| Filed under blindness blogging Guide dogs pets and people
For National Dog Day 2023
Dog Two
By Ann Chiappetta
He is a sweet yellow fellow
Toasted darker
On ears and tail tip
Gives a nibble and a lick
Golden eyes Better than cash
He comes with a snow nose And personality to match
He’s tall and silly
Works, wags, and licks
So far no one’s gotten ticked
When he sneaks a kiss.
Guiding me around
Alert and looking for sights and scents
On the bus and on the street
Freedom with four feet.
Dedicated to Guiding Eyes Bailey
| Filed under blindness blogging Guide dogs
Annie Shares News volume 2 Issue 8 August 2023
Subscribe anniesharesnews+subscribe@groups.io
Web — www.annchiappetta.com
Blog — www.thought-wheel.com
Our time in New York is at an end, we’re moving onto a less urban location in the foothills of Western Pennsylvania. A modest one level home with a fenced yard for the dogs and plenty of sunny windows for the cats. I’ll be writing in a different studio, meeting new people and collecting new experiences. What could be better? Shh, don’t tell my husband I’ll be traveling a bit more once we are settled. 😉
My guide dog, Bailey, is retiring once we reside in PA and I know it’s the right time. Next year I’ll most likely meet my new guide dog and train at home.
Earlier in the month, I was invited to interview author Leonard tuchyner by good friend and author, Peter Altschul, who cohosts the In Perspective podcast with Bob Branco. Leonard’s new book, Moon Rising: Stories and Poems is whimsical and expressive, exploring life’s vicissitudes in a unique perspective.
Imperfections, my second novel, has been slated to be released in late spring or early summer of 2024. The audio for my first novel, Hope For the Tarnished is underway. Below is a poem I wrote during our most recent visit to Pennsylvania. Enjoy it and may August bless you.
Doubletree by Hilton
or
Four dinky pillows for the bed
By Ann Chiappetta
I thought the suite would be opulent
The King bed
A sultan’s necessity for sleep
An Enviable, blissful transom
Whisk Weary bones beneath duvet and anticipate the soft
Pillowed plumpness cradling my head
My cranium flattens cotton puff pastries instead
WTF I say and inspect the offered spread.
I discover Dollar store purchases within
A pricy three-night stay
shall we be complacent?
elect to ignite our inner Karen and
shout of the injustice of dinky pillows —
it insults our guesthood
In the prone position
these little nothings make no difference
Another thing about these pillows is their identity
Are they feather and down or
microfiber polypill or some
hybrid of all of the above
I can’t figure out which one or which combination
They’re like a generic of generic of generic
I’ve taken to putting a sofa cushion behind me instead
I am not Karen and will not stay there again.
Post a thumbs down on YELP while
reclining on a
Too hard king-sized bed
In a too large corner suite
With too many little pillows for sleep.
Annie Shares News Volume 2 Issue 6 June 2023
Making Meaningful Connections Through Writing ✍️
The month of May skipped by with her basket filled with springtime blessings. I hope you were able to appreciate some of them. 💐
Bailey and I attended ten disability awareness presentations for grades K and first graders in May. He has recovered from the removal of the tumor in his lung and is back to being the goofy, treat begging dog of my heart. He celebrated his tenth birthday in April, working and playing with eight other Guiding Eyes guide dogs during a three-day seminar for the organization’s graduate council. Going to the facility and campus is like visiting our Almer Mata. It is, after all, just like a college for dogs and is our second home.
April was National Poetry Month (NPM) and I typed a poem a day, many of them made it to the poems folder instead of the recycle bin, I am proud to say. If you read this and would like a document including the keepers from NPM, email me anniecms64@gmail.com and ask for the file.
Back in April, I was a guest for the APH Career Connect interview series with Lori Scharff and Amy Lynn Smith. Check it out on the APH blog:
Listen to the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrYRPRgoDyA
Here is an article where myself and other blindness advocates are mentioned in relation to listening habits and terrestrial radio:
In other writing and book related news, I finished the first draft of my second novel, Imperfections. I am now seeking beta readers. If you would like to be a beta reader and read and respond to questions after reading the draft copy, email me anniecms64@gmail.com and drop in “beta reader” in the subject line. The book is 250 pages.
