#joe clarendon

[whitesinhistory]

South Carolina Passes Bill to Maintain School Segregation Six Years After Brown v. Board Decision Struck it Down

On May 13, 1960, six years after Brown v. Board of Education, South Carolina’s legislature passed a bill to preserve school segregation and stall Black citizens’ attempts to integrate public schools using the authority of federal courts.

On the last day of the 1960 legislative session, South Carolina lawmakers voted for a bill that, on its face, repealed language that declared the state would provide funding to “racially segregated schools only.” However, as local media accurately reported, the legislation was a “maneuver to thwart integration by the fiction of seeming to give in a little to it.” The bill did nothing to change another state law that mandated the closure of any school for white students that admitted a Black student. The bill also left in place provisions requiring racial segregation on school buses and in cafeterias.

In 1951, state lawmakers established the South Carolina School Committee, the first of its kind in the country. Despite its seemingly neutral name, the committee was composed of state legislators and members appointed by the governor and conducted “enormous research” during the 1950s and 1960s to identify ways to circumvent the Constitution and keep schools segregated. The press regularly referred to the group as a “segregation committee,” seemingly reflecting knowledge of its true purpose. During the 1956-1957 legislative sessions, the committee's work led South Carolina lawmakers to pass the law restricting state funding to “racially segregated schools” and to also design a school-choice policy that allowed the state to continue operating all-white schools.

Committee members also designed this 1960 repeal bill as a way to “fight integration suits while in no way relaxing restrictions on the mixing of the races.” Legislators and other members of the Committee feared that keeping laws that included explicit language that mandated segregation would enable aggrieved Black students to successfully challenge South Carolina’s racist policies in federal court. By removing the plain language of segregation, the Committee aimed to keep Black plaintiffs “languishing for years” in state court by depriving them of the strong evidence of discriminatory intent, while still achieving the same result: segregated schools. Representative Joe Rogers of Clarendon County, South Carolina, a member of the Committee, publicly endorsed the new legislation and assured ardent segregationists that South Carolina was “as resolute as ever” in maintaining racial apartheid.

South Carolina Governor Ernest Hollings also applauded the legislation repealing the explicit segregation language, declaring it a move to “bolster, rather than to weaken, the state’s rigid stand against mixing the races in public schools.” However, lawmakers and the governor delayed signing the bill into law, since federal intervention was not yet actively enforcing desegregation in the state. In August 1960, the Committee reported that public schools remained “orderly” and segregated, and Governor Hollings let the bill quietly die. In 1961, as South Carolina faced the loss of federal education funding due to its insistence on maintaining racial segregation, the Committee revived the bill and Governor Hollings signed it into law in July 1961. School desegregation did not begin in the state for another two years.

The massive resistance campaign that white communities waged against efforts to desegregate public schools in the U.S. was largely successful in delaying implementation of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling in the South. Until the fall of 1960, every single one of the 1.4 million Black school children in the five states of the Deep South attended segregated schools. By the start of the 1964-65 school year, less than 3% of the South’s Black children attended school with white students, and in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina, that number remained substantially below 1%. In 1967, 13 years after Brown was decided, a report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights observed that white violence and intimidation against Black people “continue[d] to be a deterrent to school desegregation.” Learn more in EJI’s report, Segregation in America.  

[page-28]

Merry Xmas from Joe and his Morris Minor parked up at Clarendon Cross with the long gone Portland Arms in the background.

[esoterium]

by request only muses.

// these muses are muses i would love to write but are less popular on the blog! they are now by request only. feel free to send memes or approach for plots, etc! they are always open and ready to go but i will prefer some plotting beforehand and have a little bit of an idea where we are heading out the gate! current partners and threads are good to go as usual. much love!

–THE WALKING DEAD.

name: daryl dixon age: 30+ and timeline dependent sexual preference: straight(ish?) occupation: survivalist, jack of all trades, dog dad faceclaim: norman reedus notes: i’m willing to play all timelines up to the end of season 11. so far, i’ve not watched twd: daryl dixon. i don’t plan to til i find out what happens with carol in it. tbh i’m not interested if they hurt her. lol! so i’ll be divergent with my own canon til then.

name: rick grimes age: 23+ sexual preference: bisexual, mostly curious til plotted occupation: father, husband, former deputy, leader, survivalist faceclaim: andrew lincoln

name: beth greene age: 25+ (prefer to write beth post season 7 and plotted!) sexual preference: straight occupation: former farmer’s daughter, survivor, thief faceclaim: emily kinney notes: heavily divergent. was found by a surgeon of the hospital and taken in. they have remained together since then. she is a thief/nomad who lies on the outskirts of the commonwealth and has yet to be encountered.

