Shanon Angermeyer Norman
Bio
Gold, Published Poet at allpoetry.com since 2010. USF Grad, Class 2001.
Currently focusing here in VIVA and Challenges having been ECLECTIC in various communities. Upcoming explorations: ART, BOOK CLUB, FILTHY, PHOTOGRAPHY, and HORROR.
Stories (377)
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Frustrated and Restless
I have so much frustration pent up and I've got to rant and vent again. I just spent my Tuesday morning watching videos of towns and cities around the United States that are swamped with homeless people and failing economies. Poverty, crime, and depression in abundance in many towns and cities and it breaks my heart. This is not the America I remember from my childhood in the 70s. This is not the America I remember as a teenager in the 80s. I know some things started going bad for America in the 90s, but now in this new millenium, things have gone from bad to horrible, and I don't want to sit here and do nothing but whine and cry about it. I want to get out there and get my hands dirty and do whatever I can.
By Shanon Angermeyer Norman2 years ago in The Swamp
Detailing My Stance on Children
I just have to get this out. People really hate me or think I'm a psycho when they hear me say something snide or sarcastic about parents and their children. Forgive me. I don't really hate children. I feel sorry for them and their parents. Oh, I know I'm supposed to congratulate a new mom who's changing her baby's diaper, and I know I'm suppose to look at the proud parents holding their youngin's hands with a smile of pride and approval, but that's not the way I really feel. I don't believe in that kind of stuff anymore. I've seen too much bad stuff go down in those nuclear type of families. It's not "Little House on the Prairie" or "The Waltons" anymore. After "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" really showed me what Americans think about the family, I could never look at parents and children the same way again.
By Shanon Angermeyer Norman2 years ago in Families
Male Roles in Society
I saw the movie "Dead Poet's Society" over 30 years ago when I was still in high school and falling more in love with poetry and my English classes. Robin Wiliams starred as the main teacher who is "fired" from the job that he gives up having a normal life for (because "he loves teaching") due to a student committing suicide and leaving the school with no other option. The student (Neal) who committed suicide did so because he could not find a way to make his family happy and be happy for himself. His good family expected him to continue on with his education and become a doctor. They were not extremely wealthy according to Neal, although the scenes show that they were probably upper middle class and the movie suggests that they had planned this "doctor" role for Neal all of Neal's life. Yet Neal did not want to be a doctor, and knowing that his desire to be an actor would cause his family pain, was too painful for him to endure. He felt like he had no choice. He felt trapped in a no-win situation. The story is tragic. Not only did a beloved inspiring teacher lose his job, but a loving couple lost their son, all because there was not enough honesty and compromise in the communications. A sad case of "My way or the highway" ending up in dire consequences.
By Shanon Angermeyer Norman2 years ago in Geeks
Black People are subjected to the most Stereotypes
I feel like I'm a backwards Oreo cookie - black on the inside, and white on the outside. I've read the traditional historical accounts about Africa and slavery and the civil war and the civil rights movement. I've watched movies, shows, and read books about Black people and witnessed the same diversity of stories that I witnessed about White people. I have written poems and essays declaring that I am not "racist" because I do my best not to judge a person on their skin color, but try to understand them based on their heritage, culture, and education. Still, after 50 plus years of defending my White American self, (always bitter about the word "slave") I will admit one opinion I have about Black people: Black people are subjected to the most Stereotypes.
By Shanon Angermeyer Norman2 years ago in History
Why I despise Skinny Women
So we've watched the reviews of shows and movies, and all the superhero movies we thought would do well, bombed at the box office while Mel Gibson and the "Sound of Freedom" surprised everyone along with Jason Aldean's comeback song "Try that in a small town" which all goes to show that the population's tastes haven't changed that much. We (the population) still love "expose" and we still love to see the dirty laundry. There is probably no better classic American band than "The Eagles", who already knew all of this stuff (I think it was Don Henley who sang about dirty laundry) way before any of these reviews were written or discussed.
By Shanon Angermeyer Norman2 years ago in Viva
Tour Guide of Pinellas County
There have been many tourists and visitors who have come to Pinellas County to see the beautiful cities of Saint Petersburg, Treasure Island, Gulfport, Pinellas Park, Largo, Seminole, Clearwater, Dunedin, and Tarpon Springs. Pinellas County is a beach county and often lumped with Tampa as part of Tampa Bay (when they call it Tri-City area) so that tourists who like the "beach" will know that Tampa has access to more than a bay. I've lived in Pinellas County for a long time and I've seen it grow just like I did when I lived in Tampa. Many things change over the years, but some things stay the same. For this "tour" I'm going to talk mostly about the things that have stayed the same. Maybe I'll write another article later about the things that have changed.