This is a story of destiny and obsession and the determination of love.
If you want to listen to independent authors discuss their books, visit www.behindoureyes.org and check out the book launch presentations. You can listen to a recording or read a transcript.
Sharing this poem is my way to herald in the warm weather. Enjoy. Until next time,
Random Thoughts from September to the End of December
By Ann Chiappetta
Reminiscent of fungi and distinct smell prods thoughts about
What to cook, who to think about or not to think of because
Not everyone skips along with the holiday song or marvels
At the foliage or bakes ten dozen cookies or decorates the weird, pimpled squash gourds. It’s better To mull over the ugliness of the flesh hollowed vegetables then wonder how many less cards will come in the mail this year.
Let go. I’m going to keep the groovy gourd, eat leftovers and wait for the sleeping seeds protected for months by damp fungus and Brigid’s vast blanket to burst. I cannot read Nature’s Morse Code but My nose can seek the olfactory transition and my steps shall discover the burgeoning shoots of spring with a welcoming toe
A great read and resource for Spring.
The writer’s Grapevine is a quarterly news and literary magazine featuring Writers, Small Business owners and Nonprofits.
In each issue you’ll find a variety of Articles, Essays, Short Stories and Poems for your enjoyment and education.
Read the full edition at: https://pattysworlds.com/the-writers-grapevine-spring-and-things-
To learn more about Patty Fletcher and her magazine, here is the link to her blog:
Patty L. Fletcher
author and social media marketing assistant.
Learn more at: http://www.pattysworlds.com
| Filed under blindness blogging Guide dogs writing
Save the Date
📖 📚
Join the APH Career Conversation with Ann Chiappetta
April 6, 2023, 6:00 – 7:00 PM EST
Career Conversations Interview with an Author
Ann Chiappetta will share what it has been like for her to self-publish her poetry, fiction and nonfiction books. Ann has delt with changing vision as a result of retinitis pigmentosa and has used writing and her creative skills to help cope with her vision loss.
Register Here for Career Conversations Interview with an Author
Read about Ann on the APH blog:
Ann and Bailey on bench: Both looking straight on
Book Review
By Ann Chiappetta
Morris
By Chris Kuell © November 2022
Fiction; Short Stories
Atmosphere Press https://atmospherepress.com/books/morris-by-chris-kuell/
Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/Morris-Chris-Kuell/dp/163988677X
Kindle$7.99 softcover $15.99 302 pp.
From the publisher
A wounded Vietnam veteran builds a guitar as a first step toward rebuilding his life. A young man is ejected from the foster system and hitchhikes his way across America in search of that elusive feeling of home. An unsatisfied twenty-something questions her relationships and imagines other possibilities. A single father struggles to come to terms with his daughter’s growing up. A street musician touches people with her words and her music.
Morris by Chris Kuell is a collection of fourteen powerful stories brimming with evocative landscapes and memorable characters. Navigating desire, despair, healing, and love—the residents of this collection are all searching to better understand themselves. Woven together through the universal thread of music, these stories, witnessed by a well-worn guitar, expose insecurities and highlight the power of endurance and personal transformation.
***
Full disclosure, Chris Kuell, the author, and I have been friends for over twenty years. We first met in a critique group. Shortly afterward, Chris gained the position as editor-in-chief of the online literary magazine, Breath and Shadow and he invited me to assist in fencing submissions. Needless to say, we’ve witnessed one another grow into our authorly legs, stretched a few inches creatively since we first met. After reading Morris and being captivated by the breadth and depth of the stories, I’ve got to admit a bit of the fan girl thing developing. I think it is because of the play list introducing each story. The nostalgic value of the songs and song lyrics should not be overlooked. Each song attaches a specific emotion to each story and enhances the theatric backdrop of the stories in this collection.
