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More personal details regarding my family activities or events.

Diversity Pays.

Today, May 17th, is International Homophobia Awareness Day. I’m taking part in a series of blogs designed to bring attention to the subject.

I decided to focus on diversity in the military, because I’m a veteran. I served in the US Navy for four of the longest years of my life. ^_^ Everyone should have the right to work unimpeded by harrassment. As a woman, I experienced harrassment from shipmates who thought it their right to “Join the Navy and ride the WAVES.” WAVES = Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service. By the time I joined, the “emergency” aspect was over, and the name had changed to WINS (Women in Naval Service). However, the phrase only changed to “Join the Navy and jam the WINS” (a play on jamming the winds on a sailing ship), so the attitude was the same. Women were not viewed as coworkers, but as sex objects. Two items we were required to wear were a girdle, and lipstick. I managed the lipstick (at least in the morning), but figured out about day two of boot camp that no one was going to feel me up for a girdle. I kept one on hand for uniform inspection (we had to occasionally show we had the proper “kit” on hand), but never wore one.

Pay for a Navy WAVE (1940s)

When I reported to my first duty station, there were two heads (bathrooms). One was for men, the other for officers. Women had to walk to the next building, which housed offices. Fortunately, that changed not long after. Pay wasn’t bad. In the 40s, women were paid different amounts from men. By the time I came along, we were paid the same as men. But there were still things that kept women and men apart when it came to service. Our uniforms were different from men’s. Women were permitted to wear male fatigues (a type of dungaree and chambray shirt) when working in areas such as a flight line, rather than the more restrictive and detailed female pants and blouses with darts. I recall being told if I didn’t like a rule to “get back in your own uniform.” As if what I wore had something to do with my attitude.

I also thought it was disgraceful that women were referred to as “civilians under naval training” as if we didn’t really “cut it” to be true members of the military. It wasn’t until I was writing up a complaint about being called this that I noticed what the acronym would be: CUNT. It was a good thing no one had called me that within earshot. Back then, I had a tendency to speak before thinking. I’m amazed I got into as little trouble as I did. Before I submitted the report, we got a notice from the captain of the base that he had heard about this very term, and stated in strong terms that it was never to be used on the base again. If it wouldn’t have risked making me look like a girly girl (or being put on report for conduct unbecoming) I’d have hugged the man. πŸ™‚

The very next day, one of the women in my squadron brought in a Chippendales poster to put in her locker, since the walls in her work area were plastered with naked women. Her male coworkers tore it down. Next morning, she and I went to the chief to complain about the double standard, and were told the captain had already taken care of that problem, too. It seems he had decided to give his new bride a tour of the facilities and did a walk-through prior to bringing her on base. The guys muttered for days, but the walls were plain green after that.

Pay for all service members (2012)
(from USNavy)

It was wrong of my coworkers to treat women the way they did when we first arrived. Because the captain of the base took steps to ensure we women had a chance to prove ourselves, we were able to overcome the prejudices against us. I ended up making lifelong friends on that base, most of them with men. My husband and I still have good memories of them. We women were willing to stand up for ourselves, but having someone in leadership who took steps to do the right thing made all the difference for us. I hope you will do the right thing for gay, lesbian, and transgendered workers around you.

Are you in a position to speak up where you work? You might not be in a leadership position, but can you step in and prevent harrassment? Are you willing to allow people a chance to prove they are good workers, and see past their outside appearance? Are you willing to speak up when others are treated with less courtesy or respect? Would you want someone to stand up for your kid sister or brother if they were harrassed? What will you do when you see a gay, lesbian, or transgendered person spoken to in a less than courteous manner, or treated unfairly where you work? For some help about what to do and how to handle it, click this link. 2012 Diversity Pays
To visit other blogs in this hop, click HERE.

