Hi Clark,
Try this: With no documents open, go to Type > Story. At the bottom of that little panel you'll see the "story direction" icon. Click on the left-to-right icon.
Also, while you're at it, check what your Type tool is set to. In the ME versions of InDesign, there are 2 type tools: right-to-left and left-to-right. With no docs open, choose the LTR one if that is the one you want to have as default.
HTH,
Ariel