–STEPHEN KING'S UNIVERSE.

name: pete moore age: 32+ sexual preference: bisexual occupation: wanted to be an astronaut but became a car salesman faceclaim: timothy olyphant fandom: stephen king's dreamcatcher, derry crossovers welcome!

name: joe 'beaver' clarendon age: 31+ sexual preference: bisexual occupation: the comic relief, the divorced drunk, the seer faceclaim: jason lee fandom: stephen king's dreamcatcher, derry crossovers welcome!

name: stanley "stan" uris age: 12+ sexual preference: bisexual occupation: the birdmad boy, accountant, the one who remembers faceclaim: wyatt oleff, andy bean fandom: stephen king's it, primary muse from it.

–ANNE RICE'S NOVELS.

name: nicolas de lenfent age: appears 21 sexual preference: bisexual occupation: violinist, playwright, mad vampire faceclaim: none

name: santino age: appears 32 sexual preference: bisexual occupation: former coven leader, wanderer faceclaim: none

– GENERAL HORROR.

name: lydia deetz age: 39+ (will only write her in the first era w/ est. partners!) sexual preference: bisexual occupation: photographer faceclaim: winona ryder fandom: beetlejuice (film! see above for musical!)

name: ellison oswalt age: 35+ sexual preference: straight occupation: famous true crime author, currently on a comeback? kinda hated by some. mostly cops. and district attorneys. and most law enforcement. faceclaim: ethan hawke fandom: sinister

name: grace le domas age: 26 sexual preference: straight, bi-curious occupation: former server at a high end restaurant, writer, survivor of a hell of a honeymoon night faceclaim: samara weaving fandom: ready or not

name: timothy price bryce age: 27+ sexual preference: homosexual straight occupation: another vice president of mergers and acquisitions at pierce & pierce faceclaim: justin theroux fandom: american psycho notes: heavily influenced by headcanons. please see rules @traintracked as they are unique to him for extremely important reasons!

name: laurie strode age: 18+ sexual preference: demisexual occupation: babysitter (younger), former headmistress && teacher, writer faceclaim: jamie lee curtis fandom: halloween

– && OTHERS

name: terry bellefleur age: 35+ sexual preference: open minded occupation: retired military, jack of all trades, construction worker faceclaim: todd lowe fandom: true blood

name: elon "eli" spengler (canon but HEAVILY developed damn near oc) age: 35+ / verse dependent sexual preference: demisexual occupation: professor of microbiology and abnormal psychology and brain studies at columbia university, extremely hesitant paranormal researcher, inventor, scientist, environmentalist, wastebuster, former researcher at the cdc. faceclaim: jeff goldblum fandom: ghostbusters notes: my favorite movie of all time. elon is a canon but never truly expanded on twin brother of egon spengler. i'm making them fraternal. elon or eli as he prefers to be called in honor of his grandfather is an absolute paranormal magnent and the reason why egon became so fascinated with the paranormal (and a means of researching it) to begin with. in spite of what was told to their parents and the outside world.

eli was plagued with visits, whispers, dreams and sights of the dead. something he feared, hated and was terrified of. not only because of the nature of what he was seeing and his age. but how their scientifically minded parents and family would view his claims. eli did not go egon's route of understanding. instead. he went the opposite trying to rationalize his fears, visions and hauntings in hopes of the problem 'ceasing to exist'. where one was an outcast (egon), eli was viewed as conforming to the spengler mindframe and fit in with his family.

a guilt he carries now as all his willful ignorance and blind eyes never truly worked (the ghosts? nightmares? everything is still there) and with egon dead? has only worsened. it's with the arrival of an anonymous letter warning him of what is about to pass in new york city than the reclusive spengler has made himself known and extremely reluctantly involved with his brother's former teammates. all of egon's inventions. those that exist and never were are inside of his mind. his brother's research, thoughts, ideas? it's all there. he's just never told anyone.. and who knows what he's willing to give up?