Kayelle Allen is an award-winning, multi-published author. Her heroes and heroines include badass immortals, warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever. She is known for unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion.
Posted in MM Romance | Tagged , , , |

How to Upload to Instagram from your PC

How to Upload to Instagram from your PC #tips from LA Sartor @LesannSartor

Share Your Tips

Want another tip? Here's How to Watch an Instagram Feed Live on Your PC.

If you're an author with tips for social media, contact me. I'd be happy to share your ideas.

Do you have any tips for using Instagram? Please share in the comments. I'd love to know what you might like me to share on future posts.

 

This tip is one I doubt I'd ever have discovered on my own. How to upload to Instagram from my PC. What a timesaver. My thanks to author LA Sartor for this one!

Sometimes I'm on my pc and have things I want to share on Instagram. Sometimes I save images from my phone to the cloud and then want to download and use them. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a way to upload to Instagram from my PC?

Guess what? You can.

There might be other ways to upload to Instagram but this one, using Chrome, is one of the easiest, and for me the best.

Upload to Instagram

My friend, author LA Sartor, shared her tip with my writer marketing group, Marketing for Romance Writers. It was so helpful that I asked LA if I could share it on my blog as well. Happily for us, she agreed. So I'm also sharing her book, Prince Of Granola. Wait till you see how that title came about!

A picture is worth 1000 words, they say. In this case I agree.

Here's the infographic on how to upload to Instagram that made the rounds on MFRW.

Prince Of Granola by LA Sartor

Cacao. Long a symbol of wealth, love, and power – now the center of a powerful rivalry.

The fabled Costa Rican Plantation of White Treasure, source of the rarest form of the cacao bean, is up for sale. Though two fierce competitors have been invited to bid on it, only one can win.

For Drew Hopkins, purchasing the plantation is the perfect solution to escape a life she never wanted.

For Robert Prince, it's the perfect route to revenge.

Drew, the founder's daughter and now CEO of HH Chocolate, heads a company whose sales are waning. Robert, CEO of Prince Organics, a man driven by excellence, despises everything and everyone labeled Hopkins.

But it wasn't always that way.

Will their forced proximity at the lush and exotic plantation rekindle old flames or will it fan the fires of antagonism?

Free on Kindle Unlimited https://amzn.to/2RcSEum

LA Sartor

Author LA SartorLA Sartor is a bestselling, award-winning author. She began telling stories around the age of 4 when her mother, at LA's insistence, wrote them down and LA illustrated them. As an adult, she writes suspense and action-adventure novels with a dash of romance, and screenplays--she's had a contracted adaptation! She lives in Colorado with her husband whom she met on a blind date. LA loves to travel and thinks life is an adventure and we should embrace the journey.
Website https://lesliesartor.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/LesannSartor
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Leslie.Ann.Sartor
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/lesann415/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesann415/
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6535151.L_A_Sartor
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/L-A-Sartor/e/B0091XR9VK

Please come check out my Instagram

Nik Nitsvetov as PietasPlease stop by and check out my Instagram. I follow cosplay and some seriously awesome cosplayers. My favorite is Nik Nitsvetov, who cosplays my character Pietas. That totally focused and intense blond on the right is Nik as Pietas, from my Bringer of Chaos series.

My interests in archaeology, geology, and astronomy are reflected in stories I share on Instagram. I also follow many of the national parks in the US and share their images. Right now, I need a reminder of the majesty and beauty of our amazing world. Don't you?

I rarely post anything about my books, but if you want to know more about me as a person, Instagram is a good place to start.

Babs Hightower of BabsBookBistro was an awesome personal assistant. She did a prodigious amount of work for me. She even took care of things for me over a long holiday weekend because I hadn’t had a break in literal years. When she died, it stunned me. She’d seemed healthy, energetic, eager to help, like always. But she was there one day and gone the next. Other authors she supported are also reeling.

