For now, there were the four of us, and the people with whom we had lived our separate lives, made our own families. As they rose to meet me, all else fell away. In the arms of my sisters and my brother, their tears wet on my skin, I felt the pieces of myself coming home. All that had been broken and lost and scattered on that day we were last together had finally been brought together again.
I understood that Annalee was right, after all, in something she’d told me as we studied the stars over the college lawn long ago.
Nothing happens by accident, Norman
, she’d said.
It’s all part of a larger plan.
I’d scoffed playfully at the time, asked how it could be the plan for someone like her to end up with someone like me. But now I knew that she was the wise one, the one who’d been right all along. We do not live in this world at random, bodies drifting through empty space, forming and colliding by mere chance; nor are we the masters of our own destinies, as much as we may desire to be. Rather, we are like the dandelion seeds my brother cast into the summer sky, ferried along by He who guides the winds and stills the waters, our journeys a mystery to us, except in hindsight. Along the way, we find those we are meant to love and those who are meant to love us. We fashion our lives according to what we have known and what we have yet to learn. At times, each of us is the child in a burning house, escaping through tiny doors, dependent upon the grace of God and the kindness of strangers.
Wherever our journeys may take us, whatever struggles they bring, one solid truth underlies all that is. Not a drop of water falls from heaven unintended. We are, each of us, meant to change the ocean and to be changed by it, to become new creations as we travel our paths, and answer our challenges, and live and relive our Camelots.
CONVERSATION GUIDE
Dandelion Summer
Lisa Wingate
This Conversation Guide is intended to enrich the individual reading experience, as well as encourage us to explore these topics together—because books, and life, are meant for sharing.
CONVERSATION GUIDE
A CONVERSATION WITH LISA WINGATE
with contributions from former Hughes
Aircraft engineer Ed Stevens
Q. Lisa,
Dandelion Summer
is such a multifaceted story and the characters seem so real. Were Norman and Epiphany based on real people?
A. While Norman and Epiphany are fictional characters (although, in a writer’s life, sometimes there isn’t much difference between reality and fiction, to tell you the truth!), both were drawn from real-life inspirations. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with young people through community and church-sponsored programs. In a small town, kids come from many different backgrounds, and often from households like Epiphany’s. Young people in her situation balance on a razor’s edge between success and failure, and any small event or influence can become a tipping point. Sometimes, a friendship with a mentor like Norman can make all the difference.
In the case of Norman’s character, there is a definite real-life inspiration. If you’ve been reading my books for a while, you may have noticed in several of the dedications heartfelt thank-yous addressed to my amazing friend and encourager Ed Stevens. One of the best things about writing is the people you meet along the way, and Ed is one of those people. Ed and I became friends after he read one of my books, and we have since worked together on many technical projects, but my favorite part of the friendship has been learning about Ed’s history as an engineer in the early days of America’s space program at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The original Apollo moon shots are among my earliest memories. We were living not far from Cape Canaveral at the time, and my father, like those men at the cape, headed off to work every day in his white shirt, narrow tie, and flattop haircut. He was one of those men, like Ed, who were pioneering new frontiers in technology during an exciting time. Incorporating Ed’s work experiences into Norman’s character allowed me to revisit those sweet, quiet days in our Florida neighborhood, where families lived in average three-bedroom, one-income houses, and often the moms had a car only if it was carpool day. It was a great place to grow up, and a wonderful time period, when you knew everyone in your neighborhood, and as long as you were home by supper, no one worried about you. There was a sense of innocence and optimism about the future that I think many people yearn for today. It was a joy, through Norman, to return to that time.
Q. Lisa, many authors have very concrete hopes for a story when they create it and send it out into the world. What are your hopes for
Dandelion Summer
?
A.
Dandelion Summer
is a special book for me, not only because of the connections to my history and to my friend Ed, but because I became so attached to Norman and Epiphany. While Norman’s family issues are fictional (I’m sure my father would appreciate my letting you know that), many fathers and daughters deal with the issues that Norman and his daughter, Deborah, face. I hope that
Dandelion Summer
will be a book that men and women—fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, grandfathers and grandchildren—can read and discuss together, as families. I also hope it will inspire young parents not to miss the moments they could be spending with their children. One of Norman’s most poignant regrets is that while working his way to success, he was often absent, either physically, mentally, or emotionally, in his own life. Lastly, I hope the story will encourage older folks to share their memories and to seek opportunities in which their experiences and capacity to love can enrich the lives of young people. So many children, like Epiphany, lack regular contact with grandparents, and an adopted grandpa, like Norman, can not only be a benefit to a young person, but also receive the benefits of youthful energy and enthusiasm. Teenagers and young adults, many of whom age out of foster care with no significant family support system, need mentors to guide them as they travel the paths to independence.
Q. Norman has all the trappings of a successful man, yet Epiphany looks at him and sees that he is not happy. How do you define success?
A. Readers often write and tell me that my books and the characters in them were a blessing to them, but the truth is that through the books I’ve been blessed in a thousand different ways. When I hear from readers, it’s one of those full-circle moments—the fulfillment of a dream that began when an amazing first-grade teacher told me I’d be a writer someday. I am continually filled by a sense of wonder at being able to do something I always wanted to do. That’s success, I think. Success, in its most essential form, has little to do with money and accolades. It is not wrapped up in what TV commercials tell us will make us happier, more fulfilled, and better-looking. Success comes from figuring out who God intends you to be and from learning how to live in the world without trying to squeeze into a persona that doesn’t fit. The natural next step, then, lies in finding a way to use your talents and passions, your sparklingly real and uniquely gifted self, to do what you were meant to do.
