WHAT LOOKS LIKE CRAZY ON AN ORDINARY DAY PDF, EPUB, EBOOK

Pearl Cleage | 244 pages | 01 Feb 2009 | HarperCollins Publishers Inc | 9780061710384 | English | New York, NY, United States What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage

Gone to the Crazies. As a child, Alison Weaver's life shone with surface-level perfection—full of nannies, private schools, and As a child, Alison Weaver's life shone with surface-level perfection—full of nannies, private schools, and ballet lessons. She had all the luxuries of a wealthy Manhattan upbringing, and all the makings of a perfect Upper East Side miss. But her All the color and action of liners, tankers, tugs, barges, ferryboats, and fireboats in a All the color and action of liners, tankers, tugs, barges, ferryboats, and fireboats in a harbor are presented in this exciting visual adventure. Harbor is a picture book, and a great one at that. Every library will want it. Now get ready to Now get ready to meet his shark of an agent, Heath Champion, and Annabelle Granger, the girl least likely to succeed. Annabelle's endured dead-end jobs, a broken engagement. No Ordinary Groom. She'd always imagined herself marrying She'd always imagined herself marrying someone daring, adventurous, exciting. Instead, the man her father has betrothed her to is Certainly William Chadwick is devastatingly handsome, but Jane could never Ordinary Beast. The story is about Ava Johnson who moves from her high-flying life in Atlanta back to her hometown in Michigan for the summer when she learns she has HIV. Ultimately, the novel is about love and family, responsibility, and finding life and joy in the face of almost certain death. Although her sister Joyce counsels her to stay quiet about it, she decides that the right thing to do is to write letters to all her lovers from the past ten years to tell them to get tested. The wife of one of the men comes into her salon and furiously outs her. Even though Ava tries to reassure her clients and do damage control, her business dries up and she is shunned from society. Her only option is to sell her house and business and move to the West Coast for the fall, but she decides to spend the summer with her widowed sister in their hometown of Idlewild, Michigan first. She also reconnects with Eddie Jefferson, an old friend who might evolve into a new flame. She runs a Sunday nursery at the church, which evolved into a support group for young women who have young children but no jobs or future. Affectionately nicknamed the Sewing Circus, the group is threatened by the arrival of a new pastor and his wife, both staunch conservatives who want to focus on traditional Christian education and outreach instead. Joyce, however, has plans to educate young women on AIDS, safe sex, and other important health topics, which scandalizes the Reverend and his wife. The mother left the hospital and disappeared, and none of her family wants the baby. As a promiscuous woman herself, Ava does not see the girls as examples of the dangers of promiscuity. Another narrator might perceive them as young women who lack virtue or character. Ava relates her experiences, past and present, and she is open about her feelings and attitudes. The reader really gets to know Ava because Cleage's focus is on maintaining her voice consistently throughout the novel. As a narrator, Ava is cynical, sarcastic, sensitive, and self-assured. Her sarcasm is established early in the novel. Describing women on television who tell their stories of contracting AIDS, Ava remarks, "There they were, weeping and wailing and wringing their hands, wearing their prissy little Laura Ashley dresses and telling their edited-for-TV life stories. As the novel's narrator, Ava reveals her past alongside her present. These time shifts seem natural, as they occur when something in Ava's present reminds her of something in her past. This gives the reader two benefits: first, the reader is able to understand Ava's background and why she came to Idlewild to see her sister; and, second, the reader is able to see how Ava's past relates to what is happening to her at certain moments. When Eartha Imani's crack-addicted, HIV-positive, teenage mother leaves the hospital and abandons the baby, Joyce is dumbfounded. Ava, however, remarks, "Homegirl's trying to walk away from that HIV. She's trying to decide if she's going to tell anyone or just keep living her life and see what happens. I used to wish I hadn't taken the test so I still wouldn't know. Ava's recollections sometimes shift abruptly from one time period to another. In some cases, Ava breaks off her recollection to return to the present moment. This usually signifies either that the memory is becoming too painful or that the present holds something more promising than the memory. An example of this is when Ava tells the reader about a jazz musician with whom she had a serious relationship. They were involved when she found out she was HIV positive, and her expectations were terribly disappointed. As Ava tells this story, she breaks off suddenly to return to telling about the present:. When I got the results and told him, he sat there and listened to me tell it all and then he picked up his coat and his horn case and walked out the door. No good-bye. No damn, baby, what we gonna do? One minute he was there, then he was gone. That was it. Ava abruptly switches from this memory to telling the reader that she went with Joyce to see Eartha's sister, Mattie, about the baby. Her switch from a painful memory to an incident in the present shows that she is eager to stop thinking about the profound disappointments in her past and focus instead on what is happening in the present. At other times, Ava embraces the present because it offers her something better than her memories offer. Realizing that she will not be around for much of Imani's life, Ava determines to be as focused on the present as possible. She writes:. So I took a deep breath like they keep saying in this meditation tape and tried to focus on being right in this room, right in this moment , and I actually felt better! It was amazing. I dragged that scared part of myself kicking and screaming into the present moment and it was so good to be there. I started grinning like an idiot. The U. Because the first clusters of cases were among homosexuals, the disease was strongly characterized as a gay disease for many years. During the early s, the number of AIDS cases rose dramatically every year. By , the CDC was aware of 86, cases, compared to only cases reported in Although there was a small number of victims who were considered blameless by the general public such as recipients of blood transfusions and babies of mother with AIDS , the disease retained its social stigma for many years. Ignorance about the disease was also widespread and ingrained. This attitude is revealed in What Looks Like Crazy when Ava picks up her prescriptions from the pharmacy, and the pharmacist handles her bag and her money with great care. In the same scene, Gerry Anderson tells Ava that she does not want her grandson, Tyrone, making pharmacy deliveries to Ava because he is their only grandchild. Headlines around the United States, however, often told more severe stories than Ava's story. Ryan White , a boy in Indiana, became a household name when he was an outcast at school and in town after contracting AIDS from a blood transfusion. In Florida, three boys in one family received tainted blood transfusions