Thought Wheel

Ann Chiappetta

flamethrowers for all

| Filed under blindness

Flame throwers for Everyone
}blame this post on the cold medicine}

Dear readers, this is not a homicidal post, perish the thought. I’ll leave those stories to more established authors like King and Koontz. This one is for those times when one cannot sleep, when the mind wanders. It is a ‘what if” — How would, a blind person, attempt to even survive in the zombie apocalypse? If what the stories, movies and gory series tell us, someone who is blind will most likely end up voluntarily dead or eating human flesh a la George A. Romero.

So, thinks I, spouse of a survival freak, how would a blind person survive these horrific conditions? Yup, self-defense would demand the most bang, or burn, for the buck. In comes the flame thrower. The model we would like on our wish list is $3200 but hey, it is compatible for napalm, should we find any of it while incinerating maniacal, frothing, people eating people.
So, what’s on your wish list?

Joan is Sweetness

| Filed under blindness Poem writing Writing Life

Readers, one of the best things about writing is making connections. Getting to know other writers and follow them through the creative process is fascinating, too.
One writer I admire is Joan Miles. Visit Joan’s blog and after reading the post, click over to Amazon.com to buy her new book.

https://jewniquelymyself.com/2020/11/09/grateful-for-annie/

Celebrating National Guide Dog Month

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs Poem writing

Hi all,
Below is a link to the ACB Voices blog. My audio and text of the poem titled “Verona” was featured today in celebration of National Guide Dog Month. Please visit and share the post with other guide and service dog handlers, friends, family and dog lovers.
Hi Annie, Thank you so much for submitting this poem, it is beautiful and the audio is such a nice touch. We posted this to the ACB Voices blog, which you can access through this link: Vinterviewveronaacbvoiceseronaacbvoices

Black lab with snow sprinkled on the nose

Black lab Verona with snow on her nose

Weekend Paper Warriors

| Filed under blindness Relationships

Here’s a halfway rhetorical question: what are weekends for? Since I don’t mow the grass, it could be anything. Scrubbing out the tub, maybe? Or, cleaning the shower with a toothbrush? Nope, guess again.

Hopefully some of you readers got it right: cleaning out my desk and file cabinet. Do I hear horrified screams and moans of dismay? BWAHHaHaHa!

First, a disclaimer: I am blind and do not like the task mostly because I require a set of eyes, usually my intrepid and reluctant hubby, Jerry. I avoid it and let it pile up, which is counterproductive. Okay, so then there are the extra tools, a braille labeler, scissors for trimming the labels, paper clips, stapler, accordion folders and four feet, er, inches of unfiled paperwork. Now, this is where I panic, and Jerry pulls up a chair and begins reading.

It really wasn’t that bad, except for when the accordion folder fell on its side and the paperwork that I had already filed, all slipped out into a messy pile and we had to start over. I lost page one of a five-page eye report and misplaced Bailey’s new vaccination record and Jerry found it in the trash pile. I still don’t know how that happened.

Eventually we finished and Jerry shredded to his heart’s content. It’s therapy for him, bless his soul. 😊And, that, dear readers, is how we overcame the insidious demigod of reams.

Alexa, Open ACB Mainstream

| Filed under blindness Poem

For the past two months I have been fortunate to work with a group of dedicated and talented artists, musicians, audio technicians, writers, and performers. We are part of the Friends in Art special interest affiliated of the American Council of the Blind www.friendsinart.com . Prior to working together and completing a two-hour showcase, we lost our president, Lynn Hedl suddenly earlier in the year. Then Covid hit and our convention shifted from an in-person performance to a virtual one. Shaken, but intrepid, we supported the virtual show and received over 30 auditions. But the show must go on, and Lynn would have wanted us to forge ahead and make it happen. So, we did. Tomorrow night the showcase airs on ACB Radio. Direct your digital assistant to listen and kick back and enjoy some wonderful songs, poetry, comedy, spoken word performances, and instrumentals all for your listening pleasure.
Thank-you, Mike Mandle, Nancy Pentagraph, Roland Pentagraph, June Lenk, Peter Altschul, Derek Laine, and Jason Castonguay. WE DID IT!

We hope you enjoy the show and if you want, hit us up for feedback at showcase@acbradio.org
To play the ACB Radio Mainstream channel, say “Open ACB Radio Mainstream.”
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To play the ACB Radio Mainstream West channel, say “Open ACB Mainstream West.”
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To play the ACB Radio Cafe channel, say “Open ACB Radio Cafe.”
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To play the ACB Radio Community channel, say “Open ACB Radio Community.”
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To play the ACB Radio Live Event channel, say “Open ACB Radio Live.”
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To play the ACB Radio Special Event channel, say “Open ACB Radio Special.”
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To play the ACB Radio Treasure Trove channel, say “Open ACB Radio Treasures.”

