Why Vocal Reminds Me of My Aunt Cathy's Upstairs Bathroom

My kids are napping and, of course, I can't because I needed three cups of coffee to make it through their swim lessons this morning. So here I am, very awake, sitting down with cup number four, my feet up on the couch arm, and my open laptop humming quietly.

That's my favorite way to read on Vocal. On my laptop, I mean, not feet up and heavily caffeinated (although those things aren't bad either). Reading on my phone is okay for going through a few recent submissions in poetry, but even then I feel like I'm probably missing some thoughtful part of the formatting that the author spent a lot of time on getting just right.

I know that because I opened a recent story of mine on my phone the other day. It was one that I'd carefully crafted to have a line by line visual stair step type progression...on my laptop...and it did not work at all on my phone. It was disappointing, to say the least.

Hmmm. I just remembered that Vocal has an app now too! It would probably take cup number five for me to figure out a new app right now though so that will have to wait. I hope I'm not missing out on the best way to read on here!

Anyway, back to the title. So, why does Vocal remind me of my Aunt Cathy's upstairs bathroom?

No, this isn't a hit piece about Vocal being full of... ahem.

I'm actually talking about my favorite things about this place. Vocal reminds me of that upstairs bathroom because when I'm feeling bored or overwhelmed or peopled out or like I just can't pay attention to another episode on TV, I can go to Vocal...but not to write.

I can come here to read. I can come to just scroll through the recent submissions or Top Stories, pick at random, and find myself feeling curious again. I can find myself feeling surprised again. I can find myself learning something new again. Just like I used to do when we visited Aunt Cathy's house when I was a kid.

Why?

Because in that upstairs hall bathroom, Aunt Cathy always had a copy of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader. Sometimes there was also a stack of Reader's Digest magazines. Or even a tattered copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul. There was always something there to read, ostensibly while you were working on something else, I know...but I would often find myself just hiding out in that bathroom reading.

Vocal provides much more though than those old bathroom books (and it provides a much different experience than going to the library.)

I can actually interact with the authors here by liking their story. I can ask them questions if I want in the comment section. I can easily search for more if a random story I saw sparked my interest. I can subscribe to an author I really like and then see immediately when they publish something new. I can tip someone if I want to let them know how much I loved their work. I can read as long as I want here without someone knocking on the door for their turn to sit and turn the pages.

One last and very important thing that is better about Vocal is that it isn't likely to be carrying Norovirus.

Unless you are reading this on your phone in the upstairs bathroom.

Writing on here is great too, obviously... but I hope you also take as much time as you want to read.

And not just because you are hiding in the bathroom.