Thought Wheel

Ann Chiappetta

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday’s Kitten a Poem

| Filed under Poem

Sunday’s Kitten

By Ann Chiappetta

 

Not yet

A prim princess

rescued from  Kittenish

misadventures, undaunted

black fur

 

feather

duster tail, lithe

ferrets  in and out of

indoor playground until she finds

the sun.

2021

This image requires alt text, but the alt text is currently blank. Either add alt text or mark the image as decorative. black kitten Luna with new pink and white collar sitting on her cat tree. The charm hangs from the collar and is a crescent moon with a cat on it.

 

 

 

Technology Love Story

| Filed under nonfiction recovering the self Writing Life

www.annchiappetta.com

https://www.recoveringself.com/poetry/technology-love-story.

 

I am a beautiful nerd. I love my technology, drool over new gadgets and would have two computers if I could afford it. Well, I do own an iPad, that counts at least a little bit, right? I call my laptop Skywalker because it’s powerful and insightful, thanks to Windows 10. Yes, it does outthink me sometimes, too, maybe I should have named it R2D2 instead.

 

In late 2018 I upgraded to a new iPhone XR and admittedly grieved for the lost home button and fingerprint lock. The face I.D security features and gestures at first made me want to crunch the darned thing under the heel of my slipper but working from home softened my attitude and feet.

Here is a little poem about it.

On the Tip of a Finger

By Ann Chiappetta

 

Tap.

Flick up.

Flick down.

Double tap.

use a digit

drag it around.

 

press side button;

“Hello Siri” — why doesn’t she talk?

Slide and lift

Thumbs are best   to text.

Swipe up with index finger

Double tap to select.

Tippity-tap tap

Doink doink doink

Try middle finger gesture instead.

 

Spell Onomatopoeia

  • NOT ammonia —

 

Swish, swoosh blunk

 

Dexterity demands flanges

To execute a pinch or scrub.

 

“Hi Siri,”

 

I didn’t say that

 

Slide and lift

Thumbs are best   to text.

Swipe up with index finger

Double tap to select.

photo description of Ann's personal logo of green dragon floating amid books and musical notes.

Ann’s personal logo

 

 

A Book Review with Meaning

| Filed under Poem Relationships writing Writing Life

Earlier this year, prior to Covid 19, I asked Julia to review my book. I’d been disappointed by the lack of responses to review my third book, Words of Life: Poems and Essays. I needed an infusion as well as some insight as to why this book, in particular did not sell like I thought it should. I felt that Julia could deliver and she did, 😊

Julia came through for me. She provided honest and understandable statements. Below is a note I sent to her, sharing it symbolizes that not all an author’s work is dipped in gold. It takes years of practice, stacks of rejections in your inbox, and the strength to plow through the self-doubt and barriers to reach one’s creative goals. What I learned from Julia is to be open to the feedback of other writers, what may seem like criticism could be a diamond in the ruff.

Read on and after reading, take a look at Julia’s own publications. 😊

HI Julia,
I wanted to thank you again for reviewing my book. You gave me some important points to ponder and I appreciate them very much… Since publishing my books I felt the hardest part of it was organizing the content in a manner that made sense. I wanted to let you know that mentioning it in your review got to me, but then it made me more aware of what I can improve for my next book. Your review provided insight into what I can work on as a writer and this is much appreciated.
Julia’s review:
https://juliasbookreviewss.wordpress.com/2020/10/15/1110/

This image requires alt text, but the alt text is currently blank. Either add alt text or mark the image as decorative.

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

A Forkful of Thoughts

| Filed under Poem writing

Catherine de Medici’s Fork

By Ann Chiappetta

To pluck tidbits from a trencher
soils delicate hands
even a lady’s dagger, while beautiful
cannot hold softened morsels
a spoon compels one to slurp — or drip
How excited was I
to find bordering neighbors
otherwise equipped.

I returned with this implement
A gift from a Venetian prince.
a slim handle with four tines
to spike and transfer a tidbit
From table to fair lips
Graceful and delicate
Behold, unsoiled fingertips.
2020

by Ann Chiappetta | tags : | 0

Found Poem for NPM

| Filed under Poem writing

Horoscope

Found Poem
By Ann Chiappetta

Peacefulness wells up within the soul today,
coloring the entire day with an aura of calm.

You may fear your tranquil mood will be negatively affected by
the chaos of routine and the demands of others, you
will likely feel compelled to seek serenity
in which to nurture your mood.
A soothing personal space,
withdraw into it. Ohm.
achieve deep relaxation and slip into a reflective state.

Should distraction be the case, consider
taking a few moments between tasks today
to retreat into the depths of the mind. Through
meditation or introspection,
maintain a peaceful state even
when chaos erupts.

Cultivate serenity
ensure a quiet, private place to retreat
quiet the cacophony
when worldly concerns devastate and overpower us.
Build havens of tranquility Within the home.
havens of stillness provide quietude
leading back to inner peace.
commune with ourselves, Cultivate a serene atmosphere
sustain the serenity in the soul.

S Is For Success, Sort of

| Filed under blindness Poem Relationships writing Writing Life

Yes, readers, the new wickedly light and sexy infinity edge Dell laptop is good to go, thanks to much patience and help from my friend, mike. The first model was returned and I even made the first payment. Last Saturday I visited Mike and he helped me configure it. Now I will be using Windows 10, JAWS screen reader version 2018 and adding a few programs I use for writing and blogging. I even purchased an external DVD drive, and found it quick and easy to use.

What I did not allude to in the blog post, “D Is For Dilemma’, was that I’d also upgraded to an iPhone XR from an iPhone 6S. I think this transition was harder due to the change from buttons to haptics, removal of the home button, and new gesturing commands as compared to the older phone.
Here is a little poem about it.
On the Tip of a Finger
By Ann Chiappetta

Tap.
Flick up.
Flick down.
tap tap.
use a digit
drag it around.

press side button;
“Hello Siri” — why doesn’t she talk?
Slide and lift
Thumbs are best to text.
Swipe up with index finger
Tap tap to select.
Tippity-tap tap
Doink doink doink
Try middle finger gesture instead.

Spell Onomatopoeia
 NOT ammonia —

Swish, swoosh blunk

Dexterity demands flanges
To execute a pinch or scrub.

“Hi Siri,”

I didn’t say that

Slide and lift
Thumbs are best to text.
Swipe up with index finger
Tap tap to select.

National Poetry Month

| Filed under Poem Relationships writing Writing Life

TROPHIES
By Ann Chiappetta

Burnished figures on pedestals
Inscribed electroplate
Into households they gather, insidious
Conniving onto shelf and mantle place

They represent childhood paragons
Foster a competitive edge;
Rally spirits when called upon
As we leap and clear the proverbial hedge

They possess our emotions, sentiments
Simbiants woven into beliefs
A bit of blanket, a toddler’s treasure
Photos that trigger grief

Even in death we cannot escape
Carved markers above bones underneath
Grassy knolls peppered with maudlin
Guardians, trophies the dead bequeath

Yet the living tend the reminders
While the dead are set free
What a breath holds dear
Spirits don’t need.

2005