Cash: Incoming Broadcast from Desert Skies
Mac: Desert Skies FMMMM
Tendy: Greetings Travelers, Attendant and Mechanic here
Mac: Mac and Tendy
Tendy: Coming live to you from the Desert Skies Astral Plane Fuel and Service Station, the place you go when a shark eats you. I’m sorry, I didn’t write that last part. Mac?
Mac: It’s true, isn’t it?
Tendy: That this is where you go when sharks eat you? I mean, we’ve had like one, maybe two shark victims that I can remember. This makes it sound like we exclusively serve people who suffer shark attack fatalities.
Mac: I don’t know about you but I think that sounds pretty darn cool. A reputation like that could give us some serious cred.
Tendy: With who?
Mac: I dunno. The coyotes?
Tendy: It’s really hard to tell when you’re joking sometimes.
Mac: I am never joking.
Tendy: If that’s true, that’s terrifying.
Okay, Traveler. Let’s jump right in. Here’s your travel tip of the day.
Mac: Travels Tips for Travelers Who Got Ate by Sharks
Tendy: (Sigh) You’ll see signs as you traverse the Astral Plane letting you know about upcoming Rest Areas. These rest areas aren’t what you remember from the physical plane. No, you’ll find no dead bodies here aside from your own.
Astral Plane Rest Areas are scattered at various points along the highway. There are 11 in total, and each is themed after the celestial sphere where it resides.
Mac: Tendy, sorry to interrupt, but a common question that we get from travelers visiting this station is, where are you getting this info? If you’ve never traveled the Astral Plane, how do you know about rest areas?
Tendy: That’s actually a really good question, Mac. Everything we know about the celestial spheres is passed down to us by an elite group of beings known simply as “The superiors”. They’re who we get our maps from.
Mac: Oh, that makes sense.
Tendy: Anyways, like I was saying, rest areas each have a theme based on the celestial sphere where they reside, think cozy cabin on the forest sphere, warm lodge on the blizzard sphere, haunted house on the…
Mac: Tendy, sorry to interrupt again, but “The Superiors”. Do you know who they are?
Tendy: What? Well, no.
Mac: Cash, do you know.
Cash: I do not, Mechanic.
Mac: Then how do we know if what they’re sayin’ is the truth?
Tendy: I mean, so far they’ve been right about the second sphere being the forest sphere, and the eighth sphere being the stormy sphere.
Mac: Okay, I think I can wrap my head around it.
Tendy: No other questions?
Mac: Not for now. Thank you, sir.
Tendy: Well, okay then. So, Rest Area. The purpose of a rest area is they serve as a place where you can be relieved of large amounts of burden you may be carrying from the Physical Plane. You’re welcome to stay at a rest area for as long as you like, and to visit as many as you like.
Mac: Sounds nice, I’d like to visit a rest area sometime.
Tendy: Who knows? Maybe someday.
Mac: Travelers, it’s time for a segment I like to call. Rest your weary soul
Tendy: Rest Your Weary Soul
Mac: Hey, not bad Mr. Attendant. You got some lungs.
Traveler, I want to take a moment to talk to you about the joy of looking and listening.
We think we’re good at looking at things because we have eyes that see, or ears that hear, or both. And, we kinda are. I mean, we do a good enough job that we’re able to drive safely, or hear a song and recognize it.
But I want to encourage you to take it just a step further.
For instance, when looking at a tree, you might say “Hey, that’s a mesquite tree”, and it might be, unless you’re confusing it with a Palo Verde, which is sometimes the case. But let’s go a little further, notice that beyond what a thing is, the particulars of the thing that make it distinct from other things. For instance, there is not another mesquite in all of the Astral Plane that has branches the exact shape of the one you’re looking at. Look at how they stem out from the trunk and make their way outward and upward in a variety of angles. Look even closer, at the small leaves and thorns that adorn the branches and how even the thorns vary in length and size.
Or when listening to a song, do we too often stop with the tune or the lyrics? Listen more closely, you might hear some surprising things. Like the way the drummer occasionally returns to the snare, or that neat little thing the bass player is doing after the chorus. Wait, what’s that, do I detect the small chime of the tambourine.
The Physical Plane, the Astral Plane, and the Next Plane, are filled with wonder and mystery. There’s no need to rush. Take the time to really look, and really listen, and let your spirit be lifted in the delight that there is more to discover then we ever thought possible, and in so doing, find rest for your weary soul.
Tendy: Very, very nice Mac. I feel inspired. I might go look at a tree later.
Mac: Sweet, my work here is done.
Tendy: And the following goes out to travelers freshly arriving from the Physical plane. Take the time to really look and soon you’ll see the bright neon lights of the Desert Skies Astral Plane Fuel and Service Station.
We’ve got all your road trip favorites.
You know that feeling you get when you know you need to cry but the tears just won’t come? Try our pickled pigs feet. Our pickled pigs feet are known for their ability to induce devastating degrees of sadness, allowing you the opportunity to be freed of that underlying sense of remorse, grief, or disappointment. Try one today, and we’ll toss in a box of tissues.
Mac: And if the waterworks are really flowin’, you can borrow one of my buckets
Tendy: Very kind of you, Mac. Oh, and be sure to check out our variety of non-dairy creamers. We recently received a pumpkin spice flavor, which depending on your preference, may also induce devastating degrees of sadness.
Mac: I think it tastes delicious and people who say otherwise are just afraid to enjoy things.
Tendy: And that’s our broadcast. Safe Travels!