Honoring Babs

Honoring Babs, an awesome Personal Assistant #PA #VA #GoFundMeIf we’re hurting, I can’t imagine how her family must feel. Her husband, Tommy, is a truck driver. There’s no way he can be gone that long now, so he’s looking for different work. Babs and Tommy had 3 kids at home, two of them special needs. She had a bazillion Huskies that she took care of. I’m not sure even she knew how many. She just fed and loved them and gave them baths and… OMG. Huskies. Gotta love ’em. In this picture, her husband’s shirt says “Hair on this shirt provided by my Siberian Husky.” How much you want to bet, Babs bought that shirt. That was her sense of humor.

Authors Keta Diablo, Amber Marr, Rue Allyn, and Marian Lanouette were also supported by this awesome lady. I’m not sure whoΒ  else she took care of. She was a combination mom, big sister, and no-nonsense boss. “Get to writing” she’d tell me. How I miss that!

Keta and Amber and I put together a Go Fund Me to help the family as Tommy adjusts to being Babs-less. The mom and grandmom (to a brand new grandbaby) is missed everywhere. We’d like to do whatever we can to help them. Babs would have moved heaven and earth to help us. Our very sincere thanks to Crystal at Reviews by Crystal for helping us set this up. When she heard we wanted to help Babs, she offered to do whatever we needed.

Will you give us a hand too? I know her family would be super grateful for anything you can do. Will you share this as another way to help?
Honoring Babs: a #GoFundMe to help the family of a wonderful Personal Assistant https://www.gofundme.com/f/barbara-babs-hightower-memorial-fund Share on X

Here’s where you can help take a little of the load off this family. https://www.gofundme.com/f/barbara-babs-hightower-memorial-fund

Thank you for helping us help Babs!

 

Posted in Life and Family | Tagged |

AuthorΒ faΓ§ade. Do those words go together? Yes. When people ask me what I do, I could say I’m a wife or mother. I could say I’m a veteran. Or retired. Or any number of things. So could you, right? But what I say is, “I’m a writer.” An author.

The Author Façade

I’ve been published since 2004, and without exaggeration, I can say I’ve written hundreds of blog posts, tens of thousands of emails, and millions of words. I’ve posted on blogs all over the net.Β  Why? So readers can know the person behind the author faΓ§ade. Is Kayelle Allen an author faΓ§ade? Well, maybe faΓ§ade is not the best word. One dictionary I consulted defines it like this:Kayelle Allen

FaΓ§ade (1) A showy misrepresentation intended to conceal something unpleasant. — I certainly hope I’m not unpleasant. That doesn’t sound good, does it? No, not at all. I think my author facade fits the second definition better.
FaΓ§ade (2): Frontage, the face or front of a building.Β Window dressing. — Or does that make my author faΓ§ade somehow equal to drapes? Surely not.

I prefer to see my author faΓ§ade as the best of who I am. My best-foot-forward attitude. My who-I-am when I’m on-my-best-behavior self. Okay, those of you who know me best can stop snickering. I can hear you all the way over here.

The thing is, my authorΒ faΓ§ade is reality. The Kayelle Allen online is who I really am. Every person has something of aΒ faΓ§ade when it comes to public life and there are things I don’t share online. But I strive to be faithful to my private life when presenting my author self in public. I attempt to keep my authorΒ faΓ§ade true to my real persona. So who am I?

I’m an INFJ (Myers Briggs temperament). The letters stand forΒ Introversion (I), Intuition (N), Feeling (F), Judgment (J). I’m an introvert (I) in that I get my energy by being alone. I have blazingly fast insight (N) into people. I tend to go with feelings (F) over facts because I trust my own intuition, and once I make up my mind (J), I act without hesitation or looking back. Who are some other INFJs? Oprah Winfrey, Billy Crystal, Nelson Mandela, Carrie Fisher, Nicole Kidman, and Adam Sandler. Try this article if you want more insight.