While each story in Kuell’s Morris is a stand-alone piece, the author presents an appealing literary repast. This book is an experience of relationships and life’s vicissitudes. What I loved about the book were the realistic interpersonal connections and how the characters were influenced by either positive or negative circumstances. Each story touched a part of what it means to be human, to feel, love, care, hope and suffer. For example, how sweet or misunderstood a kiss can be, how good intentions are overcome by remorselessness and violence, or how bias and bigotry can escalate into devaluing a human life. Some stories ended tragically and some ended ambiguously, each one resonated. Like a superb meal at a favorite restaurant, I reflected upon them for days. A creative piece with longevity is a great accomplishment and Chris Kuell’s book will stick to your soul and speak to your heart.
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reader’s Note: On February 21, 2023, Chris died from complications resulting from cancer. He was sixty years old. His obituary follows:
Christopher S. Kuell
June 14, 1962, ~ February 21, 2023 (age 60)
Christopher Kuell passed away on Tuesday, February 21st, 2023, at 60 years of age. He died in his home, surrounded by family members and love.
Chris led such a unique and interesting life that it is impossible to represent him in a few short paragraphs. He was born in 1962 in Salem, Massachusetts to Paul and Diana Kuell, one of six children. He was a brilliant and hardworking man, earning his Ph. D. in Chemistry from the University of Vermont in 1990 and working as a research scientist with Ciba Geigy before losing his sight at the age of thirty-five. Although becoming blind due to diabetes completely changed his life, Chris applied his brilliant mind, iron will, and open heart to building a new, beautiful, and independent life. He learned to cook, to travel, to play guitar, to shop, to play board games, and anything else a sighted person could do. He became involved with the National Federation of the Blind, attending and leading events, and collaborating with other blind and visually impaired people to make the world a better place for people with disabilities. He also began writing, publishing articles about life as a newly blind person and blind father, which ignited a passion for the written word that motivated him for the rest of his life. Five years after losing his sight, another major health complication threatened this newly built life. However, his brother David’s decision to donate a kidney to Chris in 2002 saved him. Sadly, David passed away in 2013, but his gift allowed Chris to live another 21 years.
When his children were young, Chris dedicated himself to his family – cooking dinner, quizzing his children Nicholas and Grace on multiplication tables while they were in the bathtub, and listening to bedtime books-on-tape at night. As the kids went off to college, Chris pursued a host of other passions. He applied his Chemistry degree to brewing delicious “Blind Wino” brand wine. He began editing Breath and Shadow, a literary magazine dedicated to publishing authors with disabilities. He helped run a monthly book club for friends and members of his community. With his fellow parishioners at Saint James’ Episcopal Church, he prepared food and washed dishes for Dorothy Day, our local soup kitchen. His most recent labor of love was publishing his book, Morris, just a few short months ago. If you want to know something about who Chris was, what he valued, or how he saw the world, you’re in luck – he put his heart and soul into Morris and left it for us to read and re-read whenever we need to be close to him.
Chris was an exceptional man who will be remembered as the blind guy who walked his kids back and forth to elementary school, a faithful and dedicated member of St. James’ Church, a fierce advocate for the disabled, marginalized, and disenfranchised. He will be remembered for his quick wit, his passion, his sense of humor. Those who survive him will miss him immensely: his wife, Christine DiMeglio; his children, Grace Kuell, Nicholas Kuell, and daughter-in-law Alexis Willoughby; his siblings: Cathy and Kenny Halchak, Sandra Kuell, Michael Kuell and Jenn Cobb, Jon Kuell and Maureen Buckley; his soul siblings: Tammy Kuell, Lisa Patey, Mike DiMeglio, Scott Kiem; his gang of admiring nieces and nephews.
To know him was to laugh with him, think with him, lean on him knowing he would always be there, to cry with him, ask his advice, pray with him, talk books or sports or – if you were brave – politics with him. Chris radiated love – love for life, and love for those lucky enough to know him. He will be missed by countless people and in a myriad of ways. We are forever grateful for the gift of knowing Chris Kuell, and for knowing that this wonderful man is now at peace.
