Welcome to another edition of “Behind the Scenes of The Dream Doers Series.”
The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets begins on the last day of sixth grade for Alex and Tyler. But in today’s Behind the Scenes Webisode, Parent Profile Edition, we’re going to go waaaay waaaay waaaay behind the scenes to give you a chance to get to know…Alex’s dad!
This Parent Profile Series continued last week with Alex’s mom, Anna Wilkins. Today, we meet Alex’s dad, Rick Wilkins.
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Rick grew up in Boone, North Carolina. He didn’t have any brothers or sisters, but he did have a wild imagination. He loved to read when he wasn’t doing outdoorsy stuff like hiking, skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing and camping with his dad.
His mother home-schooled him until his senior year of high school when some friends from church encouraged him to go to public school with them so they could all graduate together.
Then he decided to tryout for the basketball team even though he had never played the game before.
Being strong, lean, athletic and quick, he picked up on the sport right away. He broke his school’s single season scoring record and earned a full-ride basketball scholarship to college.
In his four years of playing, he broke the school’s records in scoring, rebounds, steals and assists. His ability to focus completely on the task at hand combined with his natural athletic talent is what made him so successful on the basketball court.
He also graduated with a business degree at the top of his class and was a natural leader. People loved being around him because of his quiet strength and humble spirit.
He had several job offers to consider after graduating, but he wasn’t sure which job to take. So he took his dog and went for a month-long hike along the Appalachian Trail to give him some time to think about his options.
On the journey back and one day’s hike from home, a thunderstorm came through an hour before dark, just before he saw the accident happen.
Four women were up ahead of him on a steep part of the trail. Two of them were fighting over a water bottle. When one jerked it away from the other, the one woman fell over the edge onto a ledge twenty-five feet below the trail.
Instead of trying to help her, her friends ran away, right into Rick. They stopped long enough to tell him what happened and then kept running.
As the thunder rumbled, the lightening flashed and the rain poured down, he tied a rope around a tree and rappelled down to the ledge where the woman had fallen.
She remained conscious long enough to tell him her name was Anna and passed out. He simply covered her with his body until the storm passed, then lifted both of them up and carried her to safety.
Once Rick got Anna to the hospital, she had surgery to put pins in her crushed right arm and broken left leg. Rick stayed with her the three weeks she was in intensive care and reunited her with her parents.
They got married a year later, after Rick accepted a job teaching high school English in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
After becoming the parents of one girl and four boys, Rick and Anna didn’t plan on having any more kids. Then a surprise number six came along.
They named her Alexandria Jean Wilkins, one of the main characters in The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets.
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Tune in to next week’s “Behind the Scenes” webisode to learn more about Ben Davis, the dad of Alex’s best friend Tyler.
To Your Dreams,
Bonnie Jean
P.S. In case you haven’t yet been in front of the scenes of The Dream Doers series, it starts with The Dream Doers and the Summer of Secrets. In this young adult novel, best friends Alex and Tyler are forced to battle bullies, face their fears and keep strange secrets the summer they learn to do what they dream. You can hear the whole “Front of the Scenes” story for FREE. Just visit TheDreamDoers.com and fill out a super short form. Enjoy the story!