My inside age and outside age are not equal. I may have aged, but I am not old. Wiser? Yes. Goodness. You couldn’t live my life without learning a few things. Smarter? Debatable.Β  I’m a US Navy veteran (Viet Nam era) and a member of RomVets (female romance writers who served in the military). I’m also a former Toastmaster. I love getting up in front of people and talking. That’s the number one fear in America, but I happen to love public speaking. You’d get me on a roller coaster only by dragging my dead body, but I will happily speak to a convention full of people. Weird, huh? I’m the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers, a peer-mentoring group for authors. Don’t get me started on that. I love MFRW! Click the link for in depth info about MFRW.

I think I’m someone you’d like if you got to know me. Because as much as being a writer is like being a different person, my authorΒ faΓ§ade is the presentation of a real person. I invite you to follow and get to know me. I’d like to get to know you too. Please, tell me about your “faΓ§ade” as a person. Who are you?

6 Romantic Spring Date Ideas #hopelessromantic @kayelleallenWhy write about romantic spring date ideas? Because I believe in romance.Β The motto in my logo and on my website is Romance Lives Forever.

I’ve been married 43 years to the same guy and we still savor romance every day. We enjoy being together. Part of that reason is because we listen to one another and we laugh together. We don’t go out on the usual dinner and a movie type dates. We do enjoy going out to eat and we watch a lot of movies, especially at home. But to go somewhere and have fun without spending a fortune or wearing yourself to a frazzle with the travel… That’s tricky. With it being spring, I thought it would be fun to come with some ideas on what to do. IΒ asked my husband for ideas. There were two requirements. A) They didn’t require a lot of money. B) They were things he’d enjoy doing. Here’s what weΒ brainstormed.

1. Pack a lunch and head to the airport. There is small airport not far from our house and weΒ can park outside the fence and watch planes take off and land. Talk about where the various planes might be headed. For example, a large plane has a greater distance, so it might be bound for a more exotic location than a small, light aircraft. Talk about where it’s going and what you’d do if you were there.

2. Look through some travel magazines and pick a location. If you want a romantic spring date but it’s stillΒ cold outside, have an indoor picnic. Open the curtains to let in sunlight. PlaceΒ a blanket on the floor and sit down together. Pretend you’re having a picnic in the location you chose and role-play what you see. “Oh look! There’s a dolphin pod out there past the waves!” Or, if you can go outside, have your picnic in a park and pretend you’re in a different place, like New York City’s Central Park.

3. Go to a museum and take turns picking the area to visit. It could be a firetruck museum, an art museum, a local historical museum — the site doesn’t matter. The idea is to be together. Hold hands and take your time. Remember, you’re there to enjoy the day and bond with each other.

4. Go on a photo safari. Take your cameras or smartphones and each of you capture images. It can be of each other, the backyard, the sunset, the park, or wherever you happen to be. Then share the photos with each other. If you both take pictures of the same thing, how are theyΒ each different? Did you like a particular image? Why not make it your desktop image, or print it in larger size for a poster? That would make the time even more memorable.

5. Go hunting forΒ lightning bugs. When summer is just underway, go outside and look for lightning bugs. Try to count them. It’s just about impossible! They blink and they move, but give it a shot. No need for anything fancy to do this. Just a love of being together.

6. Puzzle night. Get an small puzzle (can even be a kids’ puzzle) and put it together. There’s not much to do while you’re searching for pieces except talk. Which, after all, is the point of a date, right? Getting to be together and sharing?

Here are some places for more ideas. (They open in new windows so you can save your place)Β Dating Divas offers a list of 40 fun things. Business Insider has some wonderful ideas too. I loved the ideas in this post on She Knows.

Bottom line, whatever you do, take time to show how you feel. Expressions of love never get old.Β At the end of your date, commit to your relationship and to each other, and make plans for another romantic spring date.

Which of these would appeal to you and your special someone? What kind ofΒ romantic spring date you have gone on? Have you been onΒ a date that was different and special? Share in the comments.