A service celebrating the life of Chris Kuell was held on March 11, at 11 am, at Saint James’ Episcopal Church, 25 West Street in Danbury CT 06810.
In lieu gifts of any kind, consider a tax-deductible contribution to Resources for Organizing Social Change (ROSC, PO Box 2444, Augusta, ME 04338-2444), the parent organization for Breath & Shadow, a quarterly journal of disability culture and literature, where Chris served as editor-in-chief. Include a note with the check that your donation is for Breath & Shadow in memory of Chris Kuell. ROSC is a public 501(c)3 charity.
Please share this post and ask friends to support this author’s legacy in the form of a wonderfully written book.
| Filed under blindness Relationships
Sometimes retirement has it’s perks, like being a guest on a blog or podcast, sharing what it’s like to have been a professional therapist. Check out the Penny Forward podcast focusing on money management and relationships. Shout out to Chris, Mo and Liz for inviting me.
https://www.pennyforward.com/penny-forward-podcast-money-and-relationships/
| Filed under blindness Guide dogs pets and people Relationships
Whoa, pups and people, first of all, this is not a shock jock kind of post. It is my attempt to express the feelings and observations during the events of the past three weeks. We are all okay, so it is safe to keep reading.
🦮
Bailey, my 75 lb. yellow lab raised and trained by Guiding Eyes for the Blind, was diagnosed with a tumor in his lung. It was discovered in a routine vet visit and I am so grateful for the staff veterinarian at Guiding Eyes for listening to me and ordering the Xray and referring us to Animal Medical Center in New York City for a CT and needle biopsy confirming the diagnosis.
We are now waiting for the surgery date to remove it. During the examination of the CT scan/biopsy procedure authorization, I read the DNR clause. It said CPR would be administered unless directed otherwise by the owner. Of course I wanted lifesaving procedures to be performed, my dog is showing very little symptoms and isn’t ready to check out.
I stopped, thinking, OH, shoot, a DNR? And it hit me just how serious this was and how sick my sweet 9.7-year-old lab really is. He showed only a mild cough after playing and slowing down a little when we were out and about. I’m not sure why but Bailey’s diagnosis brought me back to our Mom’s lung cancer and the mind-numbing period of time during her surgeries and treatments. Because of the consultations and speaking with medical oncologists during our Mom’s illness, I believe I have a better grasp of Bailey’s chances and risk factors. I am not saying a dog is the same as a person, but I am thinking that Mom’s passing provided insight and strength for me and my husband to be better equipped to handle whatever comes after Bailey’s upcoming surgery and convalescence. Then again, maybe I am saying a life is worth fighting for, human or non-human. Mom did not differentiate among two or four-footed family, and neither will I.
yellow lab Bailey in our livingroom
Annie Shares News January 2023 Volume 3 Issue 1
Anniesharesnews+subscribe@groups.io
2023 greetings! 🥳 🎉
2022 has been challenging and it’s great to be stepping out more, giving and receiving a hug from friends and colleagues once again. Society has endured and learned how to cope with the physical limitations associated with the pandemic and while we are still being effected by covid, we are adjusting. To hug or not to hug, that is the question.
One mask-wearing phenomenon I’d like to share is the increased level of general disorientation when wearing one. And it isn’t just me experiencing this weird reaction. Whenever I first put on a mask, it causes me to feel dizzy and like I am in a bubble. I can’t hear or rely on my sense of direction, which is usually good. The spatial awareness is the worst and I have spoken with other blind friends who have experienced a similar lack of sensory information from mask wearing. I tried a clear face shield and it was even worse. I hope this is something we can research more to help others.
I want to share some good news about a friend and colleague, Elizabeth Ianelli. She and I worked together and remained friends after we both left the VA. She is one of the most resilient people I know and I am pleased to share the advanced ordering link to her new gritty and powerful book about the troubled teen industry called I See You Survivor: Life inside (and outside) the totally f*****d up troubled-teen industry.