and, when they contracted the virus, someone burned their home to the ground. Many believed that people with AIDS had brought the disease on themselves and "deserved" it. Some religious fundamentalists claimed that the disease was divine punishment for amoral living. The government was slow to respond to the growing AIDS epidemic in terms of research and education. In the s, education improved the public's understanding of the disease and helped qualm fears. Announcements by respected athletes with HIV positive status such as Magic Johnson and Greg Louganis helped remove the stigma to a certain extent. The generous and vocal support of celebrities brought a sense of urgency to the search for better treatments and a cure. Hanks won an Academy Award for his portrayal of the main character. Awareness and prevention education expanded, and research continued to improve treatments. Still, perceptions of and reactions to the disease are mixed, and many people with HIV-positive status endure social discrimination. African Americans make up approximately 14 percent of the American population but comprise 41 percent of all AIDS cases. Among newly diagnosed women, 64 percent are black, 18 percent are white, and 18 percent are Hispanic. Incidence among black women, especially in the South , rose throughout the s. While some women contract the disease from intravenous drug use, another major factor is heterosexual sex. In , when What Looks Like Crazy was published, American teenagers faced problems that had been much less common in the generations before them. These issues included teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, violence, and living in single-parent homes. During the s, about one million teenage girls 10 percent of the total U. In , almost 13 percent of all births in the United States were to teenage mothers. Teenage pregnancy rates are higher than those in many other developed countries, and the problem cost the United States seven billion dollars in Some social commentators assert that teen pregnancy creates a cycle: many girls who become pregnant come from single-parent homes, and then they become single parents. In , almost ten million single mothers were heading households; twenty-five million children were being reared without fathers; and 42 percent of those children had never seen their fathers' houses. In , 26 percent of families with children were headed by single parents, and 42 percent of those single parents had never been married. Drug abuse was another major issue among teenagers in the s. Nearly 10 percent of adolescents between the ages of twelve and seventeen used illegal drugs in Although use of drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin declined through the s, use of "designer" drugs such as ecstasy rose dramatically. Not surprisingly, teenagers who are under the influence of drugs may become violent or sexually uninhibited, both of which often lead to long-term consequences. Although Cleage already enjoyed success as a playwright and essayist, in she ventured into novel writing with What Looks Like Crazy. Critics generally deemed her work in fiction as accomplished as her previous work in other forms. What Looks Like Crazy earned the acclaim of reviewers for its irreverent tone, relevant social issues, and well-developed characters. A Publishers Weekly reviewer notes that "first-time novelist Cleage, without succumbing to didacticism, delivers a work of intelligence and integrity. Vanessa Bush of Booklist describes the novel as "riveting," adding that this "funny, irreverent, and hopeful novel is stunningly real and evocative. Bussey holds a master's degree in interdisciplinary studies and a bachelor's degree in English literature. She is an independent writer specializing in literature. In the following essay, Bussey explores the significance of Ava's revisiting her childhood hometown of Idlewild. Deciding to start a new life, she chooses San Francisco as her new home but first wants to visit her older sister, Ava, in Idlewild, Michigan, for the summer. Ava and Joyce grew up in Idlewild, and Ava's reaction to the declining resort town is similar to that of most people who revisit their childhood hometowns. She is struck by the changes, but she is also surprised at the things that have not changed and the people who still live there or who have returned to live there again after some time away. What Ava does not know when she first arrives is that she too is returning for more than just a visit. Ava comments that in the early days of Idlewild, the town was full of idle men and wild women. Once a popular resort town, Idlewild is now declining and no longer draws tourists. Ava's impression is that the town is stagnating, and there is little evidence of its exciting past. Still, the town's name is fitting; the youth in the town are both idle and wild. With the exception of Aretha, they seem to lack ambition or vision; they do not even have the attitude shared by so many teenagers of being eager to get out of their hometown and see other parts of the world. They expect to stay right where they are and do not even consider other possibilities. The youth are also wild; their lives revolve around sex, drugs, alcohol, and violence. From Ava's perspective, the frequency of teenage pregnancy and crack use in Idlewild is unexpected. She is stunned because she thought that these problems would be out of her life once she left the big city of Atlanta. Instead, she finds them as commonplace in Idlewild as they are in Atlanta and, probably, San Francisco. Although she may have expected to enjoy a break from urban ills, she learns that these ills are universal. Because she has seen the problems of the urban youth in Atlanta, she quickly recognizes the same defiant attitudes in some of the young men in Idlewild. I felt sorry for them. I'd seen boys in my Atlanta neighborhood grow into swaggering young men who were suddenly scary until you looked into their still baby faces and realized who they used to be, but I also knew how dangerous they were. I'd seen Frank hit that girl like he didn't care if he broke every bone in her face. I'd seen Tyrone smoking dope right behind his grandmother's back. It was tempting but foolhardy to focus on their vulnerability instead of your own. Realizing that social ills are everywhere is an important part of Ava's learning that she cannot outrun her HIV-positive status. The same devastation and discrimination she experienced in Atlanta, where she contracted it, will follow her to Idlewild and to San Francisco, where she expects to start a new life. Idlewild was once a resort town, a place where people went to escape temporarily the demands of their everyday lives. Tourists came to Idlewild for respite, just as Ava does. She expects to take a break from worrying about her life and its new demands, but she finds that she must still confront her uncertain future and the regrets of her past. In this light, it is appropriate that Idlewild is no longer the haven from the city that it once was; it cannot offer Ava a place to leave her problems behind. Late in the story, she confides that the problem with knowing the truth deep down is that it makes it hard to pretend. She adds that, ever since she arrived in Idlewild, she has been trying to pretend that "this place is so far away from the scene of the crime that the consequences can't catch me. Ava and Idlewild have three important similarities. The first is that they are