 

Is it right to quit? 10 times it's ok #author #entrepreneur @kayelleallen

The question, “Is it right to quit?” seems to require a “No!” in response. But does it? Not if you are quitting for the right reasons. Here are ten times it’s okay (and perhaps advisable) to quit.

When is it right to quit?

  1. When you realize what you’re doing is wrong. You’ve gone about it the hard way, for example, or you realize your information was incorrect.
  2. When it’s harmful or dangerous to yourself, others, or the environment.
  3. When it’s wasteful and not a good use of resources. Is it right to quit if you can fix the issue? Perhaps not.
  4. When someone else can do it better for less. This is an iffy one — quality and quantity are market related. If you can make a widget for a dollar and someone else has a means to make ten of them for that price and they outperform yours, give serious thought to moving on.Is it right to quit? 10 times it's ok #author #entrepreneur @kayelleallen
  5. When it’s not going in the right direction for your purposes.
  6. When you can’t control what you’re doing and how you’re doing it, this is a good time to step back and reconsider how and why. Is it right to quit if you can’t control the outcome? This is probably one of the best times, depending on what you are trying to do in the first place.
  7. When it’s no longer necessary. At some point, when no one needs this product or service, set it aside and move on.
  8. When it’s time to hand it over to a new person. Perhaps someone you know needs a chance to succeed and this project would be ideal for them. Step back and coach, but let it go. Is it right to quit when it means enabling others? Yes.
  9. When you’ve lost your enthusiasm. Perhaps a different approach to the issue is needed, but if you’ve tried different things and you still don’t care, quit. I know, that flies in the face of contemporary advice, but don’t beat a dead horse. Ride a live one.
  10. When you no longer love it. You might be enthusiastic about the concept or the product, but you’re tired of it. You don’t want to do this anymore. Then by all means, step back and move on.

The point of knowing when to quit is knowing what to do afterward. Is it right to quit just because you feel like it? Well, why do you feel like it? Is it because one of the reasons above?

Let me share some things I decided to quit doing recently. I unsubscribed from a few online services I no longer used and from a few newsletters I never read. I stopped wasting time opening email and then filing it and instead, set up a filter in email to automatically file many emails from my target people (friends, family, and businesses). Now I can see the folders have unread mail, read it, and then either delete it or go on to the next thing. It cut down on time filing quite a bit.

I am a graphic designer and love creating fanart, plus book covers, banners, and more. I created a company, The Author’s Secret, for that purpose. However, after five years, I realized I was spending so much time maintaining social media, websites, blog posts, and more for both myself and the company that I had little time left to do what I want to do most. Write. So after a long soul-searching period, I decided to close the company.

Instead, I will offer a few of the same services from my own website. That way, I’m promoting only one site and one set of social media. It’s a win-win.

Is it right to quit? I think so, yes, when the reasons are sound. What do you think? Is it right to quit or should you slug it out no matter what? Share your thoughts in the comments. I’d love to hear from you, yea or nay.

People and pets will go hungry this Christmas. It’s sad that in the midst of all our plenty, there are still some who won’t get enough to eat. Why not be a blessing this Christmas? If you want to offer help and make a difference, here are some concrete things you can do.

Offer help for People

You can offer help in a concrete way. Instead of stocking up on cranberry sauce and stuffing, here are some items people need every day of the year. Donate these and you help people long after the holidays are over. Once you determine a place to donate, consider offering some of these items.

1) For people on food stamps and other assistance, a food allowance is provided, but it doesn’t cover diapers, paper towels, toilet paper, or cleaning supplies. When it’s on sale, stock up and donate some of the extra.

2) Personal hygiene products are vital. Consider picking up small travel sizes (handy for those who are homeless).

3) One of the biggest needs is for baby food and formula. Getting the dry powder to mix is great, and less expensive. If you get coupons for these items, stock up when they go on sale. Offer help personally if you know someone with a baby by bringing coupons, offering to drive them to the store, shop for them, or even to just sit down and talk. New parents are often exhausted. Having someone offer help might make a big difference.

