Cosmo and Silvia visit their younger brother Vince in Berkeley, where he attends college. Named after the 18th Century bishop and philosopher, George Berkeley, this university town has long been a major center of social change and civic unrest. Berkeley reminds Cosmo of Philadelphia’s University City, and as he peers inside a cafe that reminds him of a cafe near his apartment, he realizes that it has only been one week since he has been on the road. Although only one week, it feels like a life-time as so much has happened within this short time period.

The three siblings decide to go to the cafe after hitting a nearby bookstore, where Cosmo shocks Vince by purchasing a Carlos Castaneda book. “Who are you? And what have you done with my brother?” Vince says as Cosmo goes to pay for the book. To this, Silvia responds, “I think our big brother might be changing Vince.”

As they sit at the cafe, Cosmo tells Vince how going on this trip brought him to the realization that he was stuck in a rut. He adds that “Once you’re in it, you can’t get out, and it’s like you’re not really alive.” Silvia adds her belief that all people inevitably get stuck in some kind of rut in the course of their lives. “The world takes people out of themselves. And they have to get out of themselves to live in the world.” When Vince asks his older brother why he got stuck in a rut, and in doing so, lost touch with himself, Cosmo’s answer is simple, plain and clear: Fear.

 

 

 

This post is from my blog series on the places visited in the road trip story, “Discovery of an Eagle.”

Grace Mattioli is the author of the Greco Family Trilogy books, including Olive Branches Don’t Grow on Trees, Discovery of an Eagle, and The Bird that Sang in Color. These books are available from all major online book sellers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books.