Thanksgiving

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to do my first book signing. Although it wasn't as successful as I'd hoped, I still wanted to express my thanks to the Nelson family at Ensign Books for giving me the opportunity.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, which we just celebrated, I wanted to take the opportunity to give thanks to all those who have helped me achieve my lifelong dream of getting my book published: I'd like to thank my wife Cheryl for all the support and encouragement she's given me over the years as I've struggled to find a publisher for my book. I'd like to likewise thank my family for all their support. Each of my siblings and inlaws, as well as most of my aunts, uncles, and cousins, have purchased a copy of my book - some multiple copies to give to others as gifts. I want to also thank all my friends, or friends of family members, who have also purchased copies of my book. I want to thank anyone who has recommended my book to someone else. I especially want to thank my parents who have done more than anyone to spread word about the book. I'd also like to thank each of those who read early drafts of The Narrows Escape, and gave me critical feedback to make it better and more marketable. In particular, I'd like to thank my friend Pat Mosbacker, an English teacher at Canyon View Junior High, who read my "proof," and helped me catch most of the minor errors that had crept in with all the revisions. I'd like to thank the ranger at Zion National Park who answered my many questions about standard operating procedures in case of a flash flood. I'd like to thank Jon Casbeer for suggesting I create a Facebook page for The Narrows Escape, and everyone who "liked" it. I'd like to thank each person who has "shared" one of my posts regarding my book. I'd like to thank Nanette Johansen for taking the time to write a review of the book. I'd like to thank each person who visits this blog regularly, increasing the traffic and thereby its popularity. I'd like to thank my sister Amy Strong for making me business cards to advertise the book. Finally, I'd like to thank Kent Minson for his insightful feedback and his help in getting the book published. I'd also like to thank all the other employees of Y Mountain Press who helped with the production of my book.
Enjoy the holidays! Brad Allred

Brady's fear

When trying to come up with a personal struggle for each of the DTB cousins to work through during the course of the book, I decided that I wanted one of the cousins to overcome a fear. Since Brady was the youngest, and his mother was the "worry wart" among the aunts, I decided to have him struggle with overcoming his fears. Although I personally have never really struggled with any phobias, I have seen how debilitating a fear can be. Yet I also witnessed how fear could be overcome by courage. My grandmother struggled with clausterphobia throughout her life. In 1988, she was with us in New York when we went up the stairs of the Statue of Liberty. The stairway was cramped, and with so many people inside, once you were committed, there was no backing out. My grandma would have flipped out inside there under most circumstances; but because she had to help take care of her 15 grandkids, she was able to control her fear for the duration. During the Fourth of July chapter I've referenced over the last couple of posts, I also introduced Brady's fear of water. When I cut out the chapter, I transferred that introduction to the reunion. One part I couldn't transfer was the discussion on fear Brady had with his father when he was punished for his part in the firework fiasco. Here it is:

Just as he suspected would happen, Brady was grounded for a week. He didn’t care too much about that. What bothered him was seeing the disappointment in his parents’ faces.

“I just don’t understand why you’d do such a thing!” exclaimed his mom. “Didn’t you know how dangerous that was?”

“Yes, but I hate it when people think I’m a wimp!” declared Brady as he fought to hold back the tears that threatened to flow down his cheeks.

“There is nothing wimpy about choosing the right,” declared his dad. “In fact, it takes a lot more courage to stand up for the right than it does to go with the flow. Courage isn’t doing dangerous things in order to prove your bravery. True courage is doing what’s right no matter the cost.”

Brady thought about that. He usually didn’t cave into peer pressure. And if it had been anyone else trying to get him to go light fireworks, he would have refused no matter what they said. But these were his cousins - his best friends in the entire world! He couldn’t afford to have them think he was a wimp too. Otherwise, now that Devin was here, they might start doing things without him.

On the other hand, he couldn’t do anything with them anyway if he kept getting grounded. “I’m sorry,” he said contritely.

“Well good. I hope you learned something from all this,” said Mom.

“I did,” said Brady. He wanted to have true courage – the kind his dad had. He needed to overcome his fears – especially his fear of water.