4) Healthy snacks for children to pack in lunches, such as granola bars, milk boxes, juice boxes, and fresh fruit like apples and oranges. These keep well.

5) Salt, pepper (especially the type in small shakers), mayo, ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, sriracha, salsa, and other condiments such as salad dressing.

6) Donate non-perishable proteins. Pick up cans of tuna, chicken, ham, beans, jars of peanut butter, or almond butter.

A site in the Atlanta area for helping families is Papa’s Pantry. They let families come in and shop at no cost for what they need in a small store of donated items. The site is always in need of donations. They also teach workshops such as budgeting, job-finding skills, resume creation, and how to coupon. Knowledge and skill help break the cycle of need.

Offer help for Pets

When people are in tough financial straits, they sometimes have to surrender their animals to a shelter because they can’t take care of them anymore. That’s so sad! Do you have a pet? When you shop for your own, grab a few extra cans of dog and cat food. Even one can of food will make a difference to a hungry animal. Local shelters love getting extra food. They can use old blankets and towels too. Call your local shelter and ask what they need most. After a natural disaster such as a wildfire, flood, or earthquake, consider contacting one of the service agencies that help homeless pets. One in the Atlanta area is the Homeless Pets Foundation.

I want to give a shout out to Rob’s Rescues near Atlanta, GA. http://www.robsrescues.com/ Rob writes a column every month for four magazines in the Cherokee and Cobb county areas north of Atlanta. He profiles one dog and one cat each month from both the Cobb County Animal Shelter and Cherokee the County Animal Shelter and tries to get them adopted. He does pet food drives in local businesses and animal hospitals, and gives pet food to people who can’t afford to feed their pets. He has done interviews with people like the Gwinnett County Sheriff about the Jail Dogs Program. He’s been doing this since May 2015. The unusual thing about Rob is that he is still in elementary school! Just goes to show that to help others, you only have to be willing.

I urge you to click the Rob’s Rescues link, visit his site, and help him accomplish his mission of feeding pets.

Home for Christmas #MFRWhooks #HolidayRomance @kayelleallen

Who doesn't want to go home for Christmas? In the sweet holiday story, A Romance for Christmas, a widow with a small child answers a knock at her door late on Christmas Eve. When she answers, everything changes. This holiday tale is a story of love, loss, and the spirit of giving.

Home for Christmas...

Home for Christmas #MFRWhooks #HolidayRomance @kayelleallenEveryone should stay home for Christmas -- that was Dara's belief. If her late husband had listened to her, he would still be here. Their daughter would still have a father. But job and duty had overshadowed family, and home. He would never be home for Christmas again...

---

Dara was gaining strength daily, and would finish therapy the first week of January and return to work. Disability paid for the basics - lights, phone, water, trash collection, and she'd never bought anything on credit, refusing to dig herself into a hole she'd never escape once it got started.

She went to the closet and pulled down a box with a ball, crayons, paper, and three books. A friend had brought over a few things as well. This wasn't the grand Christmas she had wanted for her daughter, but all the other valuables had been sold. There was nothing left but her wedding ring.

She didn't wear it. Removing it had been part of saying good-bye to Jack.

They said it would help, and it had. Sort of. But not much.

Dara sank into one of the kitchen chairs and put her face in her hands.

Sometime later, when the doorbell rang, she grabbed a paper towel and dried her eyes. The clock over the stove said nine o'clock. Who would be calling at this hour on Christmas Eve? She stuffed the wet towel in her robe pocket on the way to the door.

Β 

Love Contemporary Romance?

Can you fall in love again when the love of your life has gone?

Try my book, A Romance for Christmas, on all retailers.
A free behind the scenes booklet is included. No sign up necessary.

A Romance for Christmas includes a link to a free behind the scenes booklet

A free behind the scenes booklet included inside A Romance for Christmas

Any of my characters mentioned on this page might be found in multiple books in my story universe. Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.


