FEARLESS FRIDAY
I'm so happy to have the amazing author, Kayelle Allen on Discover... today. She has a great tale of fearlessness. Enjoy!
24 years old, in love, and fearless: Kayelle Allen shares her European journey
In 1975 I was 24
years old and fearless. Which is why I made a trip to Europe without buying an
airline ticket, with only $400 in my pocket.
We'd only been
married since December of 1973, and it was now October 1975. He'd left on the
cruise the day before Valentine's Day. (Thank you, Uncle Sam.) So when I had the
chance to take 30 days of leave and go visit him, I jumped into action.
If you're active
duty, you can hop onto a military flight at no cost, as long as there's an
empty seat. I paid for a flight from San Diego to Pennsylvania, got a shuttle
bus to the Air Force base there, and put my name in for a flight. I was a lower
priority than someone reporting for duty, but if there was an open seat, I was
in.
A retired couple
who'd been there for weeks trying to get a flight told me it might take a long
time. I was higher priority than they were, so I had a chance. But I convinced
them that I was getting on a plane that very night, and for them to check out
of their hotel and stay in the airport with me. One of those gut feeling
decisions that you make with no reason. I am intuitive, and I had a good
feeling about it.
About 3:30 in the
morning, an unexpected flight came in that was heading to Germany non-stop. I
wanted to go to Naples, Italy, but Germany was a lot closer, so I said I'd go.
The other couple came with me. The plane took off a little after 4:00 with
empty seats. The three of us had been the only people in the airport.
Once I arrived, I met
an active duty couple who were flying to Aviano, quite a long way north of
Naples, but still in Italy. I got on that flight with no trouble. The couple
invited me to stay overnight at their place because there were no flights
scheduled for 2 days. I joined them for an evening out with friends and ate the
best pizza of my entire life. I hadn't slept well in a few days, so once I
stretched out and closed my eyes, I was gone.
When the next flight
was scheduled, they drove me to the base, and I thanked them and checked in. I
was on a flight within an hour or so. This one went straight into Naples.
An American guy who
was living in Naples said he'd show me the hotel if I'd pay the taxi fare for
both of us, which I did. Had a wild ride through the city. He told me that the
people in Naples start their car and blow their horns. It was noisy enough that
I had no trouble believing that.
Next day, I got a
ride to the Navy base where the liberty launch (a smaller ship) was bringing
people in for leave. I was beside myself when I saw my husband. We had quite
the unforgettable reunion, believe me.
This was all back
before the internet or cell phones. One call home from Italy cost us $99
because we talked so long. We didn't have text messaging. We had to communicate
where we'd be and when by mail, days ahead.
Looking back, it was a gutsy thing to do. I wouldn't dream of it now. But back then, I was young, in love, and fearless.
Check out one of Kayelle's books:
An immortal alpha male. An illegal,
near-blind rock musician. And twelve thousand years of lies...
Izzorah
survives by hiding both his illegal status and his blindness for fear of
banishment.
Luc's
immortal blood can heal Izzorah's sight—but only Izzorah's love can heal Luc's
heart.
Luc
might risk violating the highest law among the immortals by sharing his blood,
but it means revealing the truth of what he is, and that means baring every
damning secret, every twisted truth, and twelve thousand years' worth of dirty
hidden lies.
With
no guarantee their love can survive that kind of truth...
Amazon worldwide and Kindle Unlimited https://books2read.com/surrender-love-immortal
About the Author
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Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Kayelle-Allen/e/B003ZRXVN8
It was fun going back through these memories. Like most things, there is more to it than meets the eye. It was the trip of a lifetime, and seeing Rome was amazing. Will never forget it. Thank you for the invitation to share.
ReplyDeleteI always love those trips back through time. Always more to remember than we can write. Thanks for sharing, Kayelle.
DeleteMy pleasure. I could write half a book just about the dumb stuff we did. ;) But it was also like a honeymoon too. I started out with $400 and at the end, had $12. But we spent 18 days tramping around Italy and Germany. I've always wanted to go back.
DeleteOh I remember those days. We had been married only 6 months when we did our military tour in Germany. We've been back to Europe once to see "David" which we missed way back when. I'd love to go again!
DeleteThis was great! I think we all did stupid (fun, wonderful, life-fulfilling) things back when we were younger and so in love. How neat that you listened to your gut feelings and asked that couple to go to the airport with you. I loved this post!
ReplyDeleteAnd wow! You looked great in uniform, woman.
Thank you. :) And yeah we all did dumb stuff. I think it's a right of passage growing up. lol I've always been glad I talked them into it. TBH it didn't take much. They had been there for weeks. I don't think many people paid attention to them. They were retired, he'd been an officer, and they traveled the world. They had time and money to spend there if needed. I'm sure they shared how this daring young sailor told them she was going out and they decided to follow her. At least, I hope they had good memories. This happened in 1975. I imagine they are long gone now. Although I don't think I ever knew their names, I remember them well.
Delete