Well, after your read all the previous ones like this one before you understand the contest of this post. Read it? Ok, welcome back. So after the visit to the planet with the furry blue friendly creatures that loved to be petted by us, we get back to the ship and then rest up before dinner. Having changed from our protective suits to pjs and more comfortable night clothes, we gather once again in our dining areas and quickly order drinks and starters. As I sit back and munch on an onion ring and sipping my beer, my mom asks me if we can go to a planet that has majestic ocean creatures so we can take the vehicles that can also go underwater and enjoy seeing the marine life.

Now the reason she asked me this is that a couple of years ago, we had actually gone on a trip for 3 months where I was on a mission and my parents, sister, brother-in-law and their kids joined me along with 2 of my maternal uncles, their wives and daughters (my cousins), who live very near us. It was a small family trip that lasted for 3 months and we used a much smaller spaceship. One of the planets we visited during that 3 month mission was a large planet that was mostly water and we took a large vehicle that can travel on land and under water and explored some of the ocean and marveled at the large fish.

As soon as my mother said this, an uncle and aunt light up and chime their enthusiasm about the idea. Soon others are sharing their opinion and the two cousins who were on that trip tell the rest of my cousins about how much they’d love to experience that again. Seeing the consensus, I smiled to myself as I had already noted two large water planets that have huge fish and water mammals in their oceans. It seemed like a good idea and one was just 2 days away. So I tell them that we can have this planet as our next destination.

The next day, I spend some time with the very large vehicle at the back of the section, which we haven’t used yet. This one will seat all of us including the domestic & military robots. I make sure that it is all setup and has enough seats & space for us all, which it does and have enough space for 20 more people. I then have it moved to the front of the exit on that deck and then show some of my cousins what we are going to use for the next planetary visit.

We reach the planet, which is one of several in a large star system, and land the ship on one of the continents. This planet has seen regular visitors, mostly humans but some other alien races have come here to see the wonder of life on it, but on this day it’s just us. I get everyone to get into the large vehicle and have them settle in before taking in the driver’s seat and then I drive the vehicle into the waters. The roof and floor then retracts for the most part and we have transparent material all around so we can see the creatures move above and below as well on the side.

We go about the ocean and marvel at the plants and the fish as well as the mammals that live underwater. Huge whale like creatures swim to our sides and follow us for a while. We see so many fish and pass by octopus and jellyfish like creatures the size of a house swim so quickly and I give chase for a while. We see shark like creatures and dolphin like creatures but most are so huge. We have drink and food replicated and enjoy our lunch as we continue chasing these creatures.

We enjoyed it so much that we barely noticed that it was almost nighttime. We go back to the land and into our ship so we can change and have a nice dinner. Bedtime beckons but the kids are so exited that we decide to spend the next day exploring the waters again. Even Shawny and the other dogs seem to enjoy the sights so much.

The pumpkin is closely associated with fall for a few key reasons, many of which are rooted in history, culture, and agriculture:

1. Harvest Season

Pumpkins are harvested in the fall, typically in September and October, which aligns with the broader agricultural calendar of the season. Historically, people would celebrate harvest time with festivals, and pumpkins, being plentiful, became a natural symbol of abundance.

2. Halloween Tradition

Pumpkins are a central part of Halloween celebrations, especially in the form of jack-o’-lanterns. This tradition began in Ireland, where people originally carved turnips. When Irish immigrants came to the U.S., they found pumpkins, which were larger and easier to carve, making them the new choice for the spooky lanterns. Over time, this became a staple of Halloween, a major fall holiday.

3. Thanksgiving

Pumpkin pie is a traditional dish in North American Thanksgiving feasts. Since Thanksgiving takes place in late November, pumpkins are tied to this fall holiday as well. The abundance of pumpkins during the harvest season made them a common ingredient for early American settlers.

4. Fall Festivals and Decor

Pumpkins, with their bright orange color, visually represent the colors of autumn (orange, red, yellow). They are often used in decorations for fall festivals, homes, and storefronts. Their rustic, natural look is symbolic of the changing season, as people shift from summer activities to more indoor, cozy, autumnal traditions.

5. Cultural and Marketing Associations

In more recent years, pumpkins have been strongly linked to fall in popular culture and through marketing, especially with the rise of products like pumpkin spice lattes and other pumpkin-flavored foods and beverages. These items have become synonymous with the “cozy” fall feeling that many people look forward to, further cementing the pumpkin’s association with autumn.

These combined factors — agriculture, cultural traditions, and modern-day marketing — have made the pumpkin an iconic symbol of fall.

1. Better Work-Life Balance

Many remote jobs also come with flexible schedules, which means that workers can start and end their day as they choose, as long as their work is complete and leads to strong outcomes. This control over your work schedule can be invaluable when it comes to attending to the needs of your personal life. Whether it’s dropping kids off at school, running some errands, attending an online fitness class in the morning, or being home for a contractor, these tasks (and more!) are all easier to balance when you work from home. Flexible schedules aren’t the only options, however. You can also explore part-time remote jobs, evening jobs, jobs with four-day work weeks, and weekend job schedules to find your ideal fit.

2. Less Commute Stress

The average one-way commuting time in the U.S. is 27.1 minutes—that’s nearly an hour each day spent getting to and from work, and it really adds up. According to the Auto Insurance Center, commuters spend about 100 hours commuting and 41 hours stuck in traffic each year. Some “extreme” commuters face much longer commute times of 90 minutes or more each way. But wasting time commuting is just one of the downsides of getting to and from work. More than 30 minutes of daily one-way commuting is associated with increased levels of stress and anxiety, and research shows that commuting 10 miles to work each day is associated with health issues like:

• Higher cholesterol
• Elevated blood sugar
• Increased risk of depression

Ditching the commute helps you support your mental and physical health. The time savings can allow you to focus on priorities outside of work, like getting extra sleep in the morning, spending more time with family, getting in a workout, or eating a healthy breakfast.

3. Improved Inclusivity

Remote work enables companies to embrace diversity and inclusion by hiring people from different socioeconomic, geographic, and cultural backgrounds and with different perspectives—which can be challenging to accomplish when recruiting is restricted to a specific locale that not everyone wants, or can afford, to live near. And by hiring employees who can work from home in the communities where they feel the most comfortable and supported, companies choose to support diversity, community, and family.

Telecommute jobs give people who may have a hard time finding steady employment at an onsite job, like those with disabilities or caregivers who need a flexible schedule, the opportunity to follow their career goals without having to worry about commuting back and forth to an office. It also gives workers the flexibility to get to doctor’s and other healthcare appointments when needed.

4. Positive Environmental Impact

The 3.9 million employees who worked from home at least half time before the pandemic reduced greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of taking more than 600,000 cars off the road for an entire year. A whopping 7.8 billion vehicle miles aren’t traveled each year for those who work at least part-time from home, 3 million tons of greenhouse gases (GHG) are avoided, and oil savings reach $980 million. And by making environmentally sound choices—like opting to use less paper and monitoring their air conditioning, heating, and lighting—telecommuters have the same potential impact on air quality as planting an entire forest of 91 million trees.

5. Impact on Sustainability

Remote work supports a variety of sustainability initiatives, from economic growth and reduced inequalities, to sustainable cities, climate change, and responsible consumption. One of the fastest, cheapest ways for employers and employees to reduce their carbon footprint and affect climate change is by reducing commuter travel. In fact, the world is already seeing markedly reduced pollution, congestion, and traffic during the pandemic response, and being able to experience the results firsthand may be a driver of remote work for everyone involved.