Another author I know, Trish Hubschman, has released her newest book, check it out:
Gayle’s Tales: Tracy Gayle Mysteries
by Trish Hubschman
Copyright December 2022
The book is for sale from Smashwords in eBook formats and from Amazon in e-book ($3.99), paperback ($8.50), and hardcover ($16.50).
175 pages in print.
Full details of this book and Trish’s four Tracy Gayle mystery novels are on her website:
https://www.dldbooks.com/hubschman/
Synopsis:
Gayle’s Tales is a collection of Tracy Gayle mystery short stories.
Everyone’s favorite couple, Tracy and Danny, are still going strong, romantically and professionally, rocking and rolling and solving crimes. The story is a first-person account told in Tracy’s point-of-view, detailing the circumstances as only she can tell it. Through all this, she and Danny are planning their wedding extravaganza at the Plaza Hotel in New York. In the end, she brings long–lost family members and friends back into each other’s arms and lives.
Trish is also appearing on January 25 at 7:00 p.m. eastern time as a guest author hosted by the Behind Our Eyes Book Launch program via zoom. If you would like the Zoom invitation, email booklaunch@behindoureyes.org and make sure you mention it is for Trish’s book.
What’s in store for 2023? Writing, of course! 😉 I am working on a nonfiction book about pet assisted therapy, gathering a third poetry collection, and writing a new crossover novel plus a new chapter of a sci-fi novella. I am reading different genres of books, including an RPG-inspired series penned by Kevin Sinclair, a series by Andrew Rowe narrated by one of my favorite voice actors, Nick Podell and Marshal Arcane by Terry Mancour is waiting in the queue. I also read The Address by Fiona Davis for my local book club. Very good historical fiction/mystery novel. I also must recommend The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving. The audio book is performed by a talented voice actor and it is better than Irving’s book, The World According to Garp. It’s brilliant.
Reading is a considerable piece of developing as a writer and I plan to continue the quest. 😈
Until next month, be well and blessings to all.
Enjoy this classic poem about the New Year by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
The Death of the Old Year
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Full knee-deep lies the winter snow,
And the winter winds are wearily sighing:
Toll ye the church bell sad and slow,
And tread softly and speak low,
For the old year lies a-dying.
Old year you must not die;
You came to us so readily,
You lived with us so steadily,
Old year, you shall not die.
He lieth still: he doth not move:
He will not see the dawn of day.
He hath no other life above.
He gave me a friend and a true truelove
And the New-year will take ’em away.
Old year you must not go;
So long you have been with us,
Such joy as you have seen with us,
Old year, you shall not go.
He froth’d his bumpers to the brim;
A jollier year we shall not see.
But tho’ his eyes are waxing dim,
And tho’ his foes speak ill of him,
He was a friend to me.
Old year, you shall not die;
We did so laugh and cry with you,
I’ve half a mind to die with you,
Old year, if you must die.
He was full of joke and jest,
But all his merry quips are o’er.
To see him die across the waste
His son and heir doth ride post-haste,
But he’ll be dead before.
Everyone for his own.
The night is starry and cold, my friend,
And the New-year blithe and bold, my friend,
Comes up to take his own.
How hard he breathes! over the snow
I heard just now the crowing cock.
The shadows flicker to and fro:
The cricket chirps: the light burns low:
’Tis nearly twelve o’clock.
Shake hands, before you die.
Old year, we’ll dearly rue for you:
What is it we can do for you?
Speak out before you die.
His face is growing sharp and thin.
Alack! our friend is gone,
Close up his eyes: tie up his chin:
Step from the corpse, and let him in
That standeth there alone,
And waiteth at the door.
There’s a new foot on the floor, my friend,
And a new face at the door, my friend,
A new face at the door.
This poem is in the public domain.
Dreya sends her best wishes for the New Year!
| Filed under blindness Relationships
Full Circle
How much do we know about a person? I consider myself a private person but also a person who believes sharing a personal success or a challenge could help someone else. I am sharing the following audio vignette produced by the Hadley Institute called Insights and Sound Bites and hope it helps you or someone you know struggling with depression or vision loss.
https://hadley.edu/podcasts/insights-sound-bites/i-came-full-circle