seemingly on the decline yet still have much to offer. The second is that their histories demonstrate what is temporary and what is permanent. And the third is that they reflect major social issues of the s. Anyone visiting Idlewild can see that it is a town in decline. Its exciting past contrasts sharply with its troubled present. Although it is no longer a resort town and social problems are a growing issue, it is still rich in history and potential. While some of its residents represent the worst of society, there are also people who represent the best of human nature. In these ways, Idlewild mirrors Ava. She is in decline, waiting for the inevitable destruction of her health and quality of life, but she is still engaged in life and working to improve herself and her community. She has the wisdom and perspective she lacked in her younger years, so she too is rich in history and potential. As a woman who is HIV positive, she embodies a major social problem, but through her loyalty, generosity, and humor she also embodies the resilience and strength of the human spirit. Idlewild is not all good and not all bad, so Ava is not in a position either to give up on it or to declare it perfect. Instead, she is compelled to participate in it, attaching herself to what is good and promising about it and working to repair what is destructive and frightening about it. The more she learns to deal with her HIV-positive status, the more she responds to herself the same way she responds to the town. The second similarity between Idlewild and Ava is that they illustrate the passing fun of temporary excitement and the stability of lasting character. Idlewild was once a thriving resort town for African Americans. It was rich with entertainment, nightlife, and interesting visitors. Now these elements are gone, but they were never really a fundamental part of the town. Touring entertainers came and went, the nightlife came alive only when the sun went down, and the interesting visitors finished their stays and returned to their homes. What was always constant about Idlewild was its population of permanent residents. Families like the one in which Joyce and Ava were reared, and notable people like "Wild Eddie" Jefferson, stayed in Idlewild throughout every season. For Ava, the things in her life that were fleeting, such as parties, one-night stands, and alcohol, are now gone. But the permanent fixtures, like her intelligence, wit, perseverance, and family, are still available to her. Idlewild and Ava illustrate the temporary nature of flashy, exciting chapters in the lives of towns and people, and they also show the lasting value of stable, caring people and strong character. Third, Idlewild and Ava represent important social ills of the s. Ava is surprised to see the same problems in Idlewild that she saw in the urban landscape of Atlanta: teenage pregnancy, domestic abuse, crack addiction, alcoholism, illiteracy, and sexual abuse. Throughout the story, she comments on the blurring line between urban and rural communities' problems. Just as Idlewild represents various social problems of the s, Ava represents one of the most frightening new realities of the time. As a woman who is HIV positive, she serves as a constant reminder to those around her that AIDS is not a disease that attacks only male homosexuals and intravenous drug users. Cleage creates a character who reminds readers that everyone is potentially vulnerable. Despite Ava's intention to pass through Idlewild and then move on to San Francisco, she finds the new life she desires in Idlewild. The town she was so eager to leave when she was a young woman becomes the perfect place to marry and live out the rest of her life. It is to Ava's credit that although Idlewild is not where she thought she would find happiness, she is open enough to recognize the opportunity for happiness when it presents itself in the forms of Joyce, Eddie, Imani, and the Sewing Circus. When Eddie and Joyce decide that they can buy an old house and renovate it for the Sewing Circus, Ava shares their excitement. She wants to be a part of it, and she says, "San Francisco seemed more and more like somebody else's dream. I felt more alive here than I had for years. I had my sister, the lover of my dreams, a role as part of a long-term project that excited me, and a big-eyed, bald-headed baby girl to take on my morning walks. I was meditating morning and evening, walking three miles a day, and I hadn't had anything stronger than a glass of wine with dinner in a month. It was my choice that had brought me back here, and for the first time, it really felt like home. As if affirming Ava's decision to stay in Idlewild and forget her dreams of San Francisco, the new pastor a woman named Sister Judith and her husband come to Idlewild from San Francisco. Ava asks her, "Why would anybody leave a city like San Francisco to come to Idlewild? Walking in the woods. Falling in love. Raising a child. Helping my sister. Protecting my family. Living my life. She has no need to see what awaits her in San Francisco or anywhere else. Idlewild mirrors her, suits her, embraces her. It is home, after all. Hart has degrees in English literature and creative writing and focuses her writing on literary themes. In this essay, Hart compares the three main characters' various uses of religion and spirituality and the specific goals they hope to attain through their beliefs and practices. In What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day , Pearl Cleage creates three main characters who share a common reliance on a religious, or a spiritual, practice. They each use their own individualized philosophy and ritual to help them overcome tragedies. Despite the fact that the characters' beliefs vary as widely as their motives for observing such practices, Cleage implies that it is through such spiritual practices that the characters confront their challenges and realize an inner peace. Upon discovering this sense of tranquility, the characters are then able to step out of the blindness of their personal suffering and feel compassion for the suffering of others. The protagonist of this novel, Ava, has many challenges to face, and most of them center around her bout with AIDS. Ava also suffers from alcoholism. In the beginning of the story, she has sold her beauty shop and is leaving Atlanta in search of a new home in a new city, which she hopes will accept her as she is. As the story opens, she has little thought of changing her lifestyle and has resigned herself to an early death. Thoughts about the spiritual side of life, such as praying, would almost be an insult to God, since she has ignored everything religious throughout most of her adulthood. She quit trying to pray because she had figured out that she was just "hedging" her bets. If she was smart enough to come to that conclusion, she believes that "God must know it, too" and probably would not grant her wishes and might even decide that she "needed to be taught a lesson for trying to [bullsh——] him in the first place. The only remnants of a religious belief that Ava retains are based on her childhood memories of Christianity in the Baptist Church. Her view of religion is that of a powerful figurehead, or god, who exists outside of her and is in control of her life. This spiritual being judges her actions and sends rewards or punishments her way, depending on the decisions she makes on how to live her life. Since she has denied her early Baptist