Forward
It is such a pleasure to write the forward for Trey’s second book because I know I am leaving you in great hands! Trey just being Trey makes me smile and reading his words draws us into the magical world that is Trey. The humor, the joy de verve, and the adventure all pile up in a way that makes us want to go out and live. And, as Trey says: connection is the most important thing in life—so here’s to connecting once again with a man who has spent his life studying love and happiness in order to help us all live a brighter, more fulfilling life.
Renee Linnell - Author of The Burn Zone and Still on Fire
Dedication
This non-book book is dedicated to my mom because she is nuts, loves tomatoes, and watches Fox News.
Introduction
To the reader, I wanted to write a book in four days and sell it on Amazon. However, I am making it a blog post because publishing a book is tricky and I am cheap.
CHAPTER 1
When was the last time you did something for the first time? - Jenn Schaefer
Sunday – El Salvador
I landed at 1 pm today and arranged for a taxi to drive me to this hotel, sorry, hostel. The driver picked me up outside the terminal. I started to get in the backseat but realized that might be awkward since it was a one-hour drive. So, unfortunately, I got in the front seat.
He smiled. I smiled.
His car had a crack across the windshield and the general decrepit nature of Central American taxis. I started scratching at the inside of my hand which is what I do when I get anxious. I realized I would have to talk to this dude for an hour. Maybe not.
“What difference for sea and ocean?” He asked in broken English.
I have no idea what the difference is between the word sea and the word ocean.
“They are the same,” I guessed staring straight ahead.
“No, I think different,” He replied with a big smile in broken Spanglish.
He’s probably right.
I think the key to life is doing things for the first time. It reminds us we are alive. I came to El Salvador because I will go mad if I don’t travel. I also had to get off Zoom calls for a minute to reset my brain. My goal is to eat hordes of fruit, wake up at irregular times, figure out my life, attempt to talk to strangers, and ….
Write a book in five days.
”What kind music you like?” He asked.
I told him dance music. Then he asked me if the DJ marshmallow is real.
He asked me what famous people are from where I’m from. I told him 2 chains, Gucci Man, Lil Baby, and Zac brown. He had no idea who they are. Neither do I actually.
“I like Linkin Park. Where they from?” he asked.
Linkin Park? Of all the groups in the world this dude just said Linkin Park?
“No idea,” I replied.
He played an EDM song called Forbidden something. He was proud of his music.
“What ‘forbidden’ mean?” He continued trying to learn English from me. Obviously, he didn't know I failed English in school. Twice.
“Uh, not allowed,” I guessed again.
He mumbled something.
“You know, not allowed. Can’t do that. Not allowed,” I repeated.
“No you president?”
“What?”
After some back and forth I realized he thought the word forbidden meant ‘for Bidden’ the President of the United States.
Well, there’s that I guess.
Chapter 2
Life is not a highway, it's a road map – Erin Galvin
I will be honest. I have no idea what I am doing. I will say this, the mosquitos are outrageous. My dumb ass landed at a hostel somewhere along the Pacific coast of El Salvador. Me and a handful of 20-year-olds. I am not 20 years old. Or 30. Or 40. Higher. My room has three beds. There is one of me.
It’s 3 pm, 400 degrees, and there are two German girls wearing thongs. A few others are lingering around the small, blue pool but they don’t have thong-wearing bodies. The girl at the reception area told me to only go into the ocean in the middle, never past my knees, wash off when I come back, and don’t let out the dog. It’s been six hours since I got here. I have talked to nobody. Not even her.
This is the kind of place that has board games and clotheslines for wet clothes. Rooms with multiple beds. The humidity has its own personality. Sticky.
My problem is I don’t like to talk to strangers. Or anyone really. Let me explain.
I am 50 years old and have anxiety when I talk to people. Not panic attack anxiety but just enough to generally avoid socializing. It sucks because I am terrified I might grow old and die alone in a motel room watching a color TV. Like my idiot dad. I am an introvert and bonified individualist who spends most of the time in my head and sitting alone in coffee shops. Or weird hostels in El Salvador, apparently.
I came down here to seek a little adventure and practice talking to people.
Chapter 3
Why do you love bananas so much? I can’t stand em…it’s a texture thing. – Meagan Cavanaugh
Monday – El Zonte Beach
There are two other people in this restaurant. A younger couple. This must be the nicest place in this town. A town that looks like a dump. A literal dump for trash. It’s known as Bitcoin Beach. The dogs are skinny and the building are a mess. A rundown surfer town.
I didn’t talk to people today. Hell, I walked from the last town to this town along the highway. It was doing ok until I came upon a tunnel that ran through the mountain. I had to glue myself to the side walls as trucks blew through the endlessly dark abyss. It was seven miles between the towns.
I am looking out at the ocean and waiting for my food. There are five surfers. It’s 6 pm and cloudy. This place is a ghost town. Rainy season.
The ‘hotel’ I am staying in is a white block building with three rooms and a tiny pool. A chubby mane met me at the front when I walked through the gate adorned with bobwire. He was sweating and looked like he had an allergy to showering. Nice dude though.
I ordered a banana shake. No sugar.
