Galveston Bookshop Hosts Second Discussion

Sharan Zwick and the Galveston Bookshop hosted a discussion on Tuesday evening, January 12, led by Elizabeth Spears, that started at 5:30 and finished, more or less, around 6:30 except that the cocoa and cookies gave everyone an excuse to stand around and talk a little more about the book and Galveston Reads in general. Much of the discussion dealt with the relationship between the rocket boys and their families and the community as a whole. At the beginning of the book, most parents believed that their male children would follow them into the mine, where the job was dangerous but the pay and the security were good. The rocket boys, however, forged a different path, one that originally met with great opposition but was embraced as they began to succeed and bring honors and awards to the community. At the same time, the residents of the town began to face the fact that their community was dying and their children, like the rocket boys, needed to find a path to the future outside of the town of Coalwood. Homer knew what he wanted to do from the moment he saw Sputnik trace across the sky, but without the help of valuable mentors and the eventual community support, it is possible that his dream may never have come to fruition. One of the rich aspect of the book was how "normal" so much of the boys' lives seem to be, filled with the ups and downs of teenage romance, adolescent sexuality, friendships, school work, dances, and school rivalries. This is juxtaposed against the boys' need to teach themselves, in a world without the Internet and limited library holding (although with some invaluable assistance from supportive adults), how to successfully build a rocket that could actually fly.

From the notes of Pat Jacobi...