upbringing and has not acquired any spiritual practice to replace it, she is left with only a physical approach to life. In other words, Ava identifies herself only through her body. She says that the reason she is heading for San Francisco is that she believes that that city is progressive enough to accept her on her physical terms: "I wanted to be someplace where I could be my black, female, sexual, HIV-positive self. When she is drunk, her thoughts cloud over, removing her, somewhat, from her fears. The most that she gains in her inebriated state is enough distance to temporarily become sarcastic about her condition. However, as soon as the alcohol wears off, she is right back where she started. Only now, she also has a hangover to deal with. Not until Ava renews her friendship with Eddie, a Vietnam veteran and ex-con who has found solace in a more Eastern approach to spirituality, does Ava find some peace of mind. Through Eddie, Ava learns to meditate and to focus on the present moment through the practice of Tai Chi. In general, this Eastern form of spirituality appeals to the psychology of an individual. Through an understanding of how one's own thoughts influence one's actions, people who practice some Eastern spiritual rituals, such as Tai Chi, believe that the godhead dwells within oneself. By stilling one's thoughts, a person can cultivate an inner peace, which allows a more direct communication with the spiritual aspects of life. It is through Tai Chi that Ava learns to live in the present moment and to face her fears of death. She does not embrace the Eastern philosophy fully, but rather she mixes the Eastern beliefs with her own Western understanding of religion. She uses Tai Chi to reawaken her sense of spirituality, thus giving her a reason to stop numbing herself with alcohol. Once she begins to cleanse herself of her destructive nature, she becomes more compassionate with the people around her. She takes an interest in her sister's community actions. She opens up her heart to the baby that her sister is trying to adopt. She also allows herself to imagine the possibilities of falling in love with Eddie, rather than simply enjoying the thrills of their sexual relationship. Through the characterization of Ava, Cleage states that it is impossible to run away, or hide, from life's challenges. The best path, Cleage implies, is to confront one's fears. For Ava, this confrontation requires that she use a mixture of beliefs that combine a trust in oneself as well as a faith in a god-figure, whom she describes as a man who reminds her of her grandfather: "tall and tan and like he's been working too hard. Eddie's story is in many ways similar to Ava's, although the circumstances differ. During his involvement in the Vietnam War , Eddie was taught to kill and was forced to exist in a world of horrid atrocities. Upon returning home, he felt lost. He says: "By the time I got back to the world, I was a bad man. He had faced death—both his as well as his victims—and he did not like what he had seen. In an attempt to rid himself of those memories, he too had turned to drugs and sex. He thought that these things would numb him. Instead, they put him in such a desensitized state that he thought nothing of murdering again. Not until Eddie spends time in jail does he allow all the memories of Vietnam to flood back into his consciousness. When they do, he says they first made him angry. He was angry about having gone to Vietnam, angry about what he was taught to do while he was there, and angry that his subsequent actions, once he returned home, landed him in jail. Fortunately, while in prison, Eddie meets a man who reminds him to slow down and think, not just about what has happened to him but also about the lessons he has learned from all his experiences. It is at this point that Eddie turns to Tai Chi to help him process all the emotions that are stirred by his memories. The ritual of Tai Chi enhances the concept of slowing down, as those who practice it learn to move in very small, concentrated patterns with a full awareness of every muscle that is involved in every little step. With a well-sustained practice, the slow, ritualistic movements become a form of meditation, which helps Eddie to slow down his thoughts, to better understand and accept them, and then to comprehend the lessons behind them. It is through meditation that Eddie begins to realize his self-destructive nature. What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day |

A majestic, fiery epic. The Given Day is a huge, impassioned, intensively researched book The Given Day is a huge, impassioned, intensively researched book that brings history alive. Gone to the Crazies. As a child, Alison Weaver's life shone with surface-level perfection—full of nannies, private schools, and As a child, Alison Weaver's life shone with surface-level perfection—full of nannies, private schools, and ballet lessons. She had all the luxuries of a wealthy Manhattan upbringing, and all the makings of a perfect Upper East Side miss. But her All the color and action of liners, tankers, tugs, barges, ferryboats, and fireboats in a All the color and action of liners, tankers, tugs, barges, ferryboats, and fireboats in a harbor are presented in this exciting visual adventure. Harbor is a picture book, and a great one at that. Every library will want it. Now get ready to Now get ready to meet his shark of an agent, Heath Champion, and Annabelle Granger, the girl least likely to succeed. Annabelle's endured dead-end jobs, a broken engagement. No Ordinary Groom. She'd always imagined herself marrying She'd always imagined herself marrying someone daring, adventurous, exciting. She also reconnects with Eddie Jefferson, an old friend who might evolve into a new flame. She runs a Sunday nursery at the church, which evolved into a support group for young women who have young children but no jobs or future. Affectionately nicknamed the Sewing Circus, the group is threatened by the arrival of a new pastor and his wife, both staunch conservatives who want to focus on traditional Christian education and outreach instead. Joyce, however, has plans to educate young women on AIDS, safe sex, and other important health topics, which scandalizes the Reverend and his wife. The mother left the hospital and disappeared, and none of her family wants the baby. Gerry comes to the Sewing Circus meeting and sees the girls learning how to use condoms properly. Most of the young women in the Circus had never even seen a condom before, so Joyce teaches them how to roll them onto jumbo hotdogs while discussing the importance of practicing safe sex. Gerry breaks up the meeting, seeing to it that the Sewing Circus is permanently canceled. Joyce receives a condescending letter from the Reverend himself, banning her from using church facilities. Far from finished, Joyce decides to move the Sewing Circus meetings to her house while she figures out new accommodations. He reveals more of his past—his time spent fighting in Vietnam and how it twisted him; how he needed to go to jail to get his head on straight. We couldn't bring our own containers to put the berries in, normally not a big deal, but you had to pre-purchase containers, and I just couldn't fill mine. They put my mom and daughter on the side of the row away from everyone, but I had to wear my mask. I do not advocate berry picking in mask in 90 degree heat. Mainly because this orchard has smaller bushes, so no