The Betster has been in Homer so long that when typing the word “home,” inevitably a finger taps an extra “r” so the sentence comes out like “Homer is where the heart is.” Isn’t that a bumper sticker? Do other people have this issue? 

How can home possibly be home without being Homer? Holy Autocorrect! This place really gets under our skin, doesn’t it? Having lived in Alaska for more than 35 years, the Betster has lived here long enough to see people leave and return. This is what the Betster calls The Bungee Cord Theory of Alaska. It’s sort of like the Hotel California, except when you check out, as part of your parole to the Lower 48, you get a long bungee cord attached to your ankle.

Some people take a short fall and bounce back soon, like in a few months. Others take longer, years and maybe decades. For some the bungee cord gets frayed and they never return except for weddings and funerals of close friends. Loving Alaska can be like loving your sweetie. The ties that bind us can be loose or tight.

So don’t forget your ties to home and heart with this Valentine’s Day. Our first love is that special someone, but our love extends to friends in this community that make it such a great place to leave. Scarf up some chocolate and smell the roses, perhaps with these Best Bets:

BEST BON TEMPS BET: Well, that’s cosmic: Valentine’s Day and Winter Carnival on one day, Saturday, and the weekend before Mardis Gras next Tuesday. Let the good times roll with … well, everything. Saturday is the big day, with the parade, the outhouse races, the Paul Banks Winter Carnival and the Queen’s Ball at Alice’s Champagne Palace. Whew. For all the events, times, etc., see the whole round up here.

BEST RESISTANCE IS FUTILE BET: TorQ means “Toronto Quartet,” but it also sounds like “torque,” “the application of resistance.” You won’t be able to keep from snapping your fingers at a performance at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Mariner Theatre of this amazing and astonishing percussion group. Homer marimba group Tamba Hadzi opens at 7:30 p.m.

BEST MEET THE NEW GUY BET: Marvin Yoder has come here from his former job as city manager in Galena to be our interim city manager while the Homer City Council selects a new city manger. Yoder, also a member of the Alcoholic Beverage Commission, will be back from Juneau and speaks at noon next Tuesday for the Homer Chamber of Commerce lunch at Alice’s Champagne Palace. For chamber members — but you can always join — the lunch is $12. RSVP at 235-7740.

BEST BY THE BAY BET: Linda Martin is one of our best poets. Hear her amazing writing in a reading with a slideshow by Ruth Dickerson at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center.