[reddie-ao3feed]

Growing Pains

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/hqIPndi by The_Magic_Lava_Lamp The Tozier-Kaspbrak household was unsettlingly quiet when Beaver decided to pull himself away from his studying. He’d been noticing some sort of funny feeling ----‘Henry might know a better word for it.’---- pinching at his guts for the last month or so. He mostly kept that ‘funny feeling’ to himself. As he crossed the hallway to the stairs, he wondered what version of himself he’d take up today. Not that his problem was that serious or anything but he’d definitely keep the identity crisis to himself, no sense in worrying his family when Richie and Eddie already had so much going on. Words: 5732, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Dreamcatcher - Stephen King, IT - Stephen King Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: M/M Characters: Joe "Beaver" Clarendon, Gary "Jonesy" Jones, Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier, Douglas "Duddits" Cavell, Henry Devlin, Pete Moore Relationships: Joe "Beaver" Clarendon/Gary "Jonesy" Jones, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/hqIPndi

[stellbsna-wilcox]

❤️ALTERS LIST & INFO LINKS❤️

All names will (eventually) have links to the information about said alter. This is just a small list of what we have that will be expanded on as we get their info done.

SECONDARY HOSTS

Valentino - Hazbin Hotel

Trina - AU Velvette From Hazbin Hotel

Bogart - AU Travis From Hazbin Hotel

CatNap - Poppy Playtime

Firkle Smith - South Park

Mike Munroe - Until Dawn

Reno - Final Fantasy VII

Joe "Beaver" Clarendon - Stephen King's Dreamcatcher

GATEKEEPERS

Aldric - AU Alastor from Hazbin Hotel

Maurice "Frenchie" Thierault - The Nun/The Conjuring Universe

CARETAKERS

Dom - AU Valentino From Hazbin Hotel

Adam Stanheight-Faulkner - Saw

LITTLES

Princess Bunny - Little!Valentino From Hazbin Hotel

ANIMAL ALTERS

Mothra - Monsterverse

Whiskers - DC: League Of Super Pets

[todsterdude1]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Stephen King Novel

[longdirectory]

Slash mother

Costume designer Ola Hudson, who made outfits for the likes of David Bowie, John Lennon and Ringo Starr but is perhaps better known as the mother of former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, has died after a battle with lung cancer, a longtime friend said. She is survived by another son, graphic artist. Slash revealed the shocking incident to Australian radio station. Guitarist Slash’s mother dies in Los Angeles. Ola Hudson, mother of Slash (Saul Hudson) has died at Saint John's Health Center in Los Angeles on Friday evening. He found the glam-rock icon in bed with his costume designer mother, Ola Hudson, when he was just 8 years old. Slash, formally known as Saul Hudson, really saw it all when he walked in on David Bowie naked with his mom. The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert featured an absolutely incredible all. Slash revealed that his mother had an affair with David Bowie in an interview with Australian radio station Triple M, recalling that he once discovered them naked when he was a little kid.My. Rushane Barnett is asked to turn himself into the police immediately. But Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash might have them all beat. THROWBACK: Queen, Slash & Joe Elliott Perform Tie Your Mother Down. Beth Hart: For everyone I loved and every road Ive known For all the trash I won I celebrate. Andrew.Īnyone knowing the whereabouts of Rushane Barnett is asked to contact the May Pen Criminal Investigations Branch at 87, police 119 emergency number, or the nearest police station. He is 23-year-old Rushane Barnett otherwise called ‘Jett’ or ‘Nick,’ the cousin of the deceased.īarnett is said to frequent Coco Piece in Clarendon, Wilson Run in Trelawny, and Papine in St. The scene has caused a pile-up of traffic on the busy main road linking May Pen to Chapelton. The Clarendon Police are seeking help to identify a person of interest in the brutal killing of a mother and her four children in Coco Piece in the parish. A mother and four children, comprising three girls and one boy, were found with their throats slashed Tuesday morning at their home in the New Road community near Chapelton in Clarendon. Hudson died at Saint John's Health Center in the Los Angeles municipality of Santa Monica. Ola Hudson, mother of Slash (Saul Hudson) has died at Saint Johns Health Center in Los Angeles on Friday evening. The River Is Rising tour kicks off next week at the Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon on February 8, and runs through to March 26, where it will close at the Hard Rock Live venue in Orlando, Florida.SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE AND CLICK THE BIG RED BUTTON TO WATCH THE VIDEOĪ mother and four children, comprising three girls and one boy, were found with their throats slashed Tuesday morning at their home in the New Road community near Chapelton in Clarendon. Slash's mother, Ola Hudson, died on Jafter a battle with lung cancer. The quintet previously unveiled plans for a 28 city North American headline tour.