shade, and our bizarre May weather--the freeze warning over Mother's Day--killed the blossoms that were there, so the berries that survived weren't as big and it took longer to pick. I ended up with heat exhaustion, not a fun way to spend the day. I spent the afternoon in bed, only waking up when the whole neighborhood reenacted the Battle of Baltimore. I did feel better at, like 2AM, so had a long party day last Sunday. Oh, well. I try to remember to enjoy the moments, if not the entire experience. We have been doing this picking at this orchard since I was tiny. I only missed the year Katie was born, for obvious reasons, LOL. And we were together. Lots of families didn't get to spend 4th of July with their loved one here on Earth. This was not the best week in the house. My son, at some point, got up on my desk and CUT the wires in both the power cord and the mouse for my laptop. I am so upset with him, but at least it was my personal laptop and not the one for work. I can always salvage another power cord and will buy a wireless mouse. For this, he lost his Paw Patrol toys for a few days. Some other stuff happened, and I was so frustrated by Friday that I just told my husband I needed to get some time to myself yesterday. I ended up going to Hobby Lobby to get some floss I need for Claire. I have been having issues finding a decent supply of floss since they relaxed the restrictions. I know there are supply issues, but I do worry they will put us back in lockdown again, and I don't want to be without supplies to finish this piece. I got what I needed and got out of there, then treated myself to some HOT Krispy Kreme doughnuts and a large Coke, then went home and stitched for most of the afternoon. It felt like bliss. It is only 3PM and I have already had a full day. One of our neighbors up in town decided to start celebrating the 4th of July at this morning by shooting off fireworks. Our town is in a little bowl and we are up against a hill, so it sounded LOUD. I honestly wanted to lean out the door and yell something, but common sense prevailed. I couldn't get back to sleep, so I ended up watching Netflix and stitching while folding laundry. We are still purging out stuff and I was really pleased with myself for being able to give away clothes I like, but don't wear. It's a big step for me. My favorite thing to do in life is to watch studio apartment tours on Youtube. I look at all these people and think about, if I had to, if I was young again and had enough money to rent a place, could I have contentedly lived in a studio apartment and still been ME. I am not sure. I did see a couple who bought individual place settings of patterns of china at thrift stores and mixed them all in together and I thought that was BRILLIANT, because I think you have to inhabit a space joyfully and like you want to be in that square foot space, so you better have dishes you enjoy washing by hand. But, like, I like my books and clothes and things. So I would have to have a loft bed with lots of storage underneath, or at least room to put a sofa underneath so I could put a massive bookshelf across the room to put all my books, where the sofa would normally go. I don't know what I would do with my clothes. Let alone all the tiny bits and pieces of detritus that seem to be in my life that I never see in anyone else's world. I know, I am a weirdo. But I gave up some clothes to go to a better home, I got rid of most of my maternity clothes earlier--still wearing those maternity jeans, they were expensive and they are COMFY--and I am trying. Anyway, I ended up watching the piece on Woodstock that American Experience did. Sooo good. And it made me sad I didn't go. Not like I could have, 7 years before I was born. Even if I had been alive, my parents wouldn't have let me go, LOL. If you haven't seen it, it's worth your time. They also have a documentary about a guy who made fake expensive wine. It is the most interesting thing. Like, he had an amazing palette, so he would come up with formulas to reproduce wines and came pretty close. Crazy, right? And I stitched. I am almost to the end of the 2nd page of First Born. A lot of confetti stitching, but, gosh, is Claire lovely. I will post a photo when I get the page finish. She really is amazing. I would say that if she wasn't my piece. She is just luminous. It has been forever since I posted. The days just seem to follow one another during this time; even with the rhythm of the days giving a bit of comfort, it sets you into a solid routine that has been hard to deviate from. Like most people know, this time has not been all that pleasant. I don't know who these happy people are that they show on TV, baking and cooking and doing puzzles with their families, but this has not been like that for us. My sewing machine broke the first week, and, of course, no one was open who could fix it. Distance learning has not worked out well for us; I cried a lot over that, but, then again, I can do Common Core math now. My husband lost his job over his Covid concerns--knowing our son is immuno-compromised, his boss not only had him on a job where he spent 12 hours in the house of a person who had the virus--the dude kept standing around where my husband was working--but they also wanted him to go into a nursing home to do work. The chain he was in was hard hit, and when my husband expressed concerns, he was let go. I have had respiratory issues since the end of March--not the virus, just a really bad respiratory infection, and then my sinuses kicked in. Last week, I finally started feeling human again. That is a LONG time to be sick. I am trying to be hopeful for my husband to find another job, but I don't know. We have been using this time to get the house organized. Lolo has his own room now, Kay-kay got a loft bed with a desk underneath, and our closets have gotten a thorough going over. Our room is starting to be pulled together. We are giving a lot of stuff away, and trying to make it a happy, peaceful room. All my books are going to go from our living room to the family room, and then the next project is to get my books from my mom's house and go through them to donate them. I want to use this time to learn to do better. I have been finding a lot of respite from this all in books. What Looks like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage, Paperback | Barnes & Noble®

