Hello all, I just wanted to share some thoughts during the C19 crisis. By now the likelihood that each of us has lost someone or knows someone who has contracted C19 is a reality. My heart feels it and my mind is distracted with worry. I know I am not alone in feeling this way, if you are reading this take some comfort in knowing we as a community understand what it means to be experiencing these unprecedented times and that you are not alone. | Filed under blindness Fiction writing Writing Life Hi folks, author and blogger, Debbie De Louise is hosting me as a guest blogger. Please visit Guest Post by Fellow Pet Lover and author/Poet Ann Chiappetta | Filed under blindness Fiction Relationships writing Writing Life | Filed under blindness Poem Relationships Writing Life My first blog post on word press was on November 7, 2008. Since that time, I’ve completed 315 posts and attracted almost 500 followers. I hope to keep going and love to blog. Stand by for some older poetry and a new book. Until then, keep reading and writing. | Filed under blindness Poem Relationships Writing Life I began writing poetry in earnest after finding out I was going blind, in the early 1990s. Looking back, the poems I wrote during this dark time was a way to cope with the inevitable grief and loss I felt, and would feel, for a long time. Progressive vision loss infiltrates one’s sense of hope and resiliency, Here is a song I found, written for a friend (really). The Child Inside By Ann Chiappetta family devotion died The child inside He’s made a mess of your memories The child inside Don’t try to replace him The child inside 2000 | Filed under blindness Poem Writing Life I am often asked about the process of writing when being interviewed. Folks are curious about the manifestation of creativity and how it influences writing poetry. While I am certainly not an expert on the subject for anyone else but myself, I strongly suspect the Muse bestows the inspiration upon each of us in a unique manner. We do have gross similarities, like the tools we use, i.e., laptops or hand-written pages, etc., but we also diverge once the synapses fire and begin the journey of creation in each of our minds. For example, I often dream my writing ideas. I’ve been awakened by lines of text, images, and what I call mental films playing along in my head. This is a curious thing, because I’ve been blind for over thirty years yet I continue to dream as if I’d never lost it. Full technicolor, for sure. Recently I awoke from a musing and it resulted in a poem, the first poem written in 2020. I also somehow created a fantasy story with a swashbuckling immortal character named Von and a humanoid species called Felini, cat-like creatures with names like Tika, Shona, and Flame. Where the story will take me, only the muse knows but I like where I’m going. I wish I could share the poem, but, now that potential publishers and literary magazines consider posting on a blog “previously published” and will reject an author’s work because of this, I must hold such things aside until published. May the Muse be with you. Poem from the poetry collection, Upwelling; Poems C 2016 availible on Amazon and Audible Sleep-film portrays lurching scenes of Disney World Sleep-film shuffles Scrambling through the Florida downpour Flash point warnings ignite around us Fear not, here is something written and previously published. | Filed under blindness Guide dogs Poem Writing Life Tranquil photo of stacked stones beside circular pattern in the sand. Take advantage of the Smashwords book sale from December 25 to January 1. All three of my titles are discounted at checkout, no hunting for discount codes. Here’s the link to find out more: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AnnChiappetta | Filed under blindness Guide dogs Relationships Writing Life I would most likely be presented with most of these as a white cane user when traveling without a guide dog, although, perhaps the extra leg room seats would not be part of it. Traveling with a disability can be challenging enough, thank-you. My dog guides me safely while also assisting in softening the stressors of traveling. A dog also helps with engaging in social events. A few of the little-known perks are humorous, along with being practical. For instance, my dog, like many other guide dogs, is an expert at finding friends and family during parties and in crowds. Both my current dog and my retired dog have found my husband or other guide dog users countless times. They are creatures of habit and will most likely show the handler familiar locations and individuals. I think of it as, “Hey, is this the door you want? Or Hey, we know this person, maybe you want to talk to them again so I can say hi to their dog? The most recent time I recall being surprising as well as useful was during a convention. Upon exiting the elevator, Bailey began pulling harder and I knew he was on a mission. He brought me up to my friend and her new dog. The same friend who trained beside us for two weeks when I first got Bailey. It was very smart, for a dog. 