Wednesday, December 5, 2012

NOVELTY

(Photo from cheezburger.com)

NOVELTY

Under house arrest…(you don’t see me here)

I’m not fluent in Idiot, so please speak very slowly to me

Do I look like a friggin’ people person?

Restraining orders are just another way of saying “I love you”

Revenge – the reason I get up each day

I hear voices and they don’t like you

I don’t discriminate – I hate everyone

Practice safe sex – go fuck yourself

Talk nerdy to me

Are you trying to piss me off?

You have my complete attention … until something better comes along

Heaven doesn’t want you and Hell is afraid you’ll take over

Everyone is entitled to be stupid … but you are abusing the privilege

I’m not ignoring you – you’re just not worth noticing

Your ridiculous opinion has been duly noted

Strangers have the best candy

If I throw a stick, will you go away?

Does it look like I care?

I reach my goal by lowering my standards

…And your whiny, crybaby opinion would be?

I don’t suffer from insanity … I enjoy every minute of it

Monday, December 3, 2012

Some Scars Don't Heal

The 2nd printing of my newest poetry chapbook - "Some Scars Don't Heal" - is now available for purchase on Amazon.com. This would make a great Christmas present or stocking stuffer for the reader in your life ... "A poetry collection to help heal emotional scars. Sometimes it is the scars you do not see that affect your life. This poetry collection is the therapy behind healing from these emotional scars. Written with feeling and heart, this book is one woman's way of putting the past behind her."

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Harrodsburg resident has story in popular book series

Thank you Jennifer Brummett of the Advocate Messenger:

COS COB, Conn. — “It was a reminder that love costs nothing, but means everything to a mother and her daughter.”

That’s how Malinda Dunlap Fillingim felt when her 5-year-old daughter worked hard to give her two quarters for Christmas. Her daughter, Hope, knew her mom loved to read the newspaper. They couldn’t afford to get a paper delivery and always read the paper together when they could find it for free.

Years later, when Hope went to college, Malinda gave her daughter a jar of quarters, “a reminder that her love was priceless to me.” Malinda, like the other contributors to “Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Mothers & Daughters” (Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC, March 13, 2012, 978-1935096818, $14.95), knows that while mother-daughter relationships will evolve over the years, they’re always something to be cherished.

USA Today: Harrodsburg resident Bobbie Rightmyer has a story in “The Magic of Mothers and Daughters.” It is titled “Ripped Pants,” and is located in Chapter 7, “Learning From Each Other.”

From tales of growing up, to encouragement, to learning from each other, the stories in “Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Mothers & Daughters” illustrate this special relationship. These stories will make you laugh, make you cry, and help you appreciate the special bond between mothers and daughters.

As Amy Newmark, co-author of this book and publisher of Chicken Soup for the Soul, writes in the introduction, “As they get older, our daughters become more and more like us. ... The little girl who wanted to be just like her mommy, wearing matching nightgowns, turned into the somewhat disdainful teenager who wanted to create her own identity, and then turned into the young adult who smiles when she is told ‘you are just like your mother.’”

Newmark recounts that her 20-something daughter has turned out as Version 2.0 — a better version of her mom.

Many contributors share stories of supportive mothers, like Caitlin Q. Bailey O’Neill, who writes that her mother encouraged her and her siblings to be confident and creative. Whether it was a unicorn, a hammerhead shark, an actress, or an English major, her mother’s answer was always the same: “Whatever you want to be.”

Mothers will see it’s OK to let their daughters grow up, like Victoria Koch, who had to accept her daughter had started driving. Readers will be uplifted when they read stories of reconciliation such as Lynn Sunday’s. She had a strained relationship, barely speaking, with her mother ever since her father died when she was a teenager. When her mother was 91 years old, mother and daughter learned it’s never too late to make amends. Contributor Lisa Tiffin sums it up like this: “Plenty of people joke they are afraid of becoming like their mothers, but for me I can only hope that I might be like her — kind, caring and in tune with what other people need.”

Whether they are looking for a little inspiration to improve their relationship, or just enjoy reading great stories from other mothers and daughters, this new “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book makes for a heartwarming and entertaining read and a wonderful gift.