By Shanon Angermeyer Norman2 years ago in FYI
Journal of my Direction
I have everything I need at this time. Some would say I should be content. I have a roof over my head, food in my belly, a place to shower and bathe, some clothes to wear, and I'm even fortunate enough to have my own vehicle, paid for and legal. I have a small income and I get by through the month. I'm not considered wealthy by financial standards, but I don't feel poor either because I can usually afford luxuries like cigarettes and a night or two out on the town. So life is simple now and I'm wise enough to know that's a good thing.
By Shanon Angermeyer Norman3 years ago in Humans
Isolation, Neglect, and Apathy in Society
I haven't wanted to leave the house lately. I think about reclusive personalities that I've read about (like Emily Dickinson) and seen in movies (like Helen Hudson played by Sigourney Weaver in Copycat) and I wonder if my attitude is "normal" or "crazy" or "typical" considering what everybody has seen and heard this past decade. I don't believe that isolation is a "normal" human behavior or that it is good for us, yet it seems to me that the whole construct of the city (not saying that rural areas are any better) is set up to promote isolation, neglect, and apathy. I find it distressing as I approach my elder years having already qualified for retirment a bit early, knowing that the "good times" or "glory days" of my past are extinct. The young people today have a totally different attitude and outlook on what fun is, what success is, and what family is. The old values have been replaced by new technology, new ideology, and new ethics. Sociology was supposed to teach me and citizens how to get along with others in various settings, but even with my age, experience, and education, I'm discovering over and over again that there is no way to learn what Sociology promised to teach. It makes me refer to a character in the movie "Shawshank Redemption" ---- Brooks. He had been "institutionalized" meaning after he received his life sentence to prison, he never considered that he would be set free. So when they released him as a very old man, and he saw the world again after all those years away from it, it was not only shocking, but too "fast" and too "different" for him to adapt to. This is happening to me and others, not because we don't know what adapting is and not because we are lazy or unable to try something new, but simply because the skills required (like cell phones, apps, gps, etcetera) are not created with elders in mind. These new modern inventions were created soley for the next generation --- those who have perfect vision, perfect hearing, and perfect health. So the rest of us who have survived the "wars" of life and have any disabilities not only have to endure the civilization with our handicaps, but we also have to tolerate the fact that the younger and healthier folks get additional benefits simply because technology is on their side, invented for them, not for the elders who need help more than they do.
By Shanon Angermeyer Norman3 years ago in The Swamp
The Age of the Voyeur
I don't hate society and civilization as much as I gripe like I do. It's just that I had hoped that after 2023 years of biblical studies and holy wars and 200 years of American indoctrination, humans would have evolved enough to be honest with themselves and others. I know we all lie sometimes to makes things easier or kinder, but some of the bologna sandwiches that the media serves are just plain rotten and I'm not talking about Rotten Tomatoes.
By Shanon Angermeyer Norman3 years ago in Geeks
Don't Underestimate a Star
So if you know me you know that I was a big fan of the Netflix show "Stranger Things" and I had wanted to see Hopper in the Santa Claus comedy movie, but I didn't get to the theater in time to do so. I didn't even check how many rotten tomatoes it got, but the trailers made me laugh and I still want to see it. Maybe next Christmas.
By Shanon Angermeyer Norman3 years ago in Geeks
Thinking about Roles I've played
I was thinking about all the characters I've seen in shows or read about in books and how archtypes do define us whether we know about them or not. There are many roles for us to play in a lifetime. We begin as someone's child, then when we are considered "grown up" or "adult" we take on other roles, sometimes big and sometimes small. Like a bagger in a grocery store is a small role, yet that doesn't mean the bagger is not an adult. Just not a super powered Boss in a stressful management position. I think the bagger role, even if it's considered small, is more like what I want to be about in this phase or stage of my life. I'm 52 and big responsibility seems to me too much stress that I don't want to spend whatever energy I have on. I'm usually good at coming up with ideas for businesses or those with money and ambition. I wish I could just be an advisor that could sell my ideas instead of being envious about not making money because I can't lead or create the enterprise. Regardless, I know that there have been many archtypes that have not only influenced my life, but that my life has emulated.
By Shanon Angermeyer Norman3 years ago in Journal