[littledozerdraws]

DREAMBOYS + timelapse 🏔🌲👽☝️💫 

[iamhowlingmad]

Everyone still talking ‘bout Eddie x Richie but have you read/seen Dreamcatcher...?

Coz’ Beaver is both of them combined into one...

I mean...

(and this man is freakin’ eating peanut butter out of jar with his finger! omg)

[paranormalpeepee]

team “i i’m into stephen king characters with dark hair, glasses and smart mouths”

[beverlymxarsh]

Dreamcatcher: Jonesy x Beaver

Author note: I’ve noticed that there isn’t much fan fiction or art or really anything for this wonderful book (by Stephen King) and movie. I really adore Jonesy and Beaver and their bond together so I made this. I still have to read the book so I hope I got the majority of the characters right!! By the way, you guys should really check out the movie!! It was tremendous!!!

Word count: 561

Warnings: It’s just fluff, there will be minor cursing because of Beavs.

———————

‘I feel so bad, I got a worried mind.

I’m so lonesome all the time.’

Young Joe Clarendon, or better known as Beaver, sat down on a rock, fiddling with a yo-yo of his. He sang under his breath as he twirled up the string so he could mess with the yo-yo once more. The sound of water rushing through the hard rocks that had seemed to grow from the ground passes his ears. Birds chirped, it wasn’t so early but early enough. He looked up and sighed.

‘They’re suppose to be here already, fuck me Freddy.’ Beaver thought. He took off his horn rimmed glasses for a moment to rub the bridge of his nose. He heard something crunch behind him. He turned around, not being able to see.he squinted.

“Henry? Pete? Duddits?” Beav asked. He looked down, seeing the grey color of large rocks and the color of moss green. He moved his hands around, slightly panicked. The crunches were getting louder and so was his heart beat.

He suddenly felt something hard and somewhat fragile under his finger tips. He made a slight smile of relief before putting his glasses back on. He then looked up to see a young red headed boy staring down at him with a grin. “Hey Beav.” He said happily. “Havin trouble there?” He asked, taking a seat next to his best friend.

Beaver scoffed and continued to mess with his yo-yo. “You had me scared there for a minute you dickweed.” He mumbled with the roll of his eyes. His friend who everyone called Jonesy, widened his eyes and the corners of his mouth perked up into a smile. “So I scared ya! Well what about that, I can’t wait to tell Henry.” He laughed.

Beaver felt a warm feeling rushing on his pale cheeks. “I swear to God Jonesy! If you tell anyone then you’re gonna get it!!” He threatened, grabbing his blue yo-yo. Jonesy gave a smug look.

“Get what? A pinch?” He joked. Beaver gritted his teeth and moved his knees close to his chest. “You’re so annoying.” He mumbled.

After Jonesy had calmed down his laughter, he reached out for Beav’s yo-yo. “Let me see that.” He said. Beaver jumped by the slight touch of Jonesy’s finger tips. He quickly moved away from him. “No! You’re probably gonna break it.” He said. Jonesy frowned. “Oh come on Beavs, we’ve been friends for how long? I ain’t gonna break your yo-yo.” He said, holding out his hand.

Beaver was hesitant before handing him his yo-yo. Jonesy smiled widely as he examined it. “Do you know how to do any tricks on it yet?” He asked. Beaver frowned. “Nah, not really, you?” He asked. Jonesy shook his head. He messed with the yo-yo making it work from time to time but mostly having to roll it up. Beaver bit down on his lower lip. He couldn’t help but notice how sweet Jonesy had looked.

With the spread of freckles on his face and his dorky smile. Beaver felt warmth spread on his cheeks once more. He curled up his knees tighter and hugged them. “You alright Beav?” Jonesy asked. Beavs glanced at him and nodded,catching a glimpse of his eyes and feeling his heart oddly beat out of control.

‘Since I left my baby behind on Blue Bayou.’

[cannithebear]

My two alien killing boyfriends. And yes, they smoke weed.

[heartbetween]

@maskeraide​​ said:  ❛ of course i’m right. i’m me. ❜

❝ Wait a minute... Run that by me again? ‘Cause it almost sounded like you said that you’re right. ❞

     A quirky grin spreads across his face as he reaches for his drink, knocking it back in one fellow swoop. Lips smack in satisfaction as the echo of the glass hitting the table echoes in his ears. 

