I’m back to being a “homer” rather than a traveler. It feels good to wake up in your own bed and settle into a normal routine. I have at least a month of normality in front of me before we head to Canada.  I will spend some time getting the house in order including some professional cleaning of our tile floors, laundry, and replanting the pots on our deck. I was able to grill out last night for the first time in months after a long stretch of repairs and rain. Most of our deck furniture was in the garage and the grill was inaccessible, so last night’s smoked brisket burnt ends were a delicious treat on my night to cook. This evening, we’re using “Date Night” to take a Thai cooking class at Sur La Table. Ironically, we had planned to do this in Thailand last month, but instead the lesson will transpire in a Portland cooking supply franchise with a French name. 

A “homer” has baseball implications (HR) and is usually followed by high-fives and other ruckus outbursts of celebration. I feel that I want to celebrate every time I return home from a journey. I enjoy travel, but there’s a certain joy and comfort that comes from familiarity. Any excursion can be stressful, filled with schedule deadlines and uncertainty. I’m glad to have rounded the bases of the world and returned home safely. After a few days of recovery, I’ll look forward to the opportunity of doing it again. In the meantime, I’ll perform my domestic duties to the best of my ability and continue to entertain or educate myself with books and television. Right now, I’m watching episodes of Deadwood, Curse of Civil War Gold, and Fosse/Verdon, while reading Run Away by Harlan Coben. 

I might consider re-reading The Iliad or Odyssey by Homer or re-watching watching episodes of the sitcom starring Homer Simpson. A local winemaker named his most precious vintage “Homer” because it was such a big hit. In Greek, the name means security, helmet maker, pool in a hallow, or famous bearer. It also has a sexual conquest connotation. Otherwise, the name Homer has not proven popular. The very first home run ever hit in the National League  was by Ross Barnes of the Chicago White Stockings (now Cubs) in 1876, back when homers rarely cleared a fence. In today’s game, they’re classified as either “out of the park” or “inside-the-park.” Was the plate originally designed to look like a house with a roof? Or, was it because it might have originally been round in shape and referred to as home plate? Regardless, a player starts there with a goal of returning and scoring a run. I too feel like I’ve accomplished something significant every time I return home.