Beyond the Humdrum : Escape to Connection and Conversation
- Tim Eagle
- Apr 1
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 6
This is my FUCKING 10,000th blog post!
APRIL FOOLS! This is only my 100th blog post, which is a pretty good milestone!
Today I discuss going beyond the humdrum, and give ways I escape to connection and conversation.
First off, I'm writing this from the road. I'm in West Virginia for the night and I figured what better way to write my 100th post: in the mountains for the last duration of the trip back to Michigan, a soggy ground surrounding my campsite, and hearing the migrating birds at an end of avian travel from their winter havens in the south. I love this life, but it can sometime be a bit daunting, forcing me into a sort of isolation, where it's just me, Maria, Cocoa and Walter the cat, cruising through the highways and backroads of this beautiful country not often having time for conversation with others. Don't get me wrong, I love Maria and our convos, but with others outside of our tight, small circle, it can be a bit challenging at times.
Our conversations and communication has been strong since the nineties where we'd sit at our dining room table as the sun set outside our first home together. Darkness settled over the house outside and bats could be seen out the window their silhouettes black under the ambient street lights. The dim lights above our table illuminated two packs of cigarettes and a lighter. We would sip, smoke and talk as the night hours grew later, and later. We still do this, albeit ending a bit earlier today. At my age, and being together for thirty two years, I feel like our relationship has mastered the skill, but with others, I do think I could improve.
To help with this, and with Maria's blessing, I planned a trip to Williamsburg, VA.
I attended my first ever Authorcon. The con was sponsored and put on by Scares that Care, an awesome organization that helps children and families with financial assistance, assisting them as they fight real monsters that can sometimes crawl out of the shadows and inflict harm. The horror authors at the convention, on the other hand, are helping by buying tables, attending the event, as well as the many readers and fans perusing and purchasing horror books and other goodies.
I think we all live in a world where we're connected by an unseen umbilical cord to our electronic devices, at least I am, and it's hard to understand that the world is still a social place outside of the big conglomerates like meta, and so many more toxic internet social watering holes. Pulling my head out of my own ass, I met several of my author peers at this event. I'm more than able to have conversation face to face with others, but this was like nothing I had experienced in a very long time. I had a great time meeting so many authors and people who share the same skills and interests as me, and my mouth surprisingly flowed freely, tongue wagging vigorously !
The most important thing that I took out of this, all the authors and people in these rooms shared a small bit of that anxiousness, but they had less than I. I admired their strength and ability to sell their wares and not let nervousness control them. Most humans go day in and day out of their jobs, the humdrum unimaginative wheelhouse that confines all of us at some point. They may not always get an opportunity to speak to others who share the same interests or opinions, and this safe space gave everyone a rare chance at speaking, talking and face to face interaction. I loved every bit of the event and was super glad to have met some of the very authors I read, respect and appreciate from afar or just vicariously through their blogs, posts, and books.
I'm going to end with this: If you're stuck in a rut, find yourself getting mentally bent by the social networks of the world, step out of it. Get out and take the road to the center instead of the right, the left instead of the center, change your perspective and bust the bubble you've enveloped yourself with. Live a fuller more important life than the hamster wheel you may be currently strapped onto. I live a great life of travel that may seem I'm living the dream. I'm going to testify, every dream comes with some nightmare (breakdowns, stressors, etc.) and the expression "the grass is always greener," may just apply, if not only once and awhile. Create a life you love, make the change you want to be, and move forward with head up, and conversation ready.
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Tim Eagle
Tim Eagle is an author of the novellas Stolen Seed, Life Ship, and the Vasectomus Collection. He lives full time, on the road, with his wife, Maria and their dog, Cocoa. He grew up in Michigan and is inspired by the dysfunction of America. His books are available on Amazon, godless and this site timeaglefiction.com
I found our conversations seem less, and we haven’t sat down and talked since we were children. Always great to catch up. Maybe I can escape the farm and find you in Michigan this month.