Ann Chiappetta

Making Meaningful Connections

Stories From the Heart

| Filed under Fiction Relationships writing

Stories From The Heart – Tonight, July 8, 2020

Join us for an on-the-air book launch with authors Alvin Billings, Ann Chiappetta and Robert McNally.

http://betweenthecoverstv.com or http://facebook.com/betweenthecoverstv

Alvin Billings, launching his new release “Bronx Brat” – This is the story of Bernie, a Brat born and raised in the Bronx His story unfolds in the Bronx of the 1940s and 50s—a colorful mosaic of Italian, Irish and Jewish families. Local parks (especially the Bronx Zoo and Botanical Garden) were peaceful oases from crowded Bronx apartment houses. Bernie was highly intelligent and sought adult-level knowledge in local libraries. Bernie’s escapades were in the tradition of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. He showed both bravery and bravado by saving his Dad’s life at age ten. That same year, he joined a secret American branch of the Haganah to send guns, disguised as toys, to Israel. They were packed with greeting cards to Israeli children. Finally, a shocking family tragedy confronted Bernie as he reached adulthood and entered the working world, never to live as a Bronx Brat again.

Ann Chiappetta, author of “A String of Stories: From the Heart to the Future” – A demon deer and a ghost cat. Sibling rivalry and sexual awakening. Self-image and self-confidence. The chance for an offworlder to breathe free at last on a new planet. Those are just some of the diverse themes of these remarkable stories. Some endings are happy, some are sad, and some are intriguingly open-ended. But once you step inside the author’s world, you cannot emerge unmoved. This collection includes general fiction, science fiction, suspense, and paranormal pieces.

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Robert McNally, author of “I Had Jelly on My Nose and A Hole in My Breeches: The Memory of A Boy on his Dangerous Journey” – This is the memoir of a modern-day Huckleberry Finn who delighted in youthful romances and wild adventures. The author has many interesting stories about the 1930’s and 40’s. For instance, one evening in 1945 he and his friends built a fire in a parking lot. The next day they returned to the area only to discover something terrible and startling in the burned-out fire. The adventures are exciting, humorous, and well worth reading. You’ll have the feeling you are right there with him. Let the author take you on his dangerous journey.
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Pop Up Studio

| Filed under blindness writing Writing Life

Okay, folks, I am listening to your requests, 😊 Many of my friends wanted to know how I stepped into this home-grown recording studio thing in order to get my books on Audible. Ingenuity is born out of necessity, and my project objective was to create soundproofing without making it permanent.

The first step was to record and get feedback on the audio quality with my headset and office with the door closed. The feedback was received, suggesting softening the echo and also the background noise. I set in a chair near a window and the office door being closed did not shut out enough apartment noise, either. I tried a blanket over my head like a human tent pole but while it was better, it was hot and uncomfortable.

I was speaking to a writing friend and mentioned my dilemma and she said her husband uses moving blankets and hooks them to the wall. Amazon had two for less than $50. One draped over the curtain rod to cover the window and the other we rigged to close-off the desk area from the wall nearest the door to my desk. It works well and has made recordings better.

The photo is of my office desk, chair, pc and headset and the blanket strung across to act as a noise barrier using s hooks and metal posts. The blanket can be taken down, folded, and stored until it is needed.
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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.

First blog post

| 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.
https://www.thought-wheel.com/task-of-the-day/

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Old Poems Like New

| 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,
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.

Here is a song I found, written for a friend (really).

The Child Inside
Song lyrics

By Ann Chiappetta

family devotion died
the day he went away

The child inside
still cries when you sleep
The pain
makes you feel incomplete

He’s made a mess of your memories
He can’t come back into your life
And though you deny it
the reality cuts Like a knife

The child inside
still cries when you sleep
The pain
makes you feel incomplete

Don’t try to replace him
Sometimes lovers walk away, too;
discover why your heart
desires demons dressed in blue

The child inside
still cries when you sleep
The pain
makes you feel incomplete

2000

New Routines

| 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.
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.

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.

Performing Poetry and Friends In Art

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs Poem Relationships Writing Life

In July I had the chance to perform two poems, In Those Dark Moments C 2016 and On The Tip Of A Finger C 2019 at the Friends In Art ACB showcase.

I was inspired to do it after watching Tom Hanks do a piece of performance poetry on Jimmy Kimmel.
I also co-hosted it and had a lot of fun and met many great folks and talented musicians, singers, and performers. To view the poems, go to
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