Dave Ford Does Earth

Posted by Dave Ford

In late August of last year, I was sitting in a bar in Federal Hill (downtown Baltimore) completely miserable, talking about my life with one of my best friends Mark Fruhling. I hated my job, I hated my life and found myself at a crossroads.

I had been planning for about a year to move to LA to try and take my career to the next level. I was looking for a big radio job so that I could make the big money that goes along with selling advertising in the number 2 market in the United States. The decision to move was by and large due to my desire to make a lot of money.

I had plans to initially live with two of my closest friends in Southern California. Dave Binck would be moving to LA from Miami (He is my friend who was attacked last week), and Mike Schwartz who is living in LA currently as an actor and screen play writer. I had flown to LA to check everything out in January of 2006, liked what I saw and decided to move there.

I was going to go to LA in September of 2006. I had planned to quit my job in DC in June of last year. So, when September was getting ready to roll around and I was still in DC, I had a bit of personal crisis. Or better yet, lets call it a full blown meltdown. I was extremely unhappy and in the most uninspiring place of my life.

I do not remember the name of the bar that Mark and I were sitting in but it was empty. We were the only ones there, except a guy sitting in the corner. Our conversation was entirely about how I felt like I had a calling to travel the world and that if I did not do it right then (at 28 years old), I would never do it. We talked quite a bit about the rat race, and how I was getting sucked inside of it. I did not think that we were talking that loud, nonetheless this other guy that was sitting at the opposite side of the bar apologetically interrupted our conversation.

He had overheard us talking about me thinking about quitting my job and life, and traveling the world. He asked us if he could tell us his story.

This guy (I never got his name), had his own physical therapy practice and found his daily life completely miserable. He was working 80 hours a week, he was in an extremely unhappy relationship and was on the verge of a breakdown.

I felt like I was looking into a mirror.

He went on to tell us that the previous year he sold his practice, broke up with his girlfriend and took off to travel the world. On his one year trip he met his wife (he said that he was completely in love with his wife), decided to change the course of his life, and found the happiness that he was supposed to have achieved living the American dream.

He told me that he read the most important book of his life on his trip, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

The next day, I went out and bought Atlas Shrugged. I threw it in the back seat of my car. For the next 4 months I looked at it everyday when I got in and out.

That night, I mad the decision that I was going to travel.

Atlas Shrugged, in all of its 1200 pages, was everything this guy said it would be. I read it in the first month of my trip, and finished it when I got back from Antarctica. The philosophy shared by Ayn Rand, is one of the major reasons that I have decided to become a travel writer and to further pursue my personal interests. I plan on working for myself for the rest of my life. I am living my life just for me and hopefully helping people along the way.

So here I am, sitting in a bar in Sucre, Bolivia. Last year, I did not even think such a place existed.

You can easily call what I experienced a mid mid-life crisis. I am going to call it the best thing that has ever happened to me.

All I know is that I have never been happier in my life. I am currently in the process of spending every dollar that I have ever earned. What I am experiencing is far more important than any graduate school, work experience, or anything else for that matter. The bad experiences are just as important as the good ones.

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Notes:

> Dave Binck, my good friend who was almost killed last week is steadily improving. I spoke to him twice last week and he sounds amazing. His near death experience has given him a new outlook on life.

> Ben and Dave (Another Aussie Diver),arrived in Sucre last Wednesday. We have been having a lot of fun these last few days. Tomorrow, Ben, Dave, Raj (Cool British dude we have been hanging out with) and I will leave Sucre for the Mines of Potosi (The mines in Potosi are considered one of the worst work conditions in the world). From there, we will traveling to The Salt Flats of Salar de Uyuni. After our three day tour of the freezing cold Salt Flats, the plan is to make our way west into Chile to San Pedro de Atacama in the desert. As always, anything can change.

> I have a lot of writing to do…. I am planning to write about my second experience with Ayahuasca, the crazy political experience that is currently going on in Bolivia, and my time here in Sucre. I also need to write traveler profiles of both Dave Mallett and Raj. I am a little worried about what the internet access will be like in Potosi, Salar de Uyuni, and San Pedro. I am crossing my fingers. I might not be able to post pictures at first.

> In the last few days the boys and I have watched Anchorman about 4 times. It currently ranks at number 1 on my most hilarious movies of all time list. “I’m going to smash your face into the windshield, and then take your mother Mrs. Dorothy Mantooth out to a nice seafood dinner, and never call her again!” “Dorothy Mantooth is a saint!”

> Thanks for everyone that emailed me or commented as a result of my last few posts. I appreciate the support. Things have dramatically improved since I wrote everything. I feel really good about everything coming up. I cannot tell you how excited I am about these next two a half months with Dave and Ben.

> In Sucre, Dave and Ben have been sharing the same room and I have had a single. This week, after a night out, Dave was being pursued by a nice young lady. So Ben and I found ourselves in the interesting predicament of having to share my full sized bed. Not only does the BV show snore, but he also consistently stole the covers all night long. At 8:00 the next morning, I awoke freezing and found that I was giving the BV show the big spoon. It was not quite a passionate embrace, but close. I was without covers, and I guess my natural instinct was to seek out warmth at all cost. Either that, or I am secretly gay and just do not know it. I am going to got with option number 1 and my natural instincts.

Also, I am on a personal mission to be a recipient of the big spoon at some point in my life. Being 6 foot 4, I never get the big spoon. Never, ever, ever.

If anyone knows any 6ft 7 chicks, tell them to call me.

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