Trips By Sam

            In my suburban neighborhood, the sidewalks curve around.   Rather than continue in a straight line when streets intersect, the pedestrian is encouraged to take roughly 8 extra steps before crossing, repeating the mirrored arch on the other side.               I often used to ignore these concrete suggestions, trampling directly over grass (dodging dog doo), lest I slow my speed.   For the quicker I arrived home, the sooner I could begin the next negligible task on my never-ending to do list: meal prep uninspiring staples, scour the bathroom with grim determination, rush out the door only to forget my wallet inside.   A blended frenzy of routine responsibilities, errant errands, and unchanging chores punctuated by patches of play that I called “life”.               Now on my ai...

            Can you sequence a dream?   Pinpoint when it started?   Likely the characters and setting are murky, a submerged Monet.   Conversations of grave importance are whittled to a phrase or single word, if you can recall any at all.   Often it’s the sheer fear of being chased, the horror of teeth cracking from oozing gums, the uncontainable joy of flying, that sticks with us in the waking state.             I can no more eloquently detail my solo psychedelic expedition.   But as you might describe your nightly and matutinal routines: brushing, flossing, drifting off to monotonous tones of a murder mystery podcast, so can I share my trip prep and epilogue: SET, SETTING, SUBSTANCE, SITTER, SESSION, & SUPPORT. (mind) SET I asked myself “Why?”   Why take psilocybin mushrooms under a blindfold and headphones for four hours?   ...