Ladies and Gentlemen, and those of you who struggle to perceive yourself as inhabitants of either of these categories,

                                   Welcome back!

(Actually, welcome for the first time to the)

A Word with You Press First Annual Site ReBoot(y)

Rumours of my demise have been greatly appreciated.

I had a little trouble getting it up (I know, hard to believe—oops! I mean difficult to believe). As you know, bullies came into our playground and hacked the site, writing over existing copy to redirect you for their own evil purposes. In the process, many of the files we had—that is, copies of your stories and comments, were corrupted and disappeared. We lost over a thousand posts, about half of what we had. We have engaged some super sloths—oops!—SLEUTHS! to follow the trail to try to retrieve what has been lost. Unfortunately, the chances of recovery of what was lost are slim.

We are especially hurt that our veterans, the ones who served our county in uniform, were victims of the raid, and the stories they worked so hard to create for us are among the fallen. We will rekindle the Vets Express (formerly Veterans Writing Workshop), if and when we recover their stories.

The Good News? I’ve got a great staff (don’t go there) — new folks and faces who will help perpetuate our mission which remains Putting Gravitas on a Lo-Carb Diet.

Pop over to our staff page and meet your old friends,(Moi, mini-moi, aka Morgan–who is now in Berlin staggering in his father’s footsteps, Derek the Brit, Sasha Deal, aka Diana Diehl, Gary Clark, cow-person from Rick Perry country, Ruthie Joyce, chief groomer to WussnBoots, Teri Rider, our designing woman, and artist Ed Coonce, aka traffic cop on East Hell Boulevard.

But meet our nudebies! Marketing guru Bruce Fischer, in publishing since he was nine because his newspaper-owning parents had no regard for child labor laws, Corinna Howes, intern who does everything but in turn gets nothing, Rochelle Germany (yup, her real name — anybody wanna visit Germany?) who is our never-content content editor, and Theresa Ann, our favorite Kiwi, who brings All Things Theater to the site. By the inclusion of these three ladies, you will see that I have matured in your absence, and no longer require that I am prettier or have more talent than anyone else who works here. (Sorry, Derek).

In order to be up and functioning—without that little blue pill—we have to start from scratch. Out with the old, in with the new. So, without the archives to disprove me, let me welcome you to our fifty second year of on-line operation!

New contests, same poise, and decorum. New features and daily blogs that will reveal themselves over time, and now, even scholarships for deserving writers! (I could reveal details here, but you’ll have to wait.)

So today’s sliders that are typically populated with your stories are all introductions from each of us to each of you.

I have missed you. In a personal blog I will tell you how I beat the charges. But for now, please know that I missed you all, I missed the daily banter and your wit and wisdom, your friendship and love.
It’s time for our Rebooty!

Thorn
Back-on-board-in-chief

My love is like an ocean
That is broken on the shore
Just when I think it’s finished
Well, I’m breaking back
For more…