Question 2- Dramatic Irony

The dramatic irony of "Apogee", very early in the story, is the realization that Teddy's dad is a loser- one of those "weekend" dads typical of  divorced parent scenarios. These men may truly mean well, and try to focus on some common interest they share with their children, but ultimately they have their own agenda which has little or nothing to do with the child or the mother. As a reader, we wish that Teddy didn't have to learn such a hard lesson, but it is inevitable, isn't it? Dads and Moms are never quite what we imagine them to be...

So sad how Teddy clings to his rocketry hobby. It's a form of denial- a way to distract himself from the truth of his dysfunctional family. And it's a poignant metaphor when you think about it- "what goes up must come down". However lofty our personal fictions about our parents might be constructed, they are still subject to the gravity of truth.

I was onto this author's "modus operandi" fairly early. It was easy to predict that the father wouldn't be there for the hockey game or the rocket launch. How did I know? I've been that dad on occasions. I have a son, and his mother and I divorced when he was three years old. I tried to remain a good dad, and often was. (I payed child support for fifteen years, which is the least I could have done). I had him every other weekend at a minimum, and often much more. He's 25 now, and we have a good relationship. But the scars are still there. They're not going to magically disappear...

To read this story, and witness Teddy's naivete in the wake of what is actually happening- it's devastating. But it is also enlightening. The scene where he hits "redial" and encounters his dad's mistress; or perhaps the saddest exchange of all; "I want to tell you something about me and your father" [my mother said]. "I know" [I said, still looking at the rocket]. "I understand"... Children do understand- sometimes more than they should have to.

Question 3- Loss of Innocence

In "Shiloh" it becomes obvious that Leroy is the more childish partner in the marriage, and this short story is a superb entry for the theme of lost innocence. A married couple in their thirties is far from immune to this problem; to the contrary I would suspect they're the demographic entity that would experience it the most. A woman comes into her prime, sexually, in her mid-thirties. A man, in comparison, peaks in his upper teens. (Which is not to say that he lacks for testosterone-driven foolishness for decades to come). At least one spouse, but far more commonly both, are going to start realizing, at about this age, that their teenage visions of romance were bullshit... welcome to the real world.

Larry has been symbolically "castrated" by his disability. He's not the stereotypical male breadwinner anymore. It's also a clever plot device that Norma Jean lifts weights and he does needlepoint- this drives home the role-reversal. He wants to make his wife happy, but the "log cabin" plan is both a metaphorical and literal (marijuana-induced) pipe dream. I love the fact that he smokes joints and asks Norma Jean to play her keyboard for him. And that her mother "busts" her smoking a cigarette. Really? Get over it, Mabel!

The death of their child- what could be more inducive to a loss of innocence? (or faith?). Even if they never talked about it, it would be the 800-pound ghost in the room for the rest of their marriage. These things don't go away- trust me. My wife was in a horrible accident that broke both her ankles back in 2005. I was indirectly responsible, because I wasn't available when she needed a ride that day. We've never talked about it much. But I"ll never lose that guilt. Life, especially when you share it with someone, has it's black days.

I've heard a woman tell me that she wants the marriage to be over, and that she wants to leave me- three different women have said as much. That would be my first, second, and current wife. Leroy hears this from Norma Jean in "Shiloh", and he goes into a sort of denial. I think this is what men, especially, are prone to do. I will continue to fake "innocence" under those circumstances. So far my third wife and I have been married almost twenty years. Somebody has to be a child for that kind of longevity to occur.