##

Since he couldn’t do anything with his friends, Brady decided to use the time to do some extra reading. He was an avid reader, and enjoyed letting books transport him to other places and times. Unfortunately, he had already read all the books in his own personal collection and couldn’t go to the library to get any more. So he began going through the books in his dad’s office.

As he browsed what was available, he found a box of old Scouting magazines. Interested, he began thumbing through some of them. As he picked up a magazine from the stack, the words “Virgin Narrows” seemed to stand out like a neon light – especially since they were accompanied by the word “disaster.”

He quickly found the article and began reading. The further he read, the lower his jaw dropped. Butterflies began swarming his stomach as he read about the unlucky Scout troop that had been hit by a flash flood. Several had lost their lives in the ferocious waters. Several times, Brady set the magazine down as his nerves got the best of him - but morbid curiosity prodded him to keep picking it up again until he finished the article.

When he set the magazine down for the final time, Brady just sat there for minutes on end, worrying about whether the same thing could happen to them. If it happened to a troop of Scouts, why not us? Do I really want to go? What would Devin and Trey say if I backed out? Would they think I’m a wimp? Of course they would. Maybe I can fake an injury or something. But then I really would be a wimp!

Brady considered his options. What if I try to get everyone to go somewhere else instead? No, that won’t work. We’ve already been planning this thing for months. So what should I do?

There was no easy solution. On the one hand, he wanted to be courageous like his dad. But the idea of swimming across a water hole in the middle of a river, with a full pack on his back made him break out into a cold sweat. Knowing people had drowned on that very same hike only magnified the feeling. A small shiver ran down his spine and he began unconsciously chewing on his thumbnail wondering what to do. The problem plagued him the rest of the day and into the night.

Odd Man out

     With three boys in a club, it is very easy for one of the club members to feel like the odd man out. My cousins' families both purchased matching campers, and they went on several outings together. Whenever I heard about their trips, or saw slides of them, I naturally felt left out. I'm sure my cousins felt the same way too at times. My cousin Darin lived in Utah, while Troy and I both lived in California. I'm sure Darin felt left out much of the time whenever he heard about the activities we did together. I'm sure Troy felt the same way whenever Darin's family stayed at our house. In any case, most people deal with feeling like the "odd man out" or the "third wheel" at some point in their lives - particularly teenagers. I thought it might be a good theme to treat over the course of my books.
     Originally, Devin was the "odd man out" since he lived in a different state. By moving to California, the dynamics of the club would change, and it was a good opportunity to shift that feeling to one of the other club members. Since Devin was dealing with a sibling rivalry, and Brady was struggling with overcoming his fear of water, Trey was the natural choice to deal with this shift. One way I tried to create this dilemma was through my character bios of the three cousins. While all three boys have some similarities, and some differences, I purposely created more similarities between Devin and Brady. I also had Devin's family move to Northland rather than Hillside to create closer proximity in geography as well. I then tried to introduce this dilemma in one version of the Fourth of July narrative I shared last week. Here are the scenes that dealt with this issue:

Trey and Devin exulted about how awesome the hike would be. Unfortunately, Brady somehow managed to change the topic to baseball. Before Trey knew it, his cousins were once again debating who was better – the Angels or the Dodgers.

Devin preferred the Angels, and their All-Star first baseman Rod Carew. Brady’s team was the Dodgers, led by the pudgy Mexican phenom Fernando Valenzuela. Trey had no opinion on the matter. He enjoyed going to ballgames, but he wasn’t a sports addict like his cousins. He preferred spending time in the solitude of nature, or listening to music. He already had an awesome record collection. Unfortunately, his cousins could care less about records – unless they were of the sports variety.

“The Angels have more All-Stars,” pointed out Devin. “We have five. You only have three.”

“That’s because the National League is a lot better,” explained Brady. “It’s harder to get in.”

“Says who?”

“They’ve won eleven All-Star games in a row, haven’t they?” claimed Brady.

“We’ll win this year,” asserted Devin.

As he listened to them argue, Trey looked for opportunities to join in on the conversation. But for the most part, he just listened - growing more bored by the minute. After a while, it seemed as if they’d completely forgotten that he was there at all. Although he should have been right in the middle of all the DTB's activities, recently he felt as if he were on the outside looking in. And if Devin’s family moved to Northland, that feeling would only grow more and more pronounced.