Write an essay in which you explore some similarities and differences in the two works. Discuss the various religious views of the characters and how these views shape each character's attitudes and actions. The resort town of Idlewild is an actual place in Michigan. Do some research to learn about its history. How did it get started as a resort town, what kinds of people lived there and visited there, and why did the town decline? Then discuss why you think Cleage chose to set her story Browse all BookRags Study Guides. All rights reserved. Toggle navigation. Sign Up. Sign In. View the Study Pack. View the Lesson Plans. Author Biography. Plot Summary. June, Chapters 1 and 2. June, Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Transform this Plot Summary into a Study Guide. The story is about Ava Johnson who moves from her high-flying life in Atlanta back to her hometown in Michigan for the summer when she learns she has HIV. Ultimately, the novel is about love and family, responsibility, and finding life and joy in the face of almost certain death. Although her sister Joyce counsels her to stay quiet about it, she decides that the right thing to do is to write letters to all her lovers from the past ten years to tell them to get tested. The wife of one of the men comes into her salon and furiously outs her. Even though Ava tries to reassure her clients and do damage control, her business dries up and she is shunned from society. Her only option is to sell her house and business and move to the West Coast for the fall, but she decides to spend the summer with her widowed sister in their hometown of Idlewild, Michigan first. She also reconnects with Eddie Jefferson, an old friend who might evolve into a new flame. She runs a Sunday nursery at the church, which evolved into a support group for young women who have young children but no jobs or future. Affectionately nicknamed the Sewing Circus, the group is threatened by the arrival of a new pastor and his wife, both staunch conservatives who want to focus on traditional Christian education and outreach instead. The following night, Ava and Eddie begin to watch Menace II Society together until Eddie decides that he can't watch it anymore; upon telling Ava this, he reveals to her his violent past involving drugs and a ten year sentence to prison for murder. While shaken up by the news of Eddie's past, she maintains her relationship with him and decides to reveal her HIV-positive diagnosis to him a few nights later. Eddie is accepting of Ava's diagnosis and the two begin a romantic relationship together; however, they must take certain precautions during sex to protect Eddie from contracting HIV. With the news that an old man in Idlewild is putting his house up for sale for ten thousand dollars cash, Eddie proposes that the house would be a good relocation for the Sewing Circus meetings. From money she saved up at the salon, Ava pays for the house and her Joyce and Eddie begin renovations. However, Joyce receives a letter from the state government that the Sewing Circus will no longer receive funding. The state's decision to discontinue funding resulted from a letter Gerry Anderson sent the government with false information about the Sewing Circus. One night while Joyce is away, Ava witnesses Frank and Tyrone pull into Joyce's driveway and have sex with Frank's girlfriend on top of the car. Before they drive away, Frank throws a beer bottle at Joyce's house, shattering her window. Although Eddie wants to put Frank and Tyrone in their place, Ava urges him to not do anything drastic. In an effort to resolve the issues between Joyce and the Anderson's, Ava and Joyce go to the Anderson's house to talk about their issues with the Sewing Circus; however, Ava and Joyce are only met by the Reverend who is unable to have a proper discussion due to his drunkenness. While painting the new house for the Sewing Circus, Eddie proposes to Ava unto which Ava decides to take a few days to process this possibility of a new life. When Mattie arrives to Joyce's house with a social worker, Joyce reluctantly agrees to give Imani back to Mattie for the weekend prior to a hearing on the following Monday to determine Imani's official home. While Imani is at Mattie's house for the weekend, Joyce convinces Ava to go with her to the house in case there are signs that Imani is in trouble. After hearing Imani's screams from outside the house, Ava and Joyce break in to find out that Frank twisted Imani's legs and broke them. After being rushed to the hospital, Imani's legs are put into casts and the doctors assure Joyce and Ava that she will be okay. Upon meeting a woman who was a member of the Anderson's old Church in Chicago, Ava finds out that Reverend Anderson fled the city after allegations of sexual interactions with young boys of the parish arose. With this information, Ava confronts Gerry Anderson and threatens to publicize the allegations in Idlewild; with this threat, both Gerry and the Reverend leave town. In the epilogue, Ava reveals that Imani's casts were removed and she's doing well. Frank and Mattie finally get caught by the police after committing several drug-related robberies. Since the Anderson's left town, the church inducts a new pastor, Sister Judith, who is received well by the community. With Sister Judith officiating, Eddie and Ava get married. The majority of the plot takes place in Idlewild, Michigan during the s. Author Bryan Aubrey has noted that the novel showcases the empowerment of women in the face of undeniably difficult life challenges and that Cleage's focus on the challenges associated with AIDS, drug addiction, and domestic violence offer an intuitive look into the realities of social issues that are dealt with at surface level by traditional societal institutions. Concerning Cleage's discussion of gender relations, Barbara Valle has highlighted the portrayal of "cosmic confusion" between men and women [7] In the same vein, Loverlie and Erin King interpret the novel as a "healing romance" because of its insistence on the idea that the healing of the challenges faced by African-American people require the cooperation of both men and women.

What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day Summary | SuperSummary

She unknowingly found true love and a new life she grew fund of. Mar 13, Nakia rated it really liked it. This re-read from the '90s hit the spot: after living life as a successful, fun lovin' hairstylist in Atlanta, Ava Johnson tests positive for HIV. Word gets out, her clients dwindle, and soon Ava sells her salon with hopes to move to San Francisco, where people with the virus aren't stigmatized. A former social worker, Joyce runs a ministry at her church for young mothers who nee This re-read from the '90s hit the spot: after living life as a successful, fun lovin' hairstylist in Atlanta, Ava Johnson tests positive for HIV. A former social worker, Joyce runs a ministry at her church for young mothers who need support, sisterhood, and guidance. It's a hit for the women and their children, but the new pastor's wife hates it's popularity. I surely didnt understand the complicated reality in this book, nor did I understand its significance back in high school as I do now. Pearl Cleage packed her debut novel with fierce love for community, loyalty, purposeful living, intentional mentoring, self-care, and a whole lot of Black Girl Magic before we'd given it a name. Mar 01, Angela rated it it was amazing. An African American woman from a small town, living in a big city discovers something that changes her life and the way she views it forever…she was told she is HIV positive. Ava is a successful business woman, running her own salon in Atlanta. Her life may have been a bit full of sex partners, but she is a good woman and a hardworking woman. She feels, when told she is HIV positive, that the men she has had sex with deserve to know. So she sends out letters telling them all and telling them tha An African American woman from a small town, living in a big city discovers something that changes her life and the way she views it forever…she was told she is HIV positive. She has no idea how long she has been carrying this disease, so she just sends out letters to any man she had sex with. She then continues on with life, dealing with the disease and trying to still run her salon. After this the salon goes under and Ava sells it for a wonderful price and moves back home to Idlewild, Michigan to be with her sister Joyce for the summer. Joyce who has had rough times herself, losing her husband to an ice