Thought Wheel

From the mind of Ann Chiappetta

Annie Shares News June 2023 🍿🎬

| Filed under blindness blogging writing

Annie Shares News Volume 2 Issue 6 June 2023

anniesharesnews@groups.io

www.annchiappetta.com

 

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:

https://aphcareerconnect.org/blog/careerconnect-blog/finding-joy-and-career-fulfillment-in-self-expression/

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:

https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/programming-and-sales/radio-and-the-blind-an-evolving-relationship

 

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

 

  1. Shoes slip-on damp leaves, an olfactory  mockery

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.

 

  1. . It’s not that I don’t like the essence of  Christmas, it dwells  in the intimate Place  only energy and intent reside, the location of which only I know and where both darkness and light are partners. I am not sure anyone else I know describes it like that but it is how I  do it.   God might know the place, keeping a respectable distance and maybe only  peeking  into the receptacle during  birth and death.

 

  1. It’s like that now, a time of resonance, a phase, time for the coldest air competing  with  the hottest air Pumping from the baseboard heating, pets snuggled beside each other for warmth. Snoozing late into the morning beside  my husband. Time for thoughts of others, catching up on social media.  The picture window in the living room apartment tapped by Nor’easter sleet beckons. It is  undecipherable Morse code sent by Brigid.
  2. Once the baby Jesus is placed in the cradle by millions of hands and millions of voices sing the chorus in a thousand tongues it’s time to

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

Annie and yellow lab Bailey licking her face

 

 

 

 

Zip Ode So Long, NPM

| Filed under writing

10543 – Zip Ode

By Ann Chiappetta

  • By

(10) The bridge over the creek lies Tomkins Ave.

(5) Salty Harbor   air

(4) Mamaroneck

(3) Is my heart.

 

 

About this form

Invented in 2015, the Zip Ode is a five-line poem about where you live, written in the form of your zip code.   It can reflect either lines of words or syllables. Typically a zero is a wild card. This poem uses syllables to represent the numbers and ten syllables to represent a zero.

 

 

by Ann Chiappetta | tags : | 0

Why I Haven’t Been Blogging ✍️ 💻

| Filed under blogging Poem writing

Why I Haven’t Been Blogging

By Ann Chiappetta

Dedicated to  2023 National Poetry Month

 

 

I haven’t been blogging

Because my mind is fogging

From  NPM – rest assured I’ve been writing

Scribbling, typing and scribing

Alphabetically, in fact

Abecedarians, ballads and couplets

Haiku, Limericks a letters

 

Verses penned about  purple purses or  petals

The view to the summit is  near

And  it looks like the terrain is clear

 

Yet The flag is yet to be unfurled

And the completion of NPM

Will be celebrated by the world

When it is uncurled —

And next year we will  grab our literary packs

And retrace the poetic path to the summit

Inspired by a poetry-lined path.

 

View from bridge spanning Windham nountain looking out into the valley below.

 

Spring and Things Magazine

| Filed under blindness blogging writing

 

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

APH Career Conversations podcast Join the presentation 🎙️

| 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:

Annie with pink mask and Bailey close up

Ann and Bailey on bench: Both looking straight on

 

The print Barrier Continued

| Filed under writing

Thanks to friend and fellow author, Patty Fletcher, what began as my personal rant about the accessibility divide  is gaining attention. Please visit her blog and read, like, and pass along  what will  be a series of  informational, lived experiential accounts of the print barrier and how it effects people with print disabilities interacting with all digital and electronic resources like the internet, smart phones and tablets and  how developers and the general public can help with making these barriers a thing of the past.

https://pattysworlds.com/the-print-barrier-by-author-and-multimedia-specialist-ann-chiappetta-accessibility-assistivetechnology/

 

by Ann Chiappetta | tags : | 0

He’s Home! He’s Home! 🦮

| Filed under Guide dogs pets and people

 

After  two days in the hospital, Bailey is home and resting.  It has been  a stressful two weeks. Once we got the diagnosis and scheduled the surgery for a carcinoma in his lung,  Jerry and I  were in a kind of shell shock. Hoping for the best, ignoring the worst-case scenario.