As he sat listening to them, Trey found himself half wishing that Brady would chicken out of going on the hike. At least then he wouldn’t have to worry about being cut out of the conversation. Of course, as soon as he realized what he was doing, Trey chastised himself for being so selfish.

Suddenly Trey had a brilliant idea. He went to his room and found the package of fireworks his friend Jeff had brought back from Mexico. It had a wide assortment of firecrackers, including rockets, Roman candles, and flowers.

His conscience was already reminding him that the county had banned fireworks, but Trey didn’t want them to go to waste - especially since it was a surefire way to get the conversation off sports for a while. He tried to soothe his conscience by telling himself that his dad had let them use the sparklers.

Maybe it’s just illegal to sell them here, Trey justified. That made sense, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. He found his jacket, stuffed in the back of his closet, and put it on – carefully concealing the fireworks inside. Then he rejoined his cousins.

“Where’d you go?” asked Devin.

“I had to get something out of my room,” answered Trey.

“Your jacket?” asked Devin, looking at Trey as if he were crazy.

“Let’s go outside,” Trey said softly. There were too many people nearby to explain what he had in mind.

Devin and Brady looked at each other with puzzled looks before following him out back. As soon as they were out of sight of the adults congregated in the living room, Trey unzipped his jacket and pulled out the package of fireworks.
##

After everyone had left, Trey’s parents sent the girls to get ready for bed. Trey tried to follow, but his dad said, “And just where do you think you’re going?”

“To bed,” Trey replied innocently. “As you always say, ‘Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.’”

“Well, you obviously could use some more wisdom,” his dad agreed, “so you’ll be going to bed early this whole week, and getting up early too - to get yard work done while it’s cool out. If you haven’t guessed, you’re grounded.”

“For a whole week?” exclaimed Trey, feigning shock. It was actually exactly what he suspected, but he hoped to bargain for a lighter sentence.

“Just be grateful it’s not two,” his mom added. “Or you’d miss the hike too.”

Trey gulped. “Okay,” he agreed quickly. “I’m sorry.” He bowed his head and contritely headed for bed, hoping to get away without the lecture he knew was coming.

“We’re not done yet,” his dad announced.

Trey grimaced and turned back to face his parents.

“Sit down.” Trey sat and watched as his dad organized his thoughts. Finally he looked Trey in the eye and asked, “What on earth were you thinking? Didn’t you know how dangerous that was?”

“Everyone shoots off fireworks on the 4^th of July. That’s what you’re supposed to do. It’s fun!” exclaimed Trey in frustration.

“The rest of us didn’t shoot any off, and we had fun.”

“You’re the one who brought out the sparklers,” Trey reminded him.

“That’s different.”

“How is it different?” demanded Trey.

“They’re a lot safer than real fireworks for one thing,” retorted his dad. “And besides, we didn’t go sneaking off to the fields to use them either.”

“You just don’t understand,” murmured Trey. “It’s different when you’re the odd man out.”

“Odd man out?” asked his mom in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”

“You know,” Trey paused, trying to figure out just how to say what he’d been feeling. “Lately, when Devin and Brady are together, it’s like I don’t fit in anymore.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, he and Brady are always talking about baseball, or basketball, or football. Sometimes they get so caught up in arguing about whose team is better, or whatever, that they forget that I’m even there!” Trey vented.

“So? Join in on the conversation then,” suggested his mom.

Trey sighed. “I tried!” he exclaimed. “But when I said that Steve Garvey was my favorite Dodger, Devin laughed at me and said that Garvey wasn’t even on the Dodgers anymore. So I just shut up and listened.”

“What’s that have to do with the firecrackers?” his dad wondered.

“Well, it was something we could all do together,” Trey replied.

His dad nodded his head slowly, with a distant look in his eye. Then he looked at Trey and said, “Well, believe it or not, I understand how you feel. Growing up, I didn’t have many friends outside of my brothers. And sometimes I went out of my way to fit in too.”

Trey was surprised. His dad had never talked like this before.

“But you know what I learned?” He paused and Trey shook his head. “I learned that true friends don’t have to try and impress each other to prove their worth. Instead, they accept each other for who they are, despite their differences. If you stay true to yourself, to your values, then you’ll be much happier than if you try to do something dumb just to fit in.”