accident is wonderful support for Ava and is more than willing to have her. While in Idlewild Ava has lots to deal with on top of dealing with her own sickness. This is a club through the local church. While Ava is in Idlewild for the summer many things happen…Joyce is banned from having the Sewing Circus at the church because of a meeting that circled around ways to practice safe sex by using jumbo hot dogs on chopsticks to practice putting condoms on. Joyce and Ava come to love the baby and are bewildered when child services come out of the blue to take the baby back to give her to the family of the mother because they found out there is money given to whoever takes care of the baby. But can they do all that before it is too late? They learn that all of the goings on are connected to someone that they least expect. Can they save the baby before something bad happens to her? Can they keep the Sewing Circle together for supporting the women in it? What about Ava and her new found relationship with Eddie? Will she tell him about her being HIV positive and risk losing yet another person in her life? This book was amazing! I fell in love with the characters in this book. Ava was an exceptional character and woman in this book. She is strong in the face of her illness. She is determined not to let it beat her down. Ava has such strong support from her sister Joyce and friend Eddie that she decides Idlewild is where she is meant to stay, not move on after the summer. They help her see that things are worth fighting for and that love is a beautiful thing, no matter how short it may be. To give a summary of this book in a short version would be impossible, so much happens in this book. Even in my summary above I had to leave some things out. So much happens and so much is addressed. This book may be fiction, but it has a very true story plot and feel to it. As I read this book I found myself forgetting that is was indeed fiction. This was a very touching and enlightening read for me. This book has touched me in a way that is not easily described. I would highly recommend and have recommended this book to anyone. This book has everything a good book should have: it's hilarious, the characters are people you'd want to hang out with for hours upon end, there's romance, and at least one character has devoted her life to making the world a better place. And I don't think it's much of a spoiler to say the plan is working. These characters are making their corner of the world a better place. And the whole book ends in a church, with everyone happy. The book is just perfect. Jun 12, Gabrielle rated it really liked it. Review to follow. Feb 15, Caroline rated it liked it Shelves: feb , black-american , romance , spiritual. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I grabbed it after i saw the Oprah book club circle at the top. I am very naughty. I am not an Oprah worshipper never watched her show in entirety EVER but after picking up books with the 'O' in the corner over the years and thoroughly enjoying them, it's an easy sell for me. It has some 'erotica' without being vulgar and disgusting. All the boo I grabbed it after i saw the Oprah book club circle at the top. All the book seemed to suddenly deflate at the end somehow. It wasn't terrible. Wasn't great, but wasn't terrible either. It's probably the only story about an AIDs patient who has a 'happy ending' I've ever read. AVA: Yes EDDIE: we just have to use a condom right? You'll die a pretty hideous death. No matter how much you like someone starting off in a relationship, I think you'd want to wait at least a couple of days after hearing that have AIDs to hop in the sack. Or maybe I'm just a self-righteous prude But I guess it's good of the author to dispel the many misconceptions of AIDs. Second, wasn't eddie in the military when Ava was only 8? So he's at least 10yrs older than her if not more. That's kinda gross having a relationship with best friend's wife's baby sister who he watched grow up Man I am destroying this book! May 25, Marilyn Maya rated it it was ok. What looks like beautiful is an ordinary novel, I was excited when I started reading this book. The author has a good voice, a beautiful voice, an honest voice. But that is all it is. The main character is well defined, strong and believable. The beginning is exciting and new. But then the plot. I knew from the first clue how the book would end. The other characters are one dimensional, either all good or all bad and did I say the plot was thin. The preacher and his wife come off like cartoon characters and the romantic lead man both too good and too bad to be true. The book is well written. This is not a complement as all books should be well written and this writer has talent. She could have done much better. Her voice is the voice of a poet, a queen, a prophet, however novels are not easy to write and it is easy to use words to please yourself and not your readers. Who said "You must kill your darlings" oh William Faulkner. This is good advice for the author. She fell in love with her language. Hell, I fell in love with her language, her aura of truth, until I realized it was all a dream, so real you don't realize how false it is until you wake up: in this case toward the end of the book. Yes, I finished it but I was angry and unsatisfied, like when you expected a toy for Xmas and were given socks or the ice cream you just ate was low sugar. Writing a novel is not easy. I would have loved this as a memoir. At the end, there are truths about living a honest life in the moment but the author doesn't follow her own advice. I felt tricked. I wanted more. I expected more from such a talented woman. I guess I just expect a lot from novelists. Treat your readers with more respect. I am sorry if this is a harsh review because I didn't hate the book. I just wanted so much to love it. Jul 17, Leah Hess rated it really liked it. Ava Johnson is almost the exact opposite of me. Seriously, we have nothing in common--but I was drawn to her character in just the first page of the novel, when she discloses her big secret. It's also nothing I can relate to, but intriguing nonetheless. She has undergone change since escaping the tiny Idlewild community, but comes back to discover that maybe change isn't always good. Her growth and progress through the novel were captivating, and Cleage really sucks you in to feeling as though Ava Johnson is almost the exact opposite of me. Her growth and progress through the novel were captivating, and Cleage really sucks you in to feeling as though you know Ava and all the other characters. Cleage's descriptions, although minimal, are enough to clarify specifics, but leave the rest up to the imagination. My favorite quote from the book, and the only one that explains the interesting title, is this: " I highly recommend it to anyone--no matter how opposite you are from Ava. Dec 03, Tamara rated it liked it Shelves: fiction. Dec 18, Collin rated it liked it Shelves: challenges , adult , quality-diversity. Good - not the most organic- feeling passages of dialogue of all time, but still good. Sometimes a little clunky in stressing the Moral of the Story, but Ava and her family go through so much, it's partially forgivable. It's a very honest, frank story, in a lot of ways - definitely wouldn't rec to anyone who's not a fan of explicit discussions of sex - but that's where its power is. That, and also in that Wild Eddie is a fantasy-fulfilling dreamboat in