 

The medical staff at Animal Medical Center in NYC is phenomenal. We are still waiting for a full prognosis  because the pathology takes at least a week but it is looking like pulmonary  carcinoma. One entire lobe was removed, so the guy has only half a lung on one side. He went into all this in good shape  despite the tumor and this has everything to do with   a good recovery and getting back to work. Not sure working again will be in his future but time and rest will  help the healing and no matter what happens,  there is relief for what was ailing him for so long. His quality of life has been given back to him and for this we are grateful.

 

If you want to donate to  the medical center and help support  them in treating  animals and educating future generations of veterinary  physicians and treatments for diseases like cancer ,  and caring for guide and service dogs, we would  appreciate it. There was no cost to us because Bailey is a working guide dog.

 

He is resting in the kennel on  his squish mellow and seems comfortable. The first thing he wanted to do  once we got home was eat. What a good boy!

 

 

by Ann Chiappetta | tags : | 0

A DNR for My Dog Guide? 😨🦮

| 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

 

 

 

 

Remembering Verona 2006 – 2020  🦮

| Filed under Guide dogs pets and people Relationships

 

It’s January, a month of memories.  I look back upon those who have died and I also look forward to keeping them close to my heart through recalling the special times we’ve shared together. My Dad, Bob, and his being a neat freak and a talented carpenter and mechanic and lover of nature. I also recall my mother-in-law, Carol and  the way she loved my kids and feeling blessed I survived her erratic  driving and feeling relieved  I did not have to see  the close calls because I am blind. 😓😱 .

 

Although we lost both my Dad and Carol in successive January  dates, both on the sixteenth of the month, I want to also celebrate the life of another family member, my first guide dog.

 

In  January 2009 I met and trained with my first guide dog, Verona and this post is being written and shared to honor her life. I am fortunate to be part of the Guiding Eyes graduate community and because of it I take part in  occasional grief and bereavement  Zoom meetings.  We share how much our dogs mean to us, the bond  of trust and love and how much they mean to us even after they die. I always feel better after one of these meetings because I spent the time with other handlers who understand the lifetime bond developed with these incredible dogs and the indelible  imprint they have upon our hearts.

 

Here is one of my favorite stories about Verona, a sweet sixty lb. black lab. My husband, Jerry, took over her care and handling once I retired her and submitted my application for a successor dog. She was seven years old and  full of energy but she developed  cysts in her eyes and it began effecting her ability to guide me. One day Jerry took her upstate     during turkey hunting season. She was a great field dog and not a bit gun shy. He set up the blind, telling Verona to lay down. He soon shot the turkey and  got out of the blind, saying “Let’s go get it!” and Verona ran out of the blind and ran for the turkey,  grabbing it’s neck.  He asked her to let go and she did but  kept trying to grab it. After he called me and told me the story, I laughed and   between giggles, said, “Well,  you told her to go get it and she’s a lab, what did you expect?”

 

Verona lived a great life, succumbing to old age in February 2020 at age 14.  I could not have had a better first guide dog and  since  walking our first  route together I haven’t  looked back. Thanks, sweet girl for being able to give me back my independence.

If you want to read more about our adventures, pick up my memoir,

Follow Your Dog a Story of Love and Trust .

 

close up of Black lab with snow sprinkled on her nose and head. She is looking at the camera with large, brown inquisitive eyes.

close up of Black lab with snow on her face

January 2023 Annie Shares News V.3 I. 1

| Filed under blindness blogging writing

Annie Shares News January 2023  Volume 3 Issue 1

Anniesharesnews+subscribe@groups.io

www.annchiappetta.com

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!

Dreya the book dragon is smiling and floating around with her best friends, books and musical notes.