Since 1993, books in the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series have sold over 112 million copies, with titles translated into over 40 languages. Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing also licenses the right to use its famous trademark to high quality licensees. The company is currently implementing a plan to expand into all media, is working with TV networks on several TV shows and is developing a major Internet presence dedicated to life improvement, emotional support, inspiration and wellness.

In 2007, USA Today named “Chicken Soup for the Soul” one of the five most memorable and impactful books in the last quarter century. For more information visit: www.chickensoup.com.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Battle Scars Anthology


I am happy to announce, I have had a poem printed in the Battle Scars
Anthology
edited by Jerome Brooke

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 70 KB
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B006WWGTIM

********

Isles - Astarte - Zylophone
Monograph
GoodSamaritan Press
2012
****
Eugenia Fain - Ron Koppelberger - Bobbi Rightmyer
Gordana Culibrk - Christina Murphy
Published by GoodSamaritan Press
Copyright 2012 GoodSamaritan Press



Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Weaving A New Eden


Weaving a New Eden by Sherry Chandler

Paperback: 108 pages
Publisher: Wind Publications (March 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 193613828X
ISBN-13: 978-1936138289

Sherry Chandler is a high caliber poet and author of two chapbooks: Dance the Black-Eyed Girl is #13 in the New Women’s Voices series from Finishing Line Press and My Will and Testament Is on the Desk is #4 in FootHills Publishing’s Poets on Peace Series. Weaving a New Eden is her first full-length book of poetry.

Weaving a New Eden takes us back to the beginnings of Kentucky, back to 1774 with Daniel and Rebecca Boone. I have lived my entire life in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, home of the first permanent settlement West of the Alleghany Mountains, founded by James Harrod, but visited by Daniel and Rebecca Boone and their family. The poems in this powerful book interrelate with the female heritage of Chandler and the frontier life faced by Rebecca Boone.

One of my favorite poems is “No More” because it reminds me of the death of my mother. Although my mother was 65 and Chandler’s was 91, the similarities of their deaths haunted me. Watching a parent, especially a mother, take a last breath is always hard, even if it comes at the end of a long illness. While many relatives may rush to claim treasures after the funeral, the last lines of this poem reverberated through me because it is similar to what I did when my own mother died:

“Last chance,”
he says,
“to claim what you want.”

I break a branch,
a blossom
from the hard winter pear.

“The Grandmother Acrostics” is a legacy of recollections from the women of Chandler’s past: Lettice, born ca 1774, who kept a Kentucky tavern; Lydia Simpson ca 1799, whose father kept a public house; Ambie W. True, October 1870, had seven children; Katherine B. Keith, September 1917, born weighing 14 pounds; and Chandler, February 1945, “dancing the figure of the Black-Eyed Girl.”

“Jemima Boone Speaks of Abduction, Boonesborough, July 1776” is a lyrical look at the torment Miss Boone at the hand of the Cherokees, Shawnees, who

“knew me for Boone’s child. We have done pretty well for Old Boone this time.”

“Rebecca Boone Speaks of Fidelity” starts out as,

“You should have staid home and got it yourself.”

What woman hasn’t thought this thought at one time in their lives?

At the end of this lovely book of historical poetry is a note section, letting the reader know about some of the research Chandler gathered in order to put this book together. This book is well-worth the read, especially, put not limited to, the women of Kentucky. History woven into poetry is a magical thing.


Sherry Chandler’s poem “Relics” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by qarrtsiluni in 2010. She won the Betty Gabehart Award from the Kentucky Women Writers Conference the Legacies Award from the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, the Kudzu poetry prize for 2006, and the Joy Bale Boone Prize for 2006. In 2005, she received a scholarship to attend the Kentucky Women Writers Conference, in 2007, she received a scholarship to attend the West Chester Poetry Conference where she studied with Molly Peacock, and in 2009 she received the Katherine Osborne Scholarship to attend the Wildacres Writers Workshop. She has received professional development funding (2005, 2009) and Professional Assistance Awards (1989, 2007, 2009) from the Kentucky Arts Council, and an Artist Enrichment Grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women (2008).


Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Grand Opening of Madibelle Blue


Harrodsburg has a new business - Madibelle Blue, an upscale retail store - and they will be having their Grand Opening - Open House this weekend. You are personally invited to Madibelle Blue's Grand Opening this Saturday, December 10th, from 9:00 AM until 12:00 Noon. Here are just a few of the events going on:

Breakfast with Santa Claus - Children can get their pictures taken with Santa. There is no charge, but donations are appreciated.

Warm beverages and yummy treats

Special entry to win door prize drawings

10% off discount for all in-store purchases

Ribbon cutting ceremony starts at 10:30

Taking orders for Rebecca Ruth Bourbon Balls and Candleberry Candles (also have some available at the store)

Avon's Debbie Butler will be on hand with holiday catelogs for ordering

2 Acre's Shy's Cheri Kuhn will be showcasing their natural and herbal products

Bobbi Dawn Rightmyer will be signing her book, co-authored by Anna Armstrong, "Images of America: Harrodsburg"

Hillbilly Zen - A Call To Arms For Horse Lovers - Please Act Quickly!

I am reprinting this for my friend, the Catfish Queen. It is a call to arms about the slaughter of horses for human consumption. Here is her article:

This Is Urgent - Horse Slaughterhouses Could Be Up And Running In Less Than A Month!

To anyone who reads my Hubs with any regularity, let me offer a preemptive apology. This one will most likely contain typos and grammar errors and not meet my usual standards, but this heinous information needs to be publicized as quickly as possible.

Without fanfare and under the guise of balancing the budget, Congress has made it profitable to butcher our horses. Within the month, horse slaughterhouses could be up and running across the United States. Tucked into the bill that kept the government running through December was a repeal of a 5 year funding ban for horsemeat inspections.

The USDA is the agency that would oversee the inspections, just as they do for meat, dairy, vegetables, etc. While the bill does not give the USDA additional funds, it is now within the agency's discretion to cut funding from other programs to cover the estimated $3 to $5 million dollars that would be required to run the inspection program. In other words, they'll rob Peter to pay Paul, funneling money that should be used to keep our food safe into this atrocity.

Lifting this ban opens the door to soulless opportunists who would line their pockets with money made by butchering horses. They will tell you that it's more humane than shipping the horses to Canada. They will tell you that it's a humane alternative, that the horses would be abused or starved otherwise. They will tell you that it's only the old, sick or un-trainable horses that will be slaughtered. They lie. Buyers of horse meat want only "prime cuts". They will not buy diseased carcasses for human consumption. This ban will allow young, healthy horses to be butchered by the thousands.

Here's what Dave Duquette, president of a pro-slaughter group called United Horsemen (irony, anyone?) bragged to CBS News - "I have personally probably five to 10 investors that I could call right now if I had a plant ready to go," said Duquette, who lives in Hermiston, Ore. He added, "If one plant came open in two weeks, I'd have enough money to fund it. I've got people who will put up $100,000." He's practically salivating about his share of the profits.

If any of y'all are from Wyoming, I urge you to contact Sue Wallis, a state lawmaker and, coincidentally I'm sure, the vice president of United Horsemen. Here's what Cruella, I mean Sue..had to say about the matter - "The federal ban devastated "an entire sector of animal agriculture for purely sentimental and romantic notions," she said. She's about to find out just how sentimental and romantic we are when our horses are threatened by people who only see dollar signs.

I'm a Kentucky girl, and we're proud of our horses and our whiskey. We were sickened to find out in 2002 that Ferdinand, the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner, had been butchered after being sold to a Japanese racing stable and shipped to Japan. This magnificent stallion, who had made his owners tons of money and had given excitement and enjoyment to legions of racing fans was butchered for DOG FOOD. Was he old, sick, or un-trainable? No. He simply was not profitable any more.

I'm begging all of you who read this to contact your state lawmakers and raise absolute teetotal hell. Tell everyone you know, and tell them to tell everyone they know. This ban was lifted deviously, and Congress thought they could get by with it. Please help me prove them wrong. I guess I could have included some video of horses being slaughtered to make this more incendiary, but I have faith, based on what I've seen on these pages, that a sincere plea will be enough. Please, please help. This has got to be stopped, and we don't have much time.