all the best ways. Aug 23, Les rated it liked it Shelves: new-to-me- author , fiction , debut , My Original Notes : It took me a while to gain interest in this novel, but once I did, I was hooked! I found myself caring about Ava and Eddie, as well as the baby, Imani. Touching without being too sentimental. A good read! My Current Thoughts: Another book of which I have no recollection. I'm pretty sure I read it with an online book group, which probably got the suggestion from Oprah's book club. May 05, Kim G. I am not a fan of reading books selected by Oprah. Even though I'm late to reading this novel that came out years ago, but this book I loved. Her customers treating her with prejudice looked upon with disgust. Ava decides to go home to Idlewild, Michigan, to be with her oldest sister Joyce what a loving and strong bond they have. Joyce shows I am not a fan of reading books selected by Oprah. Joyce shows no judgement, just love for her sister Ava. Pearl Cleage the author her writing keeps you engaged in the story, with compelling characters Pearl Cleage wrote a remarkable novel and excellent and reliable message. Sep 25, Karen rated it it was amazing Shelves: fiction-general , feminism. I don't give too many 5-stars, but this one is well deserved. LOVED this book and so did my whole book club. Nov 30, Deanna rated it liked it. Certainly not a book for everybody - poverty, drugs, AIDS - strange how much the world has changed but also how things never change. Sep 10, Jenny Hoerauf rated it really liked it. Interesting, sad, but uplifting in that there was always hope. A little dated. I found it pretty crazy that I discovered the book was about Idlewild, MI while driving through Idlewild. Jan 07, Carla rated it it was amazing. Read this book in undergrad for an African American Pros class and loved it! Was not what I expected for a class read and a welcome change! Jul 06, Stacy rated it liked it. As she tells her story she is not afraid to admit her shortcomings she drinks too much, she slept with too many men and I liked that about her. I also really liked her sister who brought a real warmth to the book. Her work with teen moms moved the story along nicely and provided a real nasty antagonist. Eddie was an okay character, but he was a little too good. I really liked that the main character was living with HIV, but the story touched very little on the details of the reality. That was a double- edged sword for me. It was nice that the story was about more than that, but it also seemed like Ava had her head buried in the sand. Dec 08, Leann rated it liked it. This review is several months overdue, but here are a few thoughts. This was a quick and interesting read, but I'm not sure that it deserves the acclaim that many readers have offered. The story is filled with lots of unrealistic drama that takes away from the very real and human story at its core. Ada's struggle as a woman recently diagnosed with HIV becomes essentially buried as a love interest, an abandoned child, delinquent teenagers, lies within the church, crack addiction, and custody issue This review is several months overdue, but here are a few thoughts. Ada's struggle as a woman recently diagnosed with HIV becomes essentially buried as a love interest, an abandoned child, delinquent teenagers, lies within the church, crack addiction, and custody issues all try to crowd into the relatively short book. I also felt that Joyce and Eddie's characters were quite static, with only a terse attempt to develop depth. Overall, this was an OK read, but it doesn't make any of my "best of" lists. Jan 13, Danni Green rated it really liked it. It took a few chapters for me to really get into this book, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. The narrator's voice felt refreshingly honest. The suspense built up in a way that felt natural and not forced or contrived. There were definitely some plot elements I wish I had been warned about in advance see content warnings below but ultimately they felt like they strengthened the story and weren't just there for shock value. Overall I really enjoyed reading this! Nov 30, Jalisa rated it really liked it. This story really had me second guessing if I'd ever been truly seen and deeply loved. Overview After a decade of elegant pleasures and luxe living with the Atlanta brothers and sisters with the best clothes and biggest dreams, Ava Johnson has temporarily returned home to Idlewild—her fabulous career and power plans smashed to bits by cold reality. But what she imagines to be the end is, instead, a beginning. Because, in the ten-plus years since Ava left, all the problems of the big city have come to roost in the sleepy North Michigan community whose ordinariness once drove her away; and she cannot turn her back on friends and family who sorely need her in the face of impending trouble and tragedy. Besides which, that one unthinkable, unmistakable thing is now happening to her: Ava Johnson is falling in love. Acclaimed playwright, essayist, New York Times bestselling author, and columnist Pearl Cleage has created a world rich in character, human drama, and deep, compassionate understanding, in a remarkable novel that sizzles with sensuality, hums with gritty truth, and sings and crackles with life-affirming energy. Product Details About the Author. About the Author. An accomplished Playwright, she teaches playwriting at Spelman College, is a cofounder of the literary magazine Catalyst and writes a column for the Atlanta Tribune. Cleage lives in Atlanta with her husband. Related Searches. Burn the Night Dark Days Series 6. The Great Awakening approaches. After eons in exile, the naturi have broken After eons in exile, the naturi have broken their chains and now roam the Earth bent on revenge. View Product. The Given Day. Gut-wrenching force A majestic, fiery epic. The Given Day is a huge, impassioned, intensively researched book The Given Day is a huge, impassioned, intensively researched book that brings history alive. Gone to the Crazies. As a child, Alison Weaver's life shone with surface-level perfection—full of nannies, private schools, and As a child, Alison Weaver's life shone with surface-level perfection—full of nannies, private schools, and ballet lessons. She had all the luxuries of a wealthy Manhattan upbringing, and all the makings of a perfect Upper East Side miss. But her All the color and action of liners, tankers, tugs, barges, ferryboats, and fireboats in a All the color and action of liners, tankers, tugs, barges, ferryboats, and fireboats in a harbor are presented in this exciting visual adventure. https://files8.webydo.com/9588860/UploadedFiles/121DA882-4581-AC63-CD10-157116E41324.pdf https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/8224c9cf-5d4c-4bbf-855d-7471d4378c36/untersuchung-der-auswirkungen-der-novellierung-des- elektrog-360.pdf https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/2dffb3ec-7956-44ec-8eac-3ee5ca98e023/uber-die-religion-reden-an-die-gebildeten-unter-ihren- verachtern-179918061821-studienausgabe-297.pdf https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/e8493756-1ca9-4c45-8503-2b9fa9275e2d/mein-jakobsweg-durch-oesterreich-auf-den-spuren-alter- pilgerinnen-alleine-800-km-zu-fuss-von-ost-n-821.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9591903/UploadedFiles/A8334E07-FE3E-E00C-C609-52AEF41E2DDE.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9593199/UploadedFiles/D8BAB097-FB0D-C4B2-58A3-E4A9F2ADDDC4.pdf