Trey bowed his head in shame. He knew it was a stupid thing to do. “I’m sorry,” he said contritely. “I guess my little stunt really backfired on me, didn’t it?”

Despite their anger, Trey’s parents both smirked at his pun. “Get to bed!” growled his dad. Trey didn’t have to be told twice.

Patriotic Fire

As I've mentioned before, the Narrows Escape has gone through several extensive revisions over the years. Probably the most drastic changes have occurred at the beginning of the book as I tried to determine how the novel should begin. Before finally settling on the current format, I had a couple of chapters before the family reunion. Chapter One was called "Patriotic Fire." It's purpose was to start the novel off with a bang. Once I changed the prologue to the current version, I decided to cut the first couple of chapters and go straight to the reunion. In any case, I saved it among my "DTB clips." Here it is:
 

Summer 1983

“We’re moving to California!” announced Devin, as soon as Brady’s family arrived. They were at Trey’s house for a Fourth of July party.

“Awesome!” exclaimed Brady. “When?”

“Later this summer. My dad found out last night that he got the counseling job at Hillside High.”

“So you’re moving to Hillside?” asked Brady, sounding a little less enthusiastic.

“Yeah, isn’t that great?” asked Trey, whose family lived in Hillside.

“I guess so,” said Brady. “Why don’t you move to Northland instead?” Northland was where Brady’s family lived.

“What does it matter? They’re right next to each other,” observed Devin.

“Cause then you guys will get to go to junior high together and I’ll be all by myself,” explained Brady.

“Don’t worry, we’ll invite you to all the Hillside victory parties every time we beat Northland,” teased Trey.

“I’m going to Prospector Junior,” Brady informed them as the three boys plopped down onto beanbags in Trey’s bedroom.

“Look what I got!” Devin declared. He opened the paper bag full of firecrackers and held it out so that his cousins to see.

“Where’d you get those?” asked Trey as he and Brady gathered around the bag to see.

“My friends and I bought a whole bunch for really cheap last summer,” Devin beamed.

“Aren’t those illegal?” Brady asked nervously.

“How can they be illegal?” asked Devin indignantly. “We set them off every year.”

“They banned them here because of the fire danger,” said Trey glumly.

“That’s stupid!” Devin declared. “In Utah we used to shoot them off all the time!”

“Well, welcome to California,” Trey stated.

“This is so dumb,” he complained, crumpling the bag shut again and plopping down on Trey’s bed. “So what are we supposed to do?”

“We can still do the firecrackers,” Trey said conspiratorially, lowering his voice after checking to see that his door was shut tight. “We just have to make sure no one finds out.”

“Why don’t we just go play games with the rest of kids,” suggested Brady, tugging at the bill of his Dodger cap.

“They’re playing Duck, Duck, Goose,” declared Devin derisively. “Come on, let’s go have some fun!”

“I don’t know,” hedged Brady.

“What’s the big deal?” asked Trey. “It’s not like they’re going to arrest us or anything. In fact, I think it’s only illegal to sell fireworks here.”

“Besides, banning fireworks on the Fourth of July is un-American!” declared Devin. He had spent his hard earned money to buy the firecrackers – legally – and he didn’t want them to just go to waste.

Brady didn’t answer. He just chewed his lip and furrowed his brow.

“Come on, let’s just go ourselves,” urged Devin, turning to Trey. “I guess he’s too chicken.”

“I’m not chicken!” said Brady defiantly.

“Let’s hurry then!” encouraged Trey. He cracked open the door and peeked into the hall. “The coast is clear,” he whispered back with a grin.

Devin stuffed the bag under his shirt, and folded his arms over it. It still bulged out, so he made sure he tagged along in Trey’s shadow as they casually walked past their family members and out the back door.

As soon as they were outside, Trey headed for the back wall. “Come on!” he urged.

“Where are we going?” asked Brady.

“To the fields,” said Trey. Trey’s family lived in the foothills of the San Bernadino Mountains; and even though new housing tracts were going up all over southern California, the large orange grove behind his house was still untouched. Beyond that open fields and hills spread all the way to the base of the mountains. The three boys had spent many summer afternoons over the years hiking in the grove and fields and knew them well.