Chapter 4
I can learn a lot from a growing, healthy fern – Lauren Moret
I love bananas. They taste sweeter here. Fresh, I guess.
Why do I love bananas? First, they are yellow. Perfect. Yellow is the happiest color in the world. Ask scientists. It’s true. Red is angry, blue is calm, orange is threatening, but yellow, yellow is happy.
Enough about bananas. I swear to God I might be the only human in this town.
Chapter 5
Don’t lower your standards for those who seem higher than you. They are just posers and you are worthy and wonderful! – Tawna McEver
Tuesday, July 4th
I am sitting at a table with four chairs on the second floor of an open-air joint overlooking the beach in El Zonte, El Salvador. There are zero people in here except the poor waiter who is dressed to the nines in black pants and a button-up shirt. It breaks my heart that he has no customers. It also breaks my heart that I am all alone and too awkward to talk to people as if anybody is here.
I suppose it is the rainy season down here and there are no tourists. Plus El Salvador has been riddled with gang crime for the past however long. The new President is some young dude that arrested everybody in the country and made Bitcoin the national currency. Ballsy. I bet he is a psychopath.
It’s funny to see shacks on the beach with signs that say ‘Bitcoin accepted’. I couldn’t tell you how to use Bitcoin if you gave me three years and a tutor. I would rather string 1000 tennis rackets by hand than learn how to use Bitcoin. I don’t play tennis.
Sometimes I wonder if I am lonely or if I like to be alone. I am not sad that I don’t talk to people when I travel. I am not happy about it either. I heard a dude on TikTok say we have to practice ‘communication fitness’. Fine.
Chapter 6
Random is one of the most underrated words in the English language - Chris Leonard
There is a single surfer in the water and I wish I was him. Or her. I can’t see that far. The waves are smooth. Almost perfect. The air is sticky even though it’s afternoon. The beach is black with rocks and black sand. A girl walks along the beach wearing no shoes. That is odd because the beach is all rocks. All big round gray rocks.
The room I booked is at a ‘beach club’ that has zero people. What they didn’t show on Booking.com was the massive construction between the rooms and the ocean. So, I have a great view of a dozen guys building a wooden walkway in the scorching heat. They don’t look like they are having fun.
Why is it that I am 50 years old and have no idea what I want to be when I grow up? You too? Great.
I have been thinking a lot on this trip. Trying to figure out my ‘goals’ and what I want the rest of the year to be like.
Oh look, two people just sat at the opposite end of this platform. Humans. They look happy.
A surfer just caught a wave. He is not very good because he rode it straight. No cutting back and forth. No big tricks. Just a dude in a wetsuit riding a wave straight. I wish I could surf. Maybe I add that to my goals list.
I realized on this trip that I care too much about what other people think. I think too much. Sometimes I feel like I lack purpose but I know my purpose. Welcome to my brain.
It’s sunset now. There is a peace about a sunset. You are either a sunset person or a sunrise person. The sunset, to me, is about peace. The sunrise, to me, is about opportunity.
Some of us are hardwired to go and some of us are hardwired to rest. Sunrise and sunset.
I want to travel forever. To see new things. To be in awe. To discover. To drink national beers and journal my thoughts. To create more happenstance and less monotony. To walk through tunnels.
I bought this beer for $1.55 at a little mart on the corner.
Chapter 7
This sentence doesn’t exist. – Adam Simms
Tuesday
The 4th of July. I’m at El Tunco Beach eating ceviche. Shrimp only because I never trust fish when traveling. I don’t think I want to get a tattoo in this town, or this country.
Chapter 8
Death often wakes up love - Alyssa
Well, it is 7/7/23.
I flew back to Atlanta early because there were too many rocks at the last beach. I tried to get into the ocean on the last day and the rocks crashed into my feet. Rocks the size of baseballs washing around in the surf. Dumb.
You know, I think adventure is the key to life. Not the adventure where you put on a wingsuit and jump off a mountain only to slam into another mountain but rather, the adventure of seeing new things, doing new things, and meeting new people. I think adventure is the unknown and broken taxis and shady hotels and bed bugs and odd foods.
If we lose our sense of adventure, we lose ourselves and our excitement for life.
Listen, folks, I am just a dude with some houseplants and high credit card balances. I don’t have it all figured out. However, I can close my eyes and see the places I have been, the people I have met, and the experiences I have had around the world.
There are moments in our lives that we will remember forever. We need to keep creating those moments. To be an interesting person we need to do interesting things. Eat a live frog, make a documentary, cook barbeque pancakes. Anything.
Thanks for reading my non-book book.
Trey
Close but no cigar – Kyle Goodrich
So this just hit home for me. Today is the anniversary of my Dad passing away. It still hits me pretty hard. I lost my Mom, Dad, went through a nasty divorce and was hit by a drunk driver all within 28 months. I used to be a an extrovert and now am very much a introvert because of all the trauma. I have anxiety disorder which stops me in my tracks. I will be 51 in September and realizing that I have no immediate family left and I will probably die alone. It's a scary thought. So maybe I should try and put myself out there more. Easier said than done. Thank you Trey for a different perspective!!