THE COSMIC BURRITO
A Transcontinental Adventure of Discovery and Decadence
College graduation, a bittersweet occasion. For Tosh Tyler, bitter, for Crosby Graves, very, very sweet.
For Tosh, graduation meant the end of a carefree, decadent lifestyle that featured four years in a fraternity with an extremely active social life. He had lived predominantly on junk food, cheap beer and psychedelic drugs, managed to seduce quite a shameful amount of coeds, and finished with a very respectable grade point average. He did not want to graduate. Not yet, anyway.
If Tosh's college experience likened itself to dollar nachos in the sports bar, Crosby's path through post-high school academia was like wax beans in a cafeteria.
While Tosh tailgated at Big Ten football games and ogled sorority girls, Crosby worked at a deli to pay his way through an art major at a local university. For Crosby, graduation meant an end to a disciplined routine, integral and rewarding, but not exactly fulfilling in the fun department. His four years of hard work had drained him of his lust for life and he approached his jump into the nine-to-five world like walking the plank. Crosby decided he did not want to get a job. Not yet, anyway.
Two friends, two different paths, same result-wanderlust...
The Cosmic Burrito is the story of two restless college graduates who decide to postpone their entrance into the "real world" by taking the cross-country trip they had always dreamed of, a mind-expanding gumbo of philosophy and spirituality served with a generous side of youthful antics. Leaving New Jersey in an old Dodge van, Tosh Tyler and his best buddy, Crosby Graves, set out to find understanding, direction and the Ultimate Burrito. With one foot in the metaphysical world and one foot in the gutter, they search for truth, yet never abandon their less noble interests. Tosh and Crosby's whimsical journey, with the guidance of a mystical guardian, introduces them to an intriguing cast of characters and a new way of thinking.
Genre
This book cannot be pigeonholed into a specific genre. Adventure? Travel? Philosophy? Literature? Philosophical adventure travel literature?
Setting
North America, late 80's to mid 90's. Like true nomads, Tosh and Crosby wander from the shores of the Atlantic to the Pacific, from luscious Vancouver down to sunny San Diego, on no one's time but their own. Along the way, among other adventures, they visit a backwoods beer garden where they hear the story of a hamster that committed suicide, have their van seized by Canadian Customs officials, befriend a Nintendo-playing prostitute, get tattooed on Haight Street, sleep at the summit of Half Dome and spend a day in a Venice dive drinking with underachievers and murderers.
Some of the characters they meet include a punk rock phantom, a photosynthesizing hermit, a roadside psychic and teen-aged newlyweds on the lam from Tennessee.
The story kicks off with a bang (two, actually) when Tosh and Crosby meet a couple of young ladies and learn that even places as ho-hum as Kansas can offer a good time -- specifically, the kind written about on bathroom walls...
Main Characters
Tosh and Crosby grew up best friends. They did not attend college together, but soon after graduating, they embark on a cross-country journey that they had long talked about. Though in some ways they are very different, Tosh and Crosby do share similar tastes and interests, their favorites of which include drinking, smoking pot and meeting girls.
The dreadlocked Tosh is an idealist, a deep thinker who often ponders the wonders of the universe and gets rattled by the concept of infinity. He is completely open-minded, open-hearted and respectful, though perhaps somewhat naive. He is a bit self-conscious, sensitive and cerebral.
On the other side, the cynical Crosby takes things at face value and shoots from the hip. He does what he wants and says what's on his mind without giving much consideration to its effect on himself or others. He is more intuitive and spontaneous, yet also more narrow-minded.
Where Tosh chews on sunflower seeds, Crosby spits tobacco...