“Wouldn’t it be safer to set them off in the street?” asked Brady, hesitating again.

“Nope. If we get caught, my dad’ll kill me,” explained Trey, hopping over the wall. “This way, if anyone asks where we were, we can honestly say we went for a walk.”

“Good idea,” agreed Devin, pulling himself up and over. He cast a glance back at the house to make sure no one was watching before dropping down on the other side.

“But what about the fire hazard?” asked Brady, following his cousins over the wall.

“Good grief, you worry as much as your mother,” snapped Devin in a condescending tone. He wanted Brady to come with them, but not if he was going to make them feel guilty the whole time. Luckily the comment had the desired effect. Brady immediately snapped his mouth shut, and didn’t say anything more as they walked through the orange trees.

When they got clear of the grove, Trey led them to a flat, mostly dirt area, and the three boys quickly cleared away the tall weeds in a six-foot radius. Then Devin opened the bag and pulled out a small rocket.

Taking one last look around to make sure they were alone, Devin lit the wick and hurried back to where his cousins waited. The rocket shot up, flaring brightly, before gravity pulled it back to Earth. It was awesome!

“Cool!” shouted Brady enthusiastically, allowing Devin to breath easier.

“Do you want to light the next one?” offered Devin.

“Nah, I’ll just watch,” answered Brady. He still looked uncomfortable about the whole thing, so just Devin and Trey took turns lighting them off.

After the rockets were gone, they tried out the Roman candles. Even though they were in the middle of nowhere, Devin caught himself looking over his shoulder from time to time to make sure no one was around. Although he tried to convince himself that the fireworks ban was unfair, Devin still felt guilty. But not guilty enough to stop.

Next up were the flowers. They were still some of Devin’s favorites. He loved how they danced around the ground, changing colors from yellow to pink to green to yellow again, before flaming out.

All too soon, though, the fireworks were almost gone.

“Last one, do you want it?” asked Devin, offering the small firecracker to Brady. If Brady would just join in on the fun, maybe he wouldn’t feel so guilty.

Brady looked at it for a second before making up his mind. He finally took it and lit the wick. Then he hurriedly dropped it to the ground.

At first it just lay there with a long, yellow flame shooting out. Brady kicked it with his foot, and it started hopping around like a boy with his pants on fire. Unfortunately, it skipped toward the edge of the clearing and into the dry brush. The three boys rushed to retrieve it, but it was too late. The brush had already caught fire!

“Oh no!” yelled Devin, as the small flames quickly spread from one dry weed to the next. He reached down to grab the offending firework. It had stopped dancing, but was still flaming. Unfortunately his brain must have stopped functioning, because he forgot how hot it would be. A second later, he was rudely reminded.

“Yeeooow!” Reflexively, he dropped the still flaming firework into the brush again and stuck his scorched fingers in his mouth for relief. Trey began kicking dirt on the spreading flames, so Devin joined in; but Brady turned and ran towards the house.

“Wait! Where are you going?” called Devin. They needed to put out the fire before anyone found out.

“To get help!” Brady yelled over his shoulder.

“No wait! Help us put it out!” Devin shouted. “Come back!” But Brady kept running.

Frantically, Devin got back to work. The fire still wasn’t very big, but no matter what they did, it continued to spread. “What are we going to do?” he yelled, scooping up handfuls of dirt and tossing it on the fire. The problem they faced now was that the flames were moving further away from the dirt supply.

“I don’t know!” answered Trey. “It just keeps growing!”

Just as they were getting ready to abandon their efforts, Shane burst out from the orange groves. Two pool towels were slung over his shoulders, flapping behind him like a double cape, as Shane swooped in to save the day.

Shane was at their side in seconds, and tossed one of the wet towels to Trey. Then he began beating the flames near Devin with the other. Devin continued to toss dirt, and was heartened to see that their efforts were now making progress. Within a minute, the flames were nearly extinguished.

As they stamped out the last of the flames, Devin began wondering if they could possibly keep the whole incident under wraps. Maybe Brady had only told Shane, and they could convince him not to say anything.

Those hopes were dashed when he heard his dad yell, “Devin Gilbert Allred! What on earth happened out here?”

Devin turned to see his father and uncles rushing towards them – and they didn’t look too happy. Devin gulped. They were busted!