The Journal of Ordinary Thought is published by The Neighborhood Writing Alliance in Chicago. It is founded on the propositions that every person is a philosopher, expressing one's thoughts fosters creativity and change, and taking control of life requires people to think about the world and communicate their thougths to others.

This issue reflects on place and what it means. From home and homelessness to neighborhoods that no longer exist, to "apple pie places" JOT writers, some of the most disenfranchised [and one learns, the most talented] people in Chicago write on place.

To be a ray. I encourage underlining, writing in margins, etc. Anything when one feels moved or affected by a passage, a note, a photo. Let's make this interactive.

The photo is of Cabrini Green, one of Chicago's more notorious housing projects, in the process of being abandoned by the Housing Authority and gentrified. I took it this morning while waiting for the bus, surrounded by white, apparently upper-middle-class Chicagoans. In 1984 my high school took a field trip here - we hid under the bus seats, afraid to come out. Boy, have times changed...

Also, PLEASE NOTE - I encourage the sharing of this journal, so if it takes a long time as a ray, so be it. I don't imagine one reader should need more than 6 weeks however, no matter how much sharing is done!

Thanks for reading!

Has been sent off on its way on the ray. Please journal your receipt and thoughts, add anything you wish to the book, and send it along! Please don't keep the book for more than one month!! If you have problems, back-ups, etc., we can skip you and come back!

Ray order:

calvarez4 - the original "OC Girl"
tuff517 - Deep in the Heart of Texas
stardustedangel - I think a Carolina. But I get them confused.
solittletime - Maine
In Canada-
funsour
The United Kingdom -
cartref
billhookbabe

Brasil...

Metropolitan

This just arrived in the mail! I'm very excited to start reading it.

More soon.

(thank you, blueamazon!)

Released on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 at Controlled Release in McQueeney, Texas Controlled Releases.

Thank you, BlueAmazon! I particularly enjoyed the pieces in Spanish.

The whole thing reminds me (a bit) of an organization I worked with in New Brunswick, NJ, that worked with needle-exchange/addiction and translated the stories and photographs of their clients into some of the most heart-wrenching and yet beautiful art.

Released to tuff517 in Texas!

Received it today and I'm going to start on it tonight! Looks great.

I really enjoyed this book. It was pretty neat seeing the city from different perspectives and reading people's memories about their childhoods from different places. It made me homesick to read it and got that writing bug in me fired up. I think I might subscribe to the Journal. Tomorrow it heads out to startdustedangel.

I received this in the mail today, along with two other bookrings! I'm looking forward to reading it, so I'll get to it as quickly as I can! Thanks BlueAmazon, for sharing!

stardustedangel, you'll see in the notes that you are asked not to hold this book more than one month - it's been nearly two months, and I have other people asking for this. Also, unfortunately, after I posted in the fora about my problems with the other JOT, BXers have been looking through my shelf, so your reputation may be in a bit of danger. that was *not* my intention, I was referring to the one that has been kept for 4 months.

But please send this on.

Many apologies for the delay...I've had a pressing family issue to contend with and it's taken precedence over my mount-to-be-read. I'm truly sorry for any inconvenience it has caused. I've PM'd the next person on the list for their address and I'll send it out as soon as I get a response.

RELEASE NOTES:

Once again, I apologize for the delay. I shipped this out to solittletime this afternoon. Enjoy!

I received this book and, although it is not what I imagined it would be, it looks quite interesting. Thanks for including me in this BookRay.

solittletime, please send on this book!!!

solittletime, please send on this book to the next person, or send it back to me!!