Welcome to Home Row

“If you are a dreamer come in.
If you are a dreamer, a lover, a liar,
A hop-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer.
If you’re a pretender come sit by my fire,
for I have some flax golden tales to spin.
Come in. Come in.”

— Shel Silverstein

Thank you for stopping by. I've been wanting to say hello. It's good to see you. I've been waiting for you.

I named my Blog Home Row as a bit of a metaphor. For one, the importance of Home Row was ingrained in my brain by my typing teacher at a very young age. If we could only stay on Home Row, everything would fall into place. Life will be easy and a guaranteed happily ever after. We would be able to type with ease without having to look at the keyboard. We would find speed and efficiency. Home Row: the starting position, the place of rest. It is the place I hover, staring into space, waiting for words and thoughts to form.

My real truth is that I was setting up my blog and contemplating a variety of things to call it. None of them felt right. Then my publisher/collaborator gave me a proofing assignment; I had been at the computer all day. I agreed to do it, but I wanted to pour myself a glass of wine first. I told her, “don’t worry, I won’t fall off home row.” As I was pouring my wine, I thought about that comment, chuckling to myself, and then I thought, THAT is the perfect name for my blog;  Home Row.

For those of us who actually still use the term, and know what happens when we stray off of Home Row. We look down to discover that all our words have gone wonky and wonder when we got off path without realizing it. It is much simpler today with a computer, we just delete the mess. But on a typewriter, well, we may have to start completely over, or reach for the white-out and smear it all away, certainly a must if we have gone astray for too long. Losing Home Row is full of surprises.

Home Row is a starting point. A resting point. A place to pause when you’re not in motion. I’m not certain exactly what I’ll be writing, and that is the beauty of it. I’ll share stories, already written, that have been waiting for the right home. I’ll write about Atlanticville: An Island Memoir, my soon to be released book. I’ll share new stories, at least that is my intent, as my fingers hover above Home Row.

Thank you for being here;

Come in. Come in.