Q. Norman and Epiphany develop an incredible bond and an unlikely friendship. What is one thing you look for in a close friend and what is one quality you hope others see in you?
A. Friends who’ve walked the path beside you through life’s joys and challenges are valuable beyond measure. As time passes, each friend becomes more dear to me because we have shared more experiences. One of the qualities I look for in a friend is, quite simply, reliability. I try to show up for people when I promise I will, and I hope for the same in friends. If I tell someone I’ll do something, barring natural disasters or the stomach flu, I’ll come through. Years ago, a Sunday-school teacher asked my younger son to answer questions on a homemade Mother’s Day greeting card. To fill in the sentence, “One thing I like about my mom is . . .” my son wrote, “You always keep your promises.” That was the best compliment I could have received!
Q. Lisa, can you introduce us to your friend Ed Stevens?
A. I would love to! In
Dandelion Summer
I really wanted to bring to light the story of the amazing Hughes Aircraft team that built
Surveyor
. At the time, much of the press coverage of the Surveyor mission mentioned the highly skilled teams at NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), but Howard Hughes’s brilliant team of engineers often went without the recognition they deserved. I feel fortunate to have met one of these amazing men and to have vicariously shared some of the excitement of that first soft landing on the moon. I hope, through getting to know Ed Stevens, you can relive a bit of his (and Norman’s) thrilling history, as well.
Q. Ed, Lisa jokingly calls you the “real-life Norman” and credits you with having helped to inspire the story. Can you tell us how this came about?
A. I first met Lisa Wingate when I read her book
Texas Cooking
. I still laugh every time I think about the section where she tells about the bush hogs. Wonderful story. I realized very quickly that the reader didn’t need to run the book through a testosterone filter. Her characters are balanced. As I was reading it, I found that she had written more books. I immediately ordered all of them and have so thoroughly enjoyed them. I have read each of them many times. After reading
Texas Cooking
, I sent an e-mail to Lisa thanking her for writing such an outstanding book. I mentioned some of my experiences with computers and offered to help with anything that would free some time for her to write more books. Over time as we worked on projects, I relayed some of my experiences in related areas, via e-mails, and we became good friends.
Q. Ed, in the story, Epiphany is fascinated by the tale of the Russian trawlers trying to sabotage the launches. Can you tell us what you remember about that?
A. We had run tests on the spacecraft back in the assembly area, which was some distance from the launchpad, and the system worked. Then when we took it to the launchpad and ran tests, the receiver/transmitter (R/T) had problems. We replaced the R/T unit, ran the tests in the assembly area, and it looked good. We then took the system back to the launchpad and had the same problems with the R/T unit. After some effort, we learned that a Russian trawler was in the area. In those days at the cape, some of us assumed that Russian trawlers were there to jam rocket/missile R/F hardware. I can’t remember the details, but the problem was solved, and
Surveyor
was launched to the moon.
Q. Ed, in the story, Norman remembers his time at the cape as his Camelot. Can you share some of your feelings about your experiences as a young man, working on such an exciting project?
A. The Surveyor project occupied a lot of our time, but we somehow found the time for Fat Boy’s Barbecue at lunchtime and during a lot of suppertimes, too. Fat Boy’s was located not too far from the southern entrance to the cape. Sometimes we discussed the Russian trawlers and wondered whether they were at that moment showering us with radio waves. Sometimes while we were there, there would be a missile launch. My wife and I lived a good distance from the cape on Switch Grass Island. We had a cabin with a porch that hung over the entrance to Lake Poinsett, which was a very large freshwater lake. Fishermen would maneuver their boats right under our window and wake us up about four or five a.m. on their way to the lake. We finally got used to that. It seemed worth the price, as we could fish off the back porch of our home.
I remember when we were working on
Surveyor
in California there were a lot of comments, both by professionals and nonprofessionals, claiming that
Surveyor
would fail. Many felt that even if
Surveyor
did get off on time, even if it did have a successful midcourse maneuver, even if the attitude-control jets worked correctly, even if the retro rocket (braking energy for a soft landing) did work, then the spacecraft would sink out of sight beneath the moondust on landing. I still get excited when I think of
Surveyor 1
accomplishing its goals—against all the odds and negative comments. I want to personally thank Lisa Wingate for bringing back some of the Hughes
Surveyor
team experiences that were lost in the vaults of history. Experiences that are now available to everyone. Lisa is an outstanding author whom I have enjoyed working with very much!
Q. Ed, do you ever think of
Surveyor
and wonder what has become of the amazing machine you helped to build?
A. Yes, over the years, I have thought about
Surveyor
a lot. A while ago I saw a picture of
Surveyor 1
on the moon’s surface, taken by a satellite in 2009. Memories came flooding back. It has been there for forty-four years . . . all alone. I think about Howard Hughes and his
Surveyor
team, and about the high chance of failure. I wonder what stories
Surveyor
could tell about what it has seen since arriving in 1966. Has it seen others like itself? How have its electronics and metals weathered on the lunar surface? Is the solar panel covered with dust, or do the solar winds keep it clean? Is the battery still in one piece? If only it could talk. How like
Surveyor
are we? We are built, launched, and given the opportunity to wander the currents of the cosmos.