~ Copyright Β©2024 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!


To experience art, sci-fi, romance, and space opera with unstoppable, unshakeable, unforgettable characters so real you'll swear you've met them, join my newsletter.

An Alien's View of ChristmasA few years ago I saw a comment about the oddness of Christmas that has stuck with me. It said, “At what other time of year do you sit in front of a dead tree and eat candy out of your socks?”

Too true. We see Christmas cards of cute guys wearing Santa outfits while holding puppies. There are cards with our kids on them, or our grandkids. Pictures of decorated trees. Snow-scenes. Snowmen, in fact — snow families. St. Nicholas, aka the Jolly Fat Man. We spend money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like. Christmas is a bit odd in that way.

Now, imagine if you were an alien and had never experienced a twenty-first century Christmas before. You arrive on Earth on December 24, 2013 in North America. Your arrival was purposely quiet. Your mission is to observe and report back without being noticed. What would you say in your report?

Population: extremely heavy in rural and shopping areas, while places of apparent business seem abandoned by comparison

Advertisements: Profusion of advertising featuring a fat, graying man in a red suit trimmed with white fur, oddly mixed with what appears to be ads for exercise equipment for a “fit new year”. Same man appears on street corners ringing bells, and on thrones in places of business. People bring children to him. Cannot determine if this is a deity or a patron of sales. Suggest second trip in different season to observe.

Security: Armed and unarmed uniformed police everywhere. Extreme attention at places of commerce, and on items which appear to be small plastic cards. These are often shown before leaving with purchases, although no currency seems to change hands. Perhaps the items being removed from places of business can be recalled by the “cashier”, and the cards are merely ID.

Food: Lavish meals are being planned, with images of huge cooked birds on platters. High attention is paid to crooked red and white “canes” often decorated with attached items. Pastries in the form of small biscuit-shapes are seen everywhere. Most are decorated or festooned with icing and sprinkles. Perhaps these are the reason such attention is paid to “fitness equipment.”

Space travel: Confusingly, there are multiple images of outer space travel displaying advanced ships and alien contact, yet these all seem to be works of fiction.

Weaponry: Debates ongoing over “gun control” while civil wars are taking place throughout the world. Pockets of war interspersed with areas of peace. Most weaponry is primitive compared to ours.

First Contact: So-called UFOs are discussed everywhere. Population seems open to first contact, while government is apparently opposed to same.

Potential for Colonization: Wait another century

What do you think? What types of items did I miss that the alien would have reported?

Happy Holidays to you and yours, no matter what planet you call home.

Posted in Humorous Stories | Tagged , |


My husband and me, 2011.

Today My Husband Won’t
By Kayelle Allen
Today, my husband won’t leave his socks on the floor, or miss the hamper.
He won’t pull out a towel and mess up the way the others are folded.
He’s not going to run over the newspaper as he comes down the driveway.
He won’t leave the garage door open, or back the car into the grass on that tight corner.
My husband won’t watch the early news instead of talking to me.
He won’t ignore the family for a ball game.
He’s not going to fall asleep watching the late news.
There won’t be a magazine or book open in his lap.
He won’t complain about traffic on the freeway tonight.
He won’t sing off key in the shower.
He’s not going to putter around in the garage.
He won’t work overtime and end up being late for dinner.
It won’t be because he’s a perfect husband.
Nor because he’s turned over a new leaf.
Today, my husband won’t do any of these things…
Because my husband is now in Heaven.
I miss him.
Hug your husband today.
My husband is alive and well. I wrote this because I try to keep in mind every day that my spouse, like me, has a finite number of days on the earth. I want to enjoy every single one of them with him, while he’s here. Never take your loved ones for granted. We have only this moment, right now, right here. Hug your husband. Think twice about complaining about what he says or does. You have so few moments together. Make each of them count.
Kayelle Allen is an award-winning, multi-published author. Her heroes and heroines include badass immortals, warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever. She is known for unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion.
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