Germinating Words from Scratch.

It’s Week 16 in loco lockdown and oftentimes I question whether I’ve managed to remain sane.  Perhaps I’ve already crossed the bridge of no return but I’ve nary any visual markers to gage my sojourn and there aren’t any manuals out there to guide my way.  All that I can do is sequester and play, since I’ve inadvertently stumbled into the Land of Cuckoo, that wondrous space of a place of solace and refuge.  Might as well test the waters and linger a while.  After all, I’m stuck at home with nowhere else to go.

Dipping my quill into the aqua potion was the first start.  The restorative ink has extraordinary capabilities, able to reinvigorate and, most importantly, whisk me away from the drudgery of every day. 

And, voilà, next thing I know, I’m in Shangri-La, one with the earth, plucking weeds and planting seeds.  The gift of sunshine and H20 is a rejuvenating force, birthing life anew. 

A splash of inspiration, a sprinkling of devotion and an over-active imagination is all one needs to grow words.  Tiny sprouts of seedlings that blossom into ideas that keep me up at night as I toss and turn over the strategic placement of nouns and consonants.  Verbs are another story altogether.  Always on the go, they’re non-stop movement, a flurry of restless activity one sprint ahead of the tale; a collaborative team of 26 that work in tandem to spell out the narrative of what is on their mind.

A watering can, a chant, a prayer and a smidgen of hocus-pocus are the secret ingredients that flower my garden.  And, Abracadabra, as if by magic, alongside the marigolds and sunflowers, a batch of Word-lings have germinated overnight.

I know what you’re thinking.  About The Word-lings.

Being a wordsmith and linguist, I am fully aware that Word-ling is not an actual word.  It’s made up, not real, but then again, so is fiction.  I’m beyond besotted with words and the crucial role they play in weaving the fable.  And, I declare that there are NOT enough of them in The Dictionary to facilitate the process of fabrication.  I therefore propose that I lobby Webster’s for an immediate amendment to include my newly hatched batch of terminologies.  After all, I’ve a boatload of expertise in dreaming up new lexicons and phrases, which seem to spring to life only when I’m on the road exploring foreign locales. 

But alas, I’m trapped in the quagmire of Day 123 of quarantine and I’m itching to hop on a plane to Spain.  The world will just have to wait for the next crop of Nora-isms (aka Word-lings) to make their debut in the revised addendum to Le New and Improved Dictionary (To be re-defined as The Nik-tion-ary, if truth be told).

Must dash.  The landline’s a ringing.  It’s Webster’s on the line…

Next post:  In two weeks or thereabouts.  The w/o August 3rd, sometime on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday!  Stay tuned!

Next blogs – Continuing the conversations with my vintage turquoise writing machine; Watch out Webster’s!  New Word-lings are on their way!


Stay home, stay safe and catch up with your reading!


















Awaiting a delivery from yesterday.

It’s Week 15 in loco lockdown and I’m stuck at home anticipating the delivery of a parcel from yesterday.  It’s been quite the wait.  I’ve marked the hours and it’s been more than 60 plus years, but who’s counting.  After all, I’m in quarantine with nothing else to do and nowhere to go.  What’s a decade or six when you’re on the brink of conversing with history and swapping stories with pen pals of generations long past.

The thrill of unwrapping and mapping the narratives of my fellow scribes from so long ago is an added bonus accompanying my long awaited FedEx package.  My shipment has been in transit for the better part of half a century.  I’m giddy with glee to finally be privy to prying open the box that encapsulates the musings of wordsmiths from a bygone era.

And voilà, as if on a magic carpet ride, on Day 112, my vintage Hermes Baby finally landed on my doorstep.

Let the click clacking begin!

The ding of the ping is music to my scrivener soul.  A blank piece of parchment rolled into the carriage heralds the start to curating a legacy of art.  Aligning the smorgasbord of ABC’s into a cohesive order that threads the plot from beginning to end are the tasks delegated to the symphony of keys that co-exist to create and please.

My slightly battered and well-loved writing machine is eager to make my acquaintance and who am I to displease. 

Let the introductions begin…

We’ve a lot in common.  We both are originators, scribblers, linguists and poets, besotted with the arrangement of words.  Enamoured, to be exact. 

Whether penning free verse, sonnets, Japanese Haiku or ballad quatrains, our connectivity lies in our appreciation of the craft of re-inventing and re-imagining experiences, not to mention, emotions.  We’re soul mates, kindred spirits, long lost sisters…

Oh, Brother!   OK, now you’ve gone off the edge and “lost the plot”, so enough of the Blah, Blah, Blah!  You get the visual, dear Reader.  Masterpiece Theatre drama queen is on a roll yet once again…

So, where was I?

I was so caught up in the excitement that I momentarily lapsed into reminiscing with yesterday, submerged in the delirium of catching up with an ancient soul.

And so I ponder and wonder whose home did my beloved writing machine grace?  Did she belong to a be-speckled granny who lived in a shoe and pecked rhymes all of the time?  Or, was her owner a dapper young fellow who pounded the pavement pedalling his freshly polished screenplay?  Or, a starry eyed 12 year old, eager to shoot to Hollywood glory, envisioning his name on a star of fame in the land of make believe? 


I’m not certain whether I’ll ever know the answer to that question, yet it’s the magic of the mystery that keeps me peeking through the window of not so long ago.

It’s my turn now to share the privilege and type out the story…

Next post:  The conversation with my 1957 turquoise/green typewriter continues….

Next post will be published either w/o July 13th or w/o July 20th, Tuesday or Wednesday or thereabouts.  Stay tuned!


Stay home, stay safe and catch up with your reading!





Scribbling the dream.