July 6, 2018
Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer.com
Page 13
‘Brooklyn’ isn’t just another coming-of-age story To read anything by Jacqueline Woodson is to expect the unexpected, not only for the stories themselves but for the imaginative way they are written. “Another Brooklyn” is no exception. Woodson’s second adult novel is about an adolescence remembered. The story begins when August returns to Brooklyn for her father’s funeral and shares the facts of that return. The first 11 pages take up the funeral, the introduction of her brother (a devout member of the Nation of Islam), a short reference to a black Brooklyn in a 1970s white culture and the facts of her leaving Brooklyn to travel the world as an anthropologist.
SUnny SoLoMon
BOOKIN’ WITH SUNNY
Following the funeral, she and her brother lovingly share a meal at a diner before she takes the subway back to her father’s apartment. “There were clothes to be donated, old food to throw out, pictures to
pack away. For what? For whom?” The memories begin when, seated in the subway car, August looks up and sees Sylvia sitting across from her. From that point on, the intimacy of August’s memories never lets up. Although these are August’s memories, they exist inside the friendship of four singularly remarkable young girls: Sylvia, Gigi, Angela and August. August, her brother and father are Brooklyn transplants from a not quite innocent life in rural Tennessee. It is an unhappy exodus, one made without her mother. The period of adjustment to inner-city life – with its traffic, drugs, pop music and ever-present street
danger –takes place under the watchful eye of a father who knows and fears the risk of bringing his children back to the streets of his youth. “The green of Tennessee faded quickly into the foreign world of Brooklyn, the heat rising from cement.” August’s memories happen in the black streets of Brooklyn. Yet each time I read the book, the fit becomes more comfortable for me. How do any of us remember our best grammar school through high school friends? And who is lucky enough to almost hold them together before high school ends? Woodson touches adolescence so finely that when its pain surfaces, we are reminded
How to visit the Grand Canyon and skip the lines
of our own experiences, which in turn endears all her characters to us – with their dreams, betrayals, successes and failures. Family secrets, divorce, addictive parents and the secret excitement of their sexuality in response to the boys and men in their lives all weigh heavily in their surviving adolescence. Woodson’s writing lifts this novel from almost every other coming-of-age story. Her sparse paragraphs and the space between them leaves room for the reader to take it all in. “Another Brooklyn” is the story of a young woman of color’s journey into her adolescence in Brooklyn and out into the greater world. For me, that journey and the reading of this book have become a powerful and moving memory of their own. Sunny Solomon is a freelance writer and head of the Clayton Book Club. Visit her website at bookinwithsunny.com for her latest recommendations or just to ‘talk books.’
ROBERT CASEY PLACES TO GO
The Grand Canyon overwhelms the senses. Measuring about 277 miles long, 18 miles wide and a mile deep, this chasm carved by the Colorado River over 6 million years is truly a natural wonder. It’s designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, and visitors from around the world have traveled there for centuries to be awed by its orange and red grandeur. Grand Canyon National Park is the second-busiest national park in America, with more than 6 million visitors last year. Great Smoky Mountains National Park was No. 1, with 11.3 million visitors. Yosemite National Park was fifth, with 4.3 million visitors. The Grand Canyon can be very crowded, especially this time of year. In addition, there are road improvement projects throughout the park. The National Park Service (NPS) says to expect delays, detours, closures and parking modifications. But no worries. NPS has come to the rescue by supplying shuttle buses that travel to most of the major sights. They advise taking the Tusayan route, which provides service from Tusayan, about two miles from the south park entrance, to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. With a bit of walking and riding the shuttles, you can see the Grand Canyon in about four hours. Buy your entrance pass online at yourpassnow.com/ParkPass/par k/grca. Then get on the shuttle in Tusayan and bypass the
FREE ESTIMATES •Lawn & Plant Installation
Photo: national Park Service
The Grand Canyon features magnificent views, such as this one from Mohave Point on the South Rim’s Hermit Road.
entrance gate. Buses are white with a green stripe and display the route name on the front and side. No tickets are required inside the park. A portion of your entrance fee pays for the shuttles. Buses come every 15-30 minutes between 8 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. Bus stops are clearly marked throughout the park and are located about every mile along the 13-mile Rim Trail. You can walk part of the Rim Trail, hopping on a shuttle bus afterward. Bus stops are also close to great bicycling opportunities.
If You Go
Bicycle the Greenway Trail to South Kaibab Trailhead or ride Hermit Road to Hermits Rest and then get on a shuttle bus to return. The shuttles can accommodate two or three bicycles. If you plan to drive your car into the park, arrive by 9 a.m. and find a parking spot by the visitor center. If you want to beat the crowds even further, try the North Rim, which is open until Oct. 15, or delay your visit until fall when the park is less crowded and quite a bit cooler. Robert Casey is president of Fair Winds Cruises & Expeditions
Entrance fees: $35 for single vehicles and all passengers, $30 for motorcycles. If you enter by foot, bicycle, park shuttle bus, Grand Canyon Railway or private rafting, the fee is $20. Annual passes for Grand Canyon National Park are $70. If you are 62 or over, you can get a lifetime senior pass for $80. There are also free military passes for active-duty personnel and dependents. Best sunset views: Get on the Hermits Rest (red) shuttle and watch the sunset from Mohave or Pima points, or take the Kaibab/Rim (orange) bus to Yaki Point. If driving, head out to Desert View Point. For more information: Visit nps.gov/grca for a visitor’s guide, maps and road condition updates.
in Clayton. He can be reached at 925-787-8252 or visit fairwindscruises.com. His email is caseyrdc@gmail.com.
•Paver Patio & Walkway
•Retaining Walls •Drainage •Low Voltage Lighting
925-672-9955
www.nicholslandscape.com Lic. 542812 Fully Insured
Boyce Nichols - Owner Clayton Resident
6160 Center St. Suite #C, Clayton
925-693-0757 (main) Clayton residents since 1959
ACTIVE • 26 Lakeview Dr., Bay Point 4 bedroom, 2 bathrooms, approx. 1491 sq.ft.
$370,000
• 3295 Monika Ln., Hayward
3 bedroom, 2.5 bathrooms, approx. 1690 sq. ft.
$625,000
• 115 Jeffrey Ranch Ct., Clayton
$819,000
Listing agent: Matt Mazzei
Listing agent: Rula Masannat
4 bedroom, 2 bathrooms, approx. 2003 sq.ft.
Listing agent: Rula Masannat
PENDING • 25 Mozden Lane, Pleasant Hill
3 bedroom, 2.5 bathrooms, approx. 1488 sq. ft.
925.348.5609 Nick Eisenbart
Owner/Service Provider Concord resident
Skimndip.com
Five Stars
on Yelp
Serving all of Contra Costa County for 15 years Including Marsh Creek, Morgan Territory
$550,000
Listing agent: Matt Mazzei
mazzeirealty.net
Matt Mazzei, Jr.,
Paula & Rod Johnstone
Rula Masannat
BRE# 01881269
DRE# 00797857
DRE# 01923757
Broker/Owner 925-766-6745 matt@mazzeirealty.net
Broker Associate Paula 925-381-8810 Rod 925-286-5765
heypaula10@gmail.com
Sales Agent 415-310-2905 rulawithmazzei@yahoo.com