I bought this sign eight or nine years ago when I was a bit better known than I am now, and people were riding around all day trying to figure out where I live.
Even modest fame is overrated, and I’ve never hidden where I live. But I liked the idea of this sign, it reinforced the writer’s sense of privacy and thinking space.
I don’t think I’ve looked at the sign twice since I bought it, it hands right over the door to my study and I saw the beautiful color of the morning sun when I came downstairs.
What a lovely photo, I thought, and I took it. Most of you will recognize it as being from the Wizard of Oz, and I always loved the idea of being the wizard that nobody gets to see.
People come looking for me in the summer when they come this way on vacation. We haven’t done an open house since Red died, they were getting too complicated for Maria and me to deal with, I get these messages from people telling me that they plan to drop by while they’re in the neighborhood.
I have to say no, the farm is a workspace with animals.
We can’t accept visitors, it disrupts our lives and disturbs the animals. Now that I’m not writing books, it’s not that busy and my privacy is safe.
With Maria around, that is no longer possible. I am a character in her rich and diverse cats of photo and video subjects. There is no saying any, and I do the same thing for her.
I was glad to be reunited with my sign and the notion of myself as a wizard. I suppose its true – not nobody, not nohow – no one but Maria gets to see the wizard.
Shucks ! And I was so hoping I might meet this wizard one day.
Not much chance of that anyway, but a bucket list can be fun.
I was taught that it’s never acceptable to impose my presence on others, without their consent first. It’s how I live my life. Most of the time, I don’t want others dropping by our home, either, so I’ve created a “sign” for all, and have informed most people thusly: if our front door is closed, NO visitors! If it’s open, you may stop by unannounced. If the fence gate is open to the back yard, (which you can see from the street) then we are in the back yard and accepting visitors. Simple and effective.