Coming Down

In every human life there may come to pass a moment in which these mortal bonds cease to hold oneself. Those who are lucky enough to find their way back to the firmament often pay a very dear price. We can only hope that there are those around us who heed the call to help, and give thanks for each and everyone who offers aid to their fellow humans in time of need. In this episode, Matthew shares a time when he was preserved by the selfless acts of strangers.

This week's guest is Nathan's former bandmate and longtime friend, Scott. He wants to see as much of the world as he can, but preferably the roads less traveled. No sightseeing tours or tourist traps for this dude - he is looking for life at street level, the way the locals live. This mindset has led him into some truly bizarre adventures, and he gives us a couple of gems in this vein.

Hotel management is a dicey game under the best of circumstances. Throw downtown wingnuts and a concert venue into the mix and your hotel game gets weird to the point of absurdity. Shelby weathered the endless storm of next-level crazy long enough to have a dizzying array of preposterous stories, and she shares some of the more memorable moments with us.

Our friend Zach is from a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. So small that certain government offices have been known to close early if their functionaries require sustenance or feel the need to do some afternoon shopping. Due to this strange circumstance, our friend finds himself traveling a rural highway at night. And he finds a surprise waiting for him in the dark.

At the end of all the BS with the courts from Episode 28, Nathan struggles with ongoing financial troubles. His money woes are compounded by a string of bad roommates in a cursed apartment, resulting in more minor legal trouble. Just when he is starting to get his head above water, a detective pays him a visit.

Bonus dangerous knife hits tutorial.

After launching out of Flint, Michigan like a Saturn V rocket aimed at greatness in astrophysics, Tara takes on her next great challenge: internship at NASA. Though some of the things she worked on during her stay at Marshall Space Flight Center are classified, she shares pretty much everything that won't land her in the clink. Be sure to check the show notes for more!

Back in the summer of '96, Matthew and friends made the trek across the mountains from Bend to Eugene. They were introduced to the ways of the people there, including ganja food for breakfast, perpetual bong hits, basement funk, and mixing mushrooms with jungle juice. Not everyone in the group passed through these trials unscathed, but the lessons learned there galvanized them for what was to come.

There exists a type of phenomenon, even more mysterious than telepathy or precognition, which has puzzled man since the dawn of mythology: the seemingly accidental meeting of two unrelated causal chains in a coincidental event which appears both highly improbable and highly significant.

-Arthur Koestler

Like a long August sunset, Nathan's summer of love slowly draws to a close. Along the way he has acquired deep esoteric knowledge and a sense of purpose that will inform his endeavors for years to come. Though it has been rough in places and mistakes were undoubtedly made, our hero emerges anew, prepared to face his destiny.

Adventurecise: verb

ad·​ven·t​ure·​cise | \ əd-ˈven-chər-ˌsīz

1. Engage in hazardous and exciting physical activity to sustain or improve health and fitness while under the influence of psychedelics.

"for eight hours we adventurecised through the park and across town, narrowly avoiding arrest"