Thought Wheel

Ann Chiappetta

The Weekend Writer

| Filed under blindness Fiction Poem writing Writing Life

I was listening to a podcast today for the first time since I’m not sure when; it got my marketing juices flowing again, whoopee! There are weekend dads, warriors, drinkers, and the category for which I am writing this post: writers. Yup, I am proud to be a weekend writer. If I had a choice, I would write full-time and have time to put aside for marketing. As it stands, I have no choice but to cram it in from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon and occasionally when I schedule staycations.

I started my writing career after publishing my first book, Upwelling: Poems, and since the success of my second book, Follow Your Dog, A Story of Love and Trust,Follow Your Dog the time for writing and marketing are feuding – not the most unique power-struggle in the universe – but it is my struggle and it is often exhausting.

I am currently working on my third manuscript, a collection of poems, essays and short fiction. It is a rewarding and time-consuming task and I absolutely love it. Needless to say, the marketing has been pushed aside by the manuscript. If I can nail down a few interviews and add in an announcement about the new book, all’s right with the world. Let’s see, it’s Sunday evening, what’s next on the list?

A Dog On The Bed

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs Relationships writing

While visiting Hunt Valley, Maryland last week, I posted a picture of my guide dog, Bailey, lying on the hotel roomed with his rubber bone between his paws. Yes, I know dogs are surely not allowed on hotel room beds, especially not a guide dog. In fact, I did get criticized for it after posting it on Face Book.

I felt obligated to respond to this person because she questioned the standards of my dog’s training program and implied the program was somehow lax about the “no furniture” rule for task-trained service dogs. I thought that was rude.

Not sure if this is a provable statistic but I believe the no furniture rule is about 50/50 with dog owners, whether or not said owner is a person with a disability who is working a service dog.

I choose to allow my dog on the bed. He askes for permission first. My other dogs don’t go on our bed and prefer the dog beds instead. It really is a matter of preference and only occurs after the bond and mutual trust has been solidified. Right now, as I write this blog post, my sweet Bailey is under my desk with his head on my foot. He is with me, must be assured we are a team and proximity is the key. He is ready to go at a moments notice, loves to work with an indomitable spirit to match.

What the picture does not say is how tough it was for him at this training, how uncomfortable he was lying for 8 hours on a cold, tile floor during the training. Allowing him on the bed to chew a rubber bone was my thanks for enduring the discomfort for four days in a row.

Is the bed thing really that important? It is a matter of preference and I believe it has nothing to do with whether a chosen program is lax or if the handler is using poor judgment. It is about balancing love with discipline and a competent handler knows when to apply one or the other, depending on the circumstances.
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Photo description: Yellow lab on white bed with red rubber bone between paws.

On The Road Again

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs writing

Tomorrow me and Bailey are boarding the Amtrak train to Baltimore, Maryland. From there we will be taking ground transportation to the Holiday Inn Express in Hunt Valley. The only part of this trip that worries me is the car service – will I encounter ride refusals because of my guide dog? I am prepared as much as I can be, I hope.

As for Bailey, he’s ready to go, like always. After reading this post, please send out good trip Juju. I think I will need it.

Guest blog posted a New Story

| Filed under Fiction Poem Relationships writing Writing Life

Hi Folks, just a quick note to announce a short story I wrote called Strange Residue: The Wedding is being featured today as a guest post on Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo blog. The link is https://wp.me/p1wss8-fZ3
Why not go on over to Sue’s most excellent blog and read it – and, don’t forget to follow Sue’s blog, comment and share your post.