Original 'rocket boy' speaks about book, reminisces at Davis

KAYSVILLE -- Addressing an audience of nearly 1,000 people on March 9 Homer Hickam, author of the best-selling memoir, "Rocket Boys," commented that the book's popularity never ceases to amaze him.

"I don't know why "Rocket Boys" is so popular. I run from it all the time," he joked, adding, "People drag me back to it."

Hickam's appearance at Davis High School was part of a visit sponsored by the Davis Reads program. Earlier in the day, he joined students at Bountiful Junior High for a rocket launch.

"Rocket Boys", in which Hickam describes his experiences designing, building and launching rockets while growing up during the 1950s in the small, mining town of Coalwood, W. Va., was the basis for the movie "October Sky.".

Although rocketry is a major theme of the book, a number of other threads are woven through it creating a story that appeals to people of all ages. A variety of readers can relate to many different aspects of the book, Hickam said.

Men and women whose parents were born during the Depression can relate to Hickam's descriptions of his father, a tough, hard- working mining superintendent who had trouble relating to his second son.

"That resonates for people my age. We all had fathers like that."

Hickam fought to win his father's approval. Perhaps because they were so much alike, it was hard for them to see eye-to-eye on most things. The senior Hickam attended only one of his son's more than 30 launches, and that incident is portrayed in a poignant scene in "Rocket Boys". Hickam read the scene to the audience at Davis High. When his father arrived at the launch, Hickam asked him to light the fuse. The rocket streaked into the sky, attaining a height of 31,000 feet. Hickam's father reacted with amazement, prancing along and waving his hat. Moments later, he was doubled over, struggling for breath, as coughs, brought on by the beginnings of black lung disease, racked his body.

At that point, Hickam describes putting his arm on his father's shoulder and telling him, "You did really good, Dad. Nobody ever launched a better rocket than you."

Younger readers are enthralled with Hickam's exploits in rocket building, which included lots of explosions, a few run-ins with the authorities and even a gold medal at the national science fair. Teenagers and those older commiserate with the author's tales of angst and unrequited love.

Finally, Hickam believes people appreciate the book because it describes life in a small town during simpler times.

"It's for people who grew up in small towns or who wish they did," he relates. "I wanted to bring Coalwood, W. Va. back to life. So many people identify with that."

Hickam, with his West Virginia drawl and witty, often self- deprecating humor, kept the audience laughing throughout much of his presentation as he recounted numerous tales from his childhood and teenage years.

Describing his birth, he said his father refused to drive his mother to the hospital in nearby Welch because it was snowing, so a neighbor drove her there. In those days, women spent several days in the hospital after giving birth.

"Everyone came to see the new baby, except my dad," Hickam says. Finally, his mother told one of the other mine workers to let her husband know he better show up soon, or she and the baby would not be coming home -- they would go to Florida instead.

When Hickam's father finally came, he walked into the room, took one look at his new son, and said to his wife, "Elsie, that is the ugliest baby I've ever seen." With that, he walked out the door.

Right after that, Hickam recounts, in walked a nurse with a clipboard, asking his mother what she was going to name the baby.

Without hesitation, Hickam's mother replied, "We're going to name him after his father, Homer H. Hickam Jr."

It was when he was in the third grade in Coalwood that a teacher told Hickam he had a future in writing. Shortly after that, he and his friend Roy Lee Cooke started their own newspaper called The Coalwood News. That was a short-lived venture, however, after he wrote a story about his mother trying to kill a snake and falling into the water after slipping on a moss-covered rock.

"She took away my First Amendment rights," Hickam recounts.

Hickam's father died in 1989. Although his father didn't live to see "Rocket Boys" published, Hickam describes it as, "a love letter to my dad. My dad is very special to me. He's my hero."

After college, Hickam was a NASA engineer, and, later, a scuba instructor. His real passion was writing, however, and he has published eight books, including "Rocket Boys". He's currently on tour for his latest book, "The Ambassador's Son", a novel that takes place in the South Pacific during World War II.

Despite the success of his other books, Hickam says, "I will forever be known for 'Rocket Boys'." When I die, at my funeral they'll say, 'We're here for Homer Hickam, a retired engineer and the author of 'Rocket Boys'."

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