This is Memorial Day weekend, 2014 and I think it behooves us all, no matter what nationality, race, creed or religion to take a moment and thank all those who have served and who are serving in the armed forces of their countries. Without their sacrifices, without them doing the job they either volunteered or were drafted into doing, we wouldn't have the freedoms and privileges we have now. Some returned from far off battlefields and some didn't, but we all owe every one of them our thanks, our gratitude. Let's also not forget the Merchant Mariners.

That's what I turn tomorrow. An auspicious date certainly. After all, the Titanic sank on April 15th, Lincoln died on April 15th and, just to top that off, there will be a Blood Moon at 2AM EST(EDT?) on the 15th. Quite a trifecta,to say the very least.

I seem to have reached that awkward age. You know, the one where most of the people in the newspaper obituaries are younger than I. As Red Green so eloquently put it, "when I furrow my brow, it looks like a rump roast made of corduroy."

Due to what was likely a brain fart, I neglected to include chapter breaks in part of the story that I edited for Barbie. I have since corrected that error and I hope the story will be easier to read for everyone now. There are also a couple of spelling errors that snuck in under my radar. They were pointed out to me by a kind reader, but I have left them alone. They are very minor and do not really affect the telling of the story at all.

I will not mention her name in the interest of respecting her wish to remain as stealth as possible. Nevertheless, it's been more than two months since I last heard word one from her and, with the things that have happened to her in her life, it worries me that something bad might have happened.

Instead of placing this in a simple comment, I chose to place it in a blog entry so more can see it. I've just finished re-reading MAU and Whisper. In case you were wondering where the extra kudos came from, it was me.

I'm very impressed with your storytelling skills. Both stories held my attention and enthusiasm all the way through to the satisfying endings. Your characters were very well thought out and fleshed out, til they became more real people to me as opposed to characters in stories.

To my utter amazement, my book, Headlights Girl, is available not only at Lulu, Amazon and Barnes and Noble, but also at Tower.com, Abe Books, Loot.co.za, Itunes, Alibris.com, booktopia.co.au, Nook even! Here's where I found all this info:

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Catherin...

We talked for a few minutes, but Bev had to go see to her wife, who is home from the hospital. The storm that hit England a couple of days ago, missed Bev and her family by several miles, but the rest of the U.K. really got clobbered. I hope all the rest of our friends in the U.K. came out of it okay.

Catherine Linda Michel

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one who works SO hard to help keep our site open and running, with little in the way of thanks for her efforts. God Bless your day and life, Piper.

Remember...CARPE CAKEM!!!!!!

It's been a couple of months since she last posted anything and she was also having upheavals in her personal life. i've been waiting to hear something from her, but she seems to have vanished. i always fear the worst when someone goes silent with no prior notice. As I have a history with Sasha, I am even more concerned. I know she said that her time was severely limited and her situation was such that she couldn't speak openly about a lot of things going on in her real life.

Sometimes I wonder.

I wonder what it's like to have someone "special." Someone to come home to, or someone who would come home to me.

Every so often I reach a point of surfeit. Where I've taken on too many other people's problems and woes and I need time to find me again. I am not leaving Top Shelf. I am, however in desperate need of time alone so I can get centered again. Losing Holly seems to have brought me to the point of finality and I just can't deal with any more problems or concerns right now.

I find it incomprehensible that some people can't be decent when commenting or blogging. Remember, when you WRITE something, there is nothing that indicates anything but the WORDS you use. There are no other indicators that could soften the impact of words that appear unkind or severely critical. Normally, when people communicate, there are visual and verbal cues that can soften the impact of words that might otherwise seem unkind. When you write, all there is, is the words.

Bear with me, if you will, for this may turn into a rant or not... it remains to be seen.

I cannot believe all the negative comments on this article... and about Transsexuals. This person was DISCRIMINATED against for being who she is! Hello? Any of that sound vaguely familiar to anyone else? Gee, what about the Blacks and their fight for THEIR rights? What about women and THEIR fight or their rights? I suppose all you negative folks here think that all blacks should still be slaves and all women should be barefoot and pregnant, huh? Remember this. The same things you all are saying about Transsexuals, were said about blacks and women who were fighting for equality!

Today is a special day for our beloved Sitemom, Erin Halfelven! It's her BIRTHDAY! She has given up so much for all of us and has given us a place where we don't have to worry about someone putting us down. A place where we can all be who we want or need to be. A place where we can display our writing talents and where we can connect with others to help or be helped.

She has been a major influence on so many, myself included. Without her I wouldn't be a published author.

So let's all join in a rousing cheer for someone who is special to us all.

but I find myself wondering... How many of you have done what I do? While walking through the mall, I look for the SRU store. Not seriously, mind you... well, sort of not seriously. I actually wouldn't know what to do if I actually found one. I know it's just fiction, but... you know?

Catherine Linda Michel

Thanks to Pippa and her bulldog-like dedication, I DID locate and talk with my first Cousin in New Mexico. He was, of course, quite surprised to hear from me since it has been almost 35 years since last we spoke. Our separation wasn't for any personal problems, but more a case of moving around. Myself through the military, and him because of family and business opportunities.

I found this through my local Trans support network.
TRANSGENDER PEOPLE AND THE
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
June 2013

It appears that both my gmail and yahoo mail accounts have been hacked by some nondescript asshole in Pakistan. I have sent NO emails in recent memory from either account. Furthermore, I have cancelled my gmail account and changed my password on my yahoo account.

Catherine Linda MIchel

Carpe Cakem, hon. Have a great one. I'm waiting patiently to hear from you.

All my hopes,
Cathilynn

and I quote: "Fictionmania was..." which indicates one of two things to me. One, Fictionmania might be gone forever or, Two: Wiki is being it's usual fallible self and spreading rumor and assumption.

I DO hope it's the latter. Even though FM has it's "one handed fiction" it also has some of the best works by some of the best writers in the genre.

Jennifer Jane Pope posted this extensive listing of Brit terms/slang a few years ago at Crystal's Storysite. I thought that if one has interest in the Hartlepool Dictionary, they might want to add this to their lexicon as well.

I haven't heard from Jenny in several years, and don't know if she is still writing or, in fact, if she is still among the living. We used to talk quite a bit in the chatroom at Storysite, but she went somewhat quiet owing to some business problems she was having and eventually she just stopped coming by the chat and sort of dropped out of sight.

If you've purchased a copy of my book, HEADLIGHTS GIRL, or if you've read it online, would you please go to my amazon page and leave a review? It doesn't have to be anything long, just a few words and a rating.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/103-5305...

I'd very much appreciate it. Thank you so very much.

Huggles and love,
Catherine Linda Michel