Rolling Suitcase Jetlag
How did I become the person that is in contact with the first author of this whole Coffeelicious thing?
When he looked at the first few lines he realized it was sci-fi–ish and that made him think that maybe it would be interesting. So when it came time to decide who was going to read the book and contact the author, well, the choice was easy. After all, you only get to interview an author for the first time once.
Bashir did not know the first thing about interviewing. Or maybe he did, because the first thing he did was read, and that made all the difference. “Is this for real?” he thought as he read line after line of a story that resonated with his very soul.
An expansion of daydreams and night dreams that never seemed to end… but this book? It was not a dream. It was a vivid expression of ideas that he held dear.
“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.” — James Baldwin
Having read Rolling Suitcase Jihad, Bashir had questions. Questions that he had time to write while sitting on his flight back to New York. An early morning flight from Orlando with an extended layover in DC on top of not sleeping the night before. He was drained.
When he finally got back to his cozy Harlem apartment all he wanted to do was sleep. But sleep had to wait. Everyone else wanted to see how things were going with the interview questions.
“I’m a grown man. I got this.”
But the meeting over Skype had started and of course opinions were shared. It was hard to hear anyone on Skype over the roaring of his window air-conditioning unit, so he turned it off. Then the heat and humidity of the New York City Summer turned his cozy apartment into a life-draining sweatbox. Nothing had been decided and Bashir just wanted to sleep.
“Ok guys, I am done. I am just going to send this email and go to bed.”
Everyone agreed and Bashir signed off with a smile. Not visible on his face, but from his heart. Sweet, sweet, sleep awaited him as daydreams turned into night dreams after another long day.
Listen to the final product of Bashir’s meeting with author Stephen C. Rose
This week’s podcast is based on the serial fiction “Rolling Suitcase Jihad” by Stephen C Rose.
Written by Bashir Harrell of Comatose.
Comatose is a weekly series of amusing anecdotes, insightful commentary, and pithy stories. Every week three contributors are featured in short segments. The segments, though often unrelated, are tied together using music and narration to set the scene. Relax and enjoy the ride while listening to topics as varied as love, birthdays, and reciprocity.
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Every week Comatose publishes a new podcast on The Coffeelicious.
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