says something he thinks is correct, in the moment, doesn't mean it is correct", can also be applied to him saying that stanza two sounded like three or four clues to him. 


2) Just because we can depict the first few lines as sentences doesn't mean that those first few sentences are the first few clues (though I think most searchers would agree that those first few sentences contain the first few clues, largely because Forrest has told us that the second and third sentences contain "three or four" of the nine clues).


And just because we can simply identify that there are in fact a few sentences in the first two stanza's doesn't mean that they are not the first few clues. And sure it is just as easy to then say that the first few clues only exist between begin and Brown because Forrest says the first clue is...therefore the first stanza cannot be one of the first few clues or may not be one at all as some believe. And again Forrest has never definitely said that there are in fact three or four clues in stanza two, only that it sounded like three or four (please read my response to Goldi, in regards to the audio).


3) In July 2018, Candy/Jonie asked: "Mr. Fenn, Does the first stanza in your poem reveal where searchers are supposed to begin when looking for 'where warm waters halt' or are we only supposed to pay attention to 'where warm waters halt' and one day say 'why didn’t I think of that' when the true solve is revealed?" Forrest responded: "Jonie, The first clue in my poem is WWWH. I have said that several times over the years. If you can’t find that location you cannot find the treasure."


And even though Forrest has told us that the first clue is "Begin it where warm waters halt", he also told Phil Bayman "You over simplify the clues. There are many places in the Rocky Mountains where warm waters halt and nearly all of them are north of Santa Fe. Look at the big picture, there are no short cuts". And recall Phil asked if he could find the correct starting point with just the first clue "Begin it where warm waters halt" and "Somewhere in the mountains north of Santa Fe, and if he couldn't would he need the whole poem, another stanza or just a line or word the help along the way. So in my opinion, you cannot locate the correct starting point with just the line "Begin it where warm waters halt" because it is an over simplification of the entire clue which may be the whole sentence, but some if not most feel that they have to solve that individual verse of the poem before ever moving on to what they believe is the next clue, so they then look to the first stanza the "help" them along the way, thus it must be a hint and not a clue.  This idea I do not subscribe to. A clue is nothing more that a piece of evidence or information used in the detection of a crime or solving a mystery, and if you leave out an ingredient or part of that clue you wont understand what that piece of evidence is telling you. 


Personally, I think the nine clues can/should be married to nine distinct locations on a map, and I think this is how Forest defines the clues (e.g., "The clues did not exist when I was a kid but most of the places the clues refer to did"). So, according to the guy who wrote the poem, the first clue is not "begin it where warm waters halt" or anything beyond that. The "first clue in . . . [his] poem" is simply the place/location "where warm waters halt." We begin the first leg of the journey there, at that location, captured in/by those four words.


Theoretically all we need is a start and an end point, the two points of his rainbow so to speak. And the plural form of the noun place: places is a non-countable noun, that is to say it is not a definitive number. So while we can assume places is referring to nine separate geographical points on a map, that might not be accurate.  Again our interpretation of Forrest words are not confirmation of his intent.  I do not see our journey starting at whatever warm water halt is, as in my interpretation, that is not a complete thought or definitive geological place that can be pinpointed on a map, it is subjective. But the information to identify the correct starting point must be, in my opinion, contained within the poem, where that information is or how it is decipher is left up to our interpretation. But the words "from there", in the poem, should be an indicator that the information to identify the correct starting point may be found prior to.  


Then we "take it" to (and, because he gives us a physical distance, through) the next location.


What if it is not us/we who "takes it", and maybe because the architect of the poem then tells us "not far, but too far to walk" we are not supposed to start at whatever we believe warm waters halt is, but in fact somewhere else?


Then we "put in" below the third location, etc.


But what if that is not the third location, but the location. 


One location, then another, then another, in order -- contiguous, consecutive, chronological. I think anything beyond that reflects overthinking, overcooking, etc.

Again clues can be consecutive and or contiguous as we read them and view them in the poem, but the order to those clues once deciphered may not be the same. So I think many are thinking too linearly, but Forrest, ever the consummate salesman, sold us all that skinning knife. 

Seannm

[seannm]

Apr 17, 2020 17:40:09 GMT -5 harrytruman said:

Apr 17, 2020 17:22:24 GMT -5 seannm said:

Goldi,

 In that CBC As it Happens interview, the interviewer reads the entire second stanza and then says, "That seems like a couple of clues to me", to which Forrest responds, "that sounds like three or four to me".  So Forrest never definitively said that there are three or four clues in stanza two, only that it "sounds like" three or four, but that is not definitive proof that it is in fact three or four. 

I think it is best to listen to the audio interview to get the entire context of why he said what he said.

So here is the link to that audio:

www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/sante-fe-treasure-hunt-1.2942225

Now when reading poetry, the natural pauses that occur between poetic verses (aka lines) can sound like separate thoughts, but when reading in normal prose the pauses occur differently, try it yourself.  

So when one reads the poem, as the interviewer did in the audio, the pauses created by the poetic verses may make the second stanza "sound like" three or four clues, but in reality it may not be. 

And I personally love the little laugh Forrest makes after saying that it sounds like three or four to me.  

Seannm

I agree that that this original exchange left some wiggle room for interpretation, but I think that went away with this exchange in July 2014:

Question: "You told a reporter that there are three or four clues in the second stanza. Were you telling the truth?" Forrest: "...No, I was not lying but I don’t remember a reporter asking me such a question.f"

I have no reason to think that Forrest was not being truthful about not remembering the original question. So, when told that he had said "there are three or four clues in the second stanza" (not that it "sounded like" there are three or four clues in the second stanza), he said that he would not have been lying if/when he said that -- meaning it was and is a truthful statement.

The second stanza of the poem contains at least three and no more than four of the nine clues.

Harry,

 Page 26 TTOTC: "What we've learned is that you should always tell the truth, but you should not always tell ALL of the truth"  These words and advice from Marvin to Forrest were important enough that Forrest recalled them and put them in his book. So Forrest saying he was not lying is truthful for he may never lie, and him saying that he didn't recall a reporter asking him such a question was more than likely truthful as well, but in no way should this be taken as factual evidence that he in fact said that there are in fact three or four clues in the second stanza.  That is a huge stretch in my interpretation, for Forrest has nver definitively stated that there are in fact three of four clues in stanza two.  Why do I feel like I'm talking in circles. 

You said:

The second stanza of the poem contains at least three and no more than four of the nine clues.

While this still is a possibility, there is no definitive proof that it is factual, therefore I cannot agree with you.  It is just an opinion based upon an interpretation of incomplete information. 

Seannm

[zaphod73491]

SeanNM and anyone: when Forrest says the clues are consecutive -- even chronological and sequential -- what do you take that to mean? Of course they are, by definition, when we either follow them in our mind or execute them with BOTG. So it seems to me that the ~sensible~ interpretation is that the clues are consecutive/chronological/sequential in the order they appear in the poem. Is it the only interpretation? No. But the other interpretation is a bit of a "well duh, I didn't need to be told that."