I've listed some relevant links below, and I'm betting that being the intelligent, creative and compassionate people I know y'all to be, you'll find more.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
Horses could soon be slaughtered for meat in US - CBS News
Horses could soon be slaughtered for meat in US


Death of a Derby Winner: Slaughterhouse Likely Fate for Ferdinand | BloodHorse.com
Ferdinand, the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner who went on to capture the following year's Horse of the Year title with a dramatic victory over 1987 Derby hero Alysheba in the Breeders' Cup Classic, is dead. The Blood-Horse has learned the big chestnut...

Indyarocks Videos - Rescued from Slaughter Mare and Foal
Rescued from Slaughter Mare and Foal. This mare was rescued from slaughter. It is NOT the sick and elderly that are sent to slaughter! Find this video and other related videos at Indyarocks.

Why healthy foals - some just a day old - are being killed across Britain...
Graceful and sleek, the beautiful bay racehorse was used to the thunder of applause as she swept past the grandstand - not the sound of a rifle.

These Links Will Show You How Your Lawmakers Voted And How To Contact Them. Please Make Some Noise, Folks!
GovTrack: Senate Vote on Conference Report: H.R. 2112: Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropria

GovTrack: House Vote on Conference Report: H.R. 2112: Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriat

Contacting the Congress: A Citizen's Congressional Directory

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Louisville poet nominated for the national Pushcart Prize for Poetry

My friend and Kentucky author - Sheri Wright - has been nominated for a national Pushcart Prize in Poetry: 
Local poet, Sheri Wright in the running for prestigious prize
 LOUISVILLE, Ky., ( December 6, 2011) – Sheri L. Wright was nominated for the Pushcart Prize by Journey MacAndrew’s, the editor of The Single Hound for her poem The Tenants of Central Park, published August 2011 as part of the "Poet of the Month" selections. 
Not since 2002, has a Louisville poet won the national Pushcart Prize for Poetry. Sheri L. Wright, author of five books of poetry, is the host of a literary radio show From the Inkwell. Wright hopes to break the lull with her nomination. When asked about this prestigious nomination Ms. Wright said, “I credit my success to a variety of writer's critique groups, like the Green River Writers, and to individual poets. I also worked with acting and voice coaches to improve my reading.” She believes that this formula helped her to learn her craft.
Ms. Wright also attributes her achievements to learning to get out of her own way, and to stop over-thinking the creative process. Wright is committed to her art and engages in the creative process daily, by writing, editing her work, or reading other poets and writers.
Wright's newest book of poetry, The Slow Talk of Stones, was released this year and has received many favorable reviews in regional blogs and newspapers, including The Courier-Journal and Lexington's Herald-Examiner.
Currently, Wright seeks ways to help other writers in the region find voice on her literary radio show, From the Inkwell, which is a live-streaming broadcast aired on Saturdays at 1:00 p.m., on http://www.cescenthillradio.com/, a non-profit station in Louisville, KY. Sheri also founded and hosts the Stone Soup Poetry Series, held the last Sunday of every month at The Bard's Town, restaurant, theatre and lounge located at 1801 Bardstown Road. Ms. Wright features poets and musicians. She feels that collaboration between artists of all mediums is not only fun, but key to supporting one another.
To purchase Wright's books, schedule a reading, workshop or editing services, please visit http://www.scribblingsandsuch.com/.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Chicken Soup for the Soul - The Magic of Mothers and Daughters

My story - "Ripped Pants" - has been choosen for the new book "Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Mothers and Daughters." I am so excited!!


The book is available for pre-order on Amazon - the book will be released March 13, 2012!


This is a story about a lesson I learned from my wonderful daughter, Christine, when she wore a pair of ripped pants to school one day. Thanks so much to Christine for the inspiration to write something that will now be published in a mainstream book!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Nonesuch Festival

We will be at the 4th Annual Nonesuch Days @ Camp on the Kentucky in Versailles this weekend selling "Harrodsburg (Images of America)," as well as a few of my chapbooks: "Care and Feeding of Nightmares" and "Bobbi's Mercer Memories Vol. I and II." Come on out and see us!

The address is Camp Ground - 5486 Cummins Ferry Road - Versailles, KY 40383 - from 10am until 5pm.