In The Writers Journey, Author Chris Vogler says, “The Road Back marks a time when heroes rededicate themselves to the adventure.  A plateau of comfort has been reached and heroes must be pried off that plateau, either by their own inner resolve or by an external force.”  This is a turning point in the character within a screenplay as it involves another threshold crossing, and marks the transition from Act Two to Act Three.  It may mean a major plot change or twist, and can change the risks from physical ones to emotional ones.  Usually there is a significant propellant that causes the shift from one world to the next.

That propellant may come in the form of an inner self-motivation, a sacrifice of something or someone, a retaliation against a former opponent, a running away from one’s life or another person, a chase with a formidable foe, a catastrophic reversal of fortune, or a return as the town hero.

In my case, the ship was sinking and I needed to swim for shore.  So I chose to take another risk, and venture out in search of a new Ordinary World.  One, I needed to generate real and regular income for my current well being, my future security, and the life of my growing child.  In my present circumstance I was not generating any significant income, and yet I was paying out expenses that included a large chunk to Child Support.  I needed to take charge of my financial life, fix my mountain high debt, save for a car, build a custodial account for my daughter, and begin again to contribute to my retirement plan.

Two, I was 2,000 miles from my daughter, whom I missed so much, and was not able to see but every two months.  And so the decision I would make, allowed me to instead be 400 miles from my Carrie, and see her on a more regular basis.  It was not a desirable situation, but it was certainly better than being six states away.

Three, and perhaps the most important reason, I needed to prove to myself that I could succeed, and be happy in the filmmaking world where I had been well trained.  I wanted to go beyond surviving to thriving in my own self-willed environment.  There was so much garbage for me to sift through and through away, so that I could clean up my mind, my demons, and my soul.  I had to go, or I would never know if I could truly make it in the world in which I found myself…my maze.

I was offered a job by an old friend of mine that I had done a movie with called, Madea’s Big Happy Family at Tyler Perry Studios.   It was not going to pay a lot, but it entitled me to get in the Atlanta local union and pursue other local jobs.  I would be able to take drives of six and a half hours to be with my daughter, so perhaps I could see her more often.  Also, my sister lived nearby, and I could stay with her for the first couple of weeks until I made enough money to get my own place.  My next adventure would be going to Atlanta.

This was a big deal, as I knew this was at least a semi-permanent move away from my loved one and Mentor. We had developed such a lovely bond, and by me moving it could jeopardize the relationship.  I thought it through, and there was just too much energy pulling on me to move on to my ordinary world of working in the film business.  It was a difficult decision but it came with less resistance than I had experienced in the past Calls to Adventure.  By now I believe I had survived the near death experience of my apocalypse, and it was time to thrive in a new world.

What complicated the emotional and physical matters of this departure was having to deal with my personal things from Los Angeles.  I was going to need my stuff, or at least a portion of my holdings, as I didn’t see the potential of making Denver work in my future.  This mean’t my partner and I would have to go through that inevitable feeling of leaving a loved one behind.  And it’s one thing when you just pack a couple of suitcases, it’s another when you have to leave your loved one with a trailer full of personal items.

Me leaving was not easy, especially for her.  Many times in my life I have had to pack up and move on to a new adventure in another land.  I have lived in six American states and the country of Mexico since I was 20 years old, four of those states I have lived in multiple times.  If you count the different zip codes and places I called home, I have resided in about 23 locations.  That doesn’t count the numerous times I stayed with someone for less than a couple of months in four of the states.  It also doesn’t include the months I spent on the road working on many a feature film, TV series, and for shorter times on commercials.  And then there were the two summers I spent in Jalapa, Veracruz, and Mexico City taking college courses and living with an hispanic family.  Life has been one long series of adventures for me, and I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.  My significant other has only ventured out a handful of times, and those were almost all within Denver.  So, as much as I hated to leave, I sure did love to go.