Outside Reading Week 3 Part B

There haven't been as many issues for the Rocket Boys since my last post. A lot of changes have been happening in Coalwood, "Big Creek High School, Mr. Turner said in his shrill voice, had been placed on football suspension for the 1958 season" (131), and "A more challenging academic curriculum was to be installed" (132). It looks like a shift has occurred in Coalwood. Now, instead of the town worrying about whether or not their football team was going to make it to state, they were going to worry about whether or not the Rocket Boys could get their rockets to fly.

Things have been improving for Homer and his friends. They were able to find a place to launch their rockets and dubbed it Cape Coalwood. Not only were they allowed to launch rockets, Homer's dad granted them some scrap materials to build a blockhouse and launch pad. It seems that Homer Sr. feelings towards his son have changed and in turn my feelings about him have changed as well. Last week, I thought him to be a tyrant to some degree. He wouldn't let Homer build his rockets and ended up reassigning the man that helped him. He wasn't able to support his son's decision or be proud that Homer is trying something different. He couldn't quite grasp the fact that Homer deserved better and could do better. But now he's trying to help. "There, beside the locked door to the fan controls, sat four bags of cement. They hadn't been rained on at all. There was also a pile of sand and gravel, equally intact" (151). Homer's dad had gotten all of this just for his son. Although he hasn't admitted it openly, I think Homer Sr. wants his youngest son to succeed. Maybe he just didn't want him to face disappointment or maybe he wanted at least one son to take the mine over when he was gone. I'm not sure what exactly it was that caused Homer's dad to be so against his rocket building, but clearly the wall has fallen away. I suppose family is family and they're here to support you no matter what happens.