😊 I didn’t even think he would remember her, but he did. We also had this sneaking suspicion Bailey and her new dog, (not the one who trained with us) and Bailey knew one another from the kennel, acting like old friends. Some folks say being a guide dog user is too-time consuming, that it’s all about the dog, and the extra attention is difficult to manage. Personally speaking, I prefer the social and travel advantages my dog provides. It far outweighs the annoyances. | Filed under blindness Guide dogs Relationships Writing Life New Routines It’s been 3 months since I’ve stopped working. The first month was the hardest, trying to make sense of things, second guessing myself and clinging to what was left of my self-confidence. Month two was filled with phone calls, meetings and interviews, followed by the realization that at my age and because of my disability, I might not ever work again. I began to tell people I am semi-retired and it is still what I am sticking with as I write this blog post. The most interesting pieces of being home, other than the nagging holes of time, is how our animals have adjusted. They appear to like it, especially my 13-year-old lab, Verona, and the cat, Titan. For instance, Verona expects a walk around 2 p.m. It doesn’t matter if she went out at 10 a.m., when 2 p.m. comes around, she’s panting and poking at me. We have also gotten into what I will call treat-time. Titan and Verona appear at my desk chair. I get poked by the dog and the cat jumps up on the desk. This means the human must dispense treats. A Few Kittie crunchies for the cat and a few low-calorie treats for the dogs. Yes, Bailey is there as soon as he hears the cat treat bag open. Piggy boy. Our third dog, May, is usually with our daughter, so she loses out until later. At 3-ish, we go for walkies and May and Bailey play after May is walked. The human is bothered again by piggy boy Bailey for dinner at after play time. If the animals weren’t here to keep me busy, it would be much harder to stay focused. I find it ironic that the day has conformed to what I refer to as Zoo time. Maybe I can find employment at a kennel instead. | Filed under blindness Fiction Guide dogs Poem writing Writing Life Good Books, Unique Gifts, and New Opportunities at your Fingertips First Book Fair Behind Our Eyes, an organization of writers with disabilities, held its first virtual book fair conference call. Bonnie Blose and Marilyn Brandt Smith hosted this two-hour event. A brief introduction to the focus and activities of the organization was followed by a parade of books: poetry, novels, memoirs, writings of the holiday season, essays, and a newly released handbook written to assist navigating the health care system for blind and visually impaired consumers., Nine authors presented information about their books, totaling fifteen publications. Behind Our Eyes members listened and also had time to ask each author questions after each presentation. With over two hundred and seventy-three recordings, 2 published anthologies and an active writing community, Behind Our Eyes, a 501-C-3 nonprofit organization, is known throughout the United States as a respected resource for and community of writers with visual impairments. Visit http://www.behindoureyes.org/wp/bookfair/ to read more and download this conference recording. Share it with your friends and newsletters, magazines, etc. Visit www.behindoureyes.org for contact or membership information or a form to offer feedback, ask questions, or join this amazing organization. List of Presenters: Alice Massa, Peter Altschul, Joan Myles, Ann Harrison Barns, Carrie Hooper, Deborah Kendrick, Anne Chiappetta, Abbie Johnson Taylor,Lynda McKinney Lambert, and Marilyn Brandt Smith
Taking in our current situation and communication limitations, due to physical distancing, I became a Zoom account user and below is the link to my first recorded meeting. The host is Patty Fletcher of Tell-It-to-The-World Marketing and Business Assist. I hope it is a novel distraction from what is going on right now.
https://tinyurl.com/tjqjgrm by annchiappetta_nxovue |
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Guest post on Rough Drafts
Featured Member on NFAA
First blog post
https://www.thought-wheel.com/task-of-the-day/Old Poems Like New
Two emotional Aspects Which Appear in many of the poems written from the 1990s. The poems are also an inventory of sorts, and, as I become reacquainted with them, I am, in turn, becoming acquainted with my feelings and emotions during this time of fear, depression, and anger. I also discovered I’ve grown beyond these feelings and emotions and have learned to accept my disability and embrace the creativity and how much healing I’ve done since then.
Song lyrics
the day he went away
still cries when you sleep
The pain
makes you feel incomplete
He can’t come back into your life
And though you deny it
the reality cuts Like a knife
still cries when you sleep
The pain
makes you feel incomplete
Sometimes lovers walk away, too;
discover why your heart
desires demons dressed in blue
still cries when you sleep
The pain
makes you feel incompleteThe Words Keep Coming
DREAM
© 2016 by Ann Chiappetta
damp pavement trod on by millions of feet.
You stand on the recently dried cobblestones
of Main Street U.S.A.
A somber overcoat hangs on you like a dish rag.
emancipating your regrets.
Tears and mumbled blessings
mix as our faces touch.
Your cheek is cold and cancerous.
A Barker lures us inside.
My florid yellow jacket drips
Your loose, somber coat is as dry as a shroud.
Inside, double doors lead to a great hall.
Black tie patrons rotate on the dance floor like dolls.
Your arm sweeps in the gala affair,
“A gift for us to remember me.” you say.
I’m aggrieved by your vanity
like confetti stars
the dolls applaud as they fall.Smashwords book sale
Looking for a unique eBook for a special gift for a fellow reader? Do you belong to a book club and need to find a low-priced eBook with a beautiful cover and meaningful content? Do you like to load up your book reader with great titles for the wintertime? Look no further, 
Smashwords has what you want.
Guide Dog Lifestyle: Is This What You Want?
Working with a guide dog brings along perks, like being offered the aisle seat at events, being given the extra leg room seats on trains, and pre-boarding when flying. These, of course, are the obvious advantages.
New Routines
Month three is starting to be the new routine: stay up late, sleep late, write, and mix in job trolling, meetings, and motivate myself to do the mundane household tasks. Sigh.Virtual Book Fair
Zoom helps pass the time
| Filed under blindness writing Writing Life