Something During the Covid Pause

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs writing

I’ve got a few things going on which I will share in another post. But I wanted to share a fun moment with my guide dog, Bailey. The pictures are of the mask with the logo of Guiding Eyes for the Blind taken by an Aira agent. It was less than five minutes of fun, but it keeps me smiling even though the smile is hidden by the mask. Enjoy!

Annie with pink mask and Bailey close up

Ann and Bailey on bench: Both looking straight on

Over the Rainbow Bridge

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs

Verona Chiappetta

This image requires alt text, but the alt text is currently blank. Either add alt text or mark the image as decorative. Verona and I on a bench outside


November 24, 2006 – May 31, 2020
Guiding Eyes 2V406
Beloved pet and retired guide dog, black Labrador retriever, Verona, died today of natural causes and expired peacefully with compassion and care with the assistance of a veterinarian, surrounded by her loved ones.
Known as Happy Pants to the Guiding Eyes staff instructors during training, Verona has forever touched the lives of her puppy raiser family, her handler and family and countless others.

Verona worked as a guide dog and as a therapy dog for trauma patients. After retiring from being a guide dog, she helped children read through a program for the Good Dog Foundation.

Verona’s favorite pastime was watching the waterfowl on Greenwood Lake and walking in the woods. She loved cats and other small animals.

We will miss her soft, velvet ears, gentle kisses, and good nature. Thank-you, sweet girl for being the best canine ambassador, for helping Jerry hunt the turkey and keep him company upstate. Most of all, thank-you for helping me learn to fly.

Over the Rainbow Bridge

There is a place of rainbow dreams, of lush green grass, and silver streams. It brings me comfort to know you’re there, playfully romping without a care. Always happy, the freedom to roam, peaceful, joyful in your new home. You never criticize, you never judge, you were always there for me to love. Though you live on in my heart I know, it’s just so hard to let you go! I know someday we’ll meet again, you’ll run to greet me, my best friend. Together forever we’ll finally be, over the rainbow, just you and me…
Verona's face with snow on her nose

Self Advocacy and Poetry

| Filed under blindness Poem writing

I don’t usually post poems here because submission guidelines for other magazines will not accept an author’s work either previously printed or posted online. But I just have to share this one. Thanks for reading and please share it with others who love to read and write poetry.

The inspiration for this poem is self-advocacy; I’ve learned that standing up to bureaucratic requirements, what I call nonsense, often wears down the complainant resulting in the complainant dropping a case. It also re-traumatizes the person each time the person must respond to filing deadlines, written statements and affidavits, as the person must, to an extent, relive the experience to be witness to it.

This poem attempts to express the resolve and power of circumstances one must choose to endure when planning to grab the rope of advocacy and pull back, often against a much bigger and stronger opponent.

Tide
By Ann Chiappetta

Hard packed sand softens
With each step, like thoughts
Yielding Cool and unbidden under foot

Sun Descending, I walk from east to west
Sea water surges
Scours away thought-foot prints

Hope and resolve walk beside me
I persevere, unable to alter the course.

Though the dunes rise to the left and waves
Grab and pull My limbs on the right

I stay the course.
Tears taste like the tide
and like the wet ambition of the fisherman’s net
ego escapes, pours back into the sea.
2020

International Guide Dog Day!

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs

Ann and yellow lab guide dog Bailey
A message from Guide Dog Users of the Empire State (GDUES)
April 29, 2020

It’s International Guide Dog Day, a day set aside to recognize the work that our loving and loyal canine companions do for us every day. Each year International Guide Dog Day is celebrated on the last Wednesday of April.

It takes a village to raise a puppy and help it gain the necessary skills to become a guide dog. Every year staff and volunteers from training organizations around the world breed, raise and train guide dogs and partner them with blind handlers. Our dogs are our heroes, and today is a way to let others know just how much we appreciate them.

Now that we have raised some paws and wagged a few tails to celebrate, we also want to share what it is like to be blind and out in public with a guide dog. During this year of worldwide crisis GDUES wants to share a few tips about how you can help people who are blind maintain social distancing.

When you see a guide dog team, please don’t pet, feed, call or distract the dog. Speak to the handler. It is important for the public to know that guide dogs don’t know about physical distancing. Our dogs are trained to move around obstacles, not to stop six feet away from a door, or in line at the supermarket or pharmacy. It’s important to understand a blind person using a white cane or a guide dog cannot always accurately measure distances or see lines on the floor.

Since we might not hear you come out of the store as we go in, a quick “Hello,” would help. Or, “Hi, you are at the end of the line.: or “Hi, you can Move up a few steps,”. When passing a guide dog handler outside, saying hello will help us keep required physical distancing by hearing where you are in relation to us.

We want to follow the same health and safety precautions as everyone else, however, we might require a little more information than normal. We are all in this together.

The mission of GDUES is to advocate for and support guide dog teams living and working in New York State. Learn more by going to www.gdues.org