❝ Maybe you’ve had one too many this time. ❞

[grownups-are-the-real-monsters]

Ok so, teenage Beaver Clarendon is 100% Boner from ‘Growing Pains’

- Richard Stabone, Known by his nickname ‘Boner’ (Which is just one the perfect reasons for this post) was a reoccurring character on the sitcom ‘Growing Pains’. He appears from season 1 to season 4. He played the amusing and incredibly loveable best friend to Mike Seaver. 

- Joe Clarendon, known by his nickname ‘Beaver’, is a main character from Stephen King’s 2001 novel; Dreamcatcher. Beaver is the fun-loving friend in his group who shoulders the responsibility of being their happiness. 

- Boner was always himself and didn’t care if people thought he was weird. He was a true friend to Mike (even when Mike didn’t deserve it at all). And he was never afraid to be emotional or affectionate with his friends. Always willing to play side-kick or the ‘fool’, if it helps his friends. 

- Beaver is the heart of his friend group, loveable and confidently weird. Always wanting to make his friends laugh and to be there for them when they need it. He also never has a problem playing the side-kick or the ‘fool’, if it helps his friends. 

I think this interaction alone from Boner is the BEST way to show how similar they are, this is him responding to Jason Seaver about his name: 

Jason: “Hi Boner.”

Boner: “It’s Richard here.” 

Jason: “You changed your name too?” 

Boner: “No. it’s always been Richard. I just don’t use it cause it’s a dumb sounding name.”

Jason: “Good thinking, Boner” 

Beaver & Boner are literally the same character, down to their nicknames.

[martyrules63]

Set near the fictional town of Derry, Maine, Dreamcatcher is the story of four lifelong friends: Gary "Jonesy" Jones, Pete Moore, Joe "Beaver" Clarendon and Henry Devlin. As young teenagers, the four saved Douglas "Duddits" Cavell, an older boy with Down syndrome, from a group of sadistic bullies. From their new friendship with Duddits, Jonesy, Beaver, Henry and Pete began to share the boy's unusual powers, including telepathy, shared dreaming, and seeing "the line", a psychic trace left by the movement of human beings.

Jonesy, Beaver, Henry and Pete reunite for their annual hunting trip at the Hole-in-the-Wall, an isolated lodge in the Jefferson Tract. There, they become caught between an alien invasion and an insane US Army Colonel, Abraham Kurtz. Jonesy and Beaver, who remain at the cabin while Henry and Pete go out for supplies, encounter Richard McCarthy, a disoriented and delirious stranger wandering near the lodge during a blizzard talking about lights in the sky. The victim of an alien abduction, McCarthy grows sicker and dies while sitting on the toilet. An extraterrestrial parasite eats its way out of his anus, after gestating in his bowel, and attacks the two men, killing Beaver. Jonesy inhales the spores of the strange reddish fungus that the stranger and his parasite have spread around the cabin, and an alien entity ("Mr. Gray") takes over his mind.

On the return trip from their supply run, Henry and Pete encounter a woman from the same hunting party as the strange man at the cabin.

She is also delirious and infected with a parasite. After crashing their car, Henry leaves Pete with the woman and attempts to return to the cabin by foot.

From there, his telepathic senses let him know that Pete is in trouble, Beaver is dead, and Jonesy is no longer Jonesy. Mr. Gray, manipulating Jonesy's body, is attempting to leave the area.

The aliens have attempted to infect Earth multiple times, beginning with the Roswell crash in the 1940s, but environmental factors have always stopped them, and the US government has covered up the failed invasion attempts every time.

With the infection of Jonesy, who can contain the alien within his mind and also spread the infection, Mr. Gray has become the perfect Typhoid Mary—and he knows it.

Mr. Gray hijacks a truck transporting a spore-filled alien corpse while Jonesy, trapped inside a mental stronghold, is powerless to stop him.

[theyearoftheking]

Book Forty-Three: Storm of the Century

“Now I know how easy it is to just get... yanked out of the world. I wish I didn’t, but I do...”

It’s been blisteringly, hot-as-balls here in Wisconsin for the past few weeks. It’s gotten to the point the heat is actually making me anxious in a, “Global warming is real, and going to kill us all...” kind of way. To be clear, the recent heat hasn’t just convinced me global warming is a threat. I’m a woman of science. A woman of science who composts and celebrated the fact we’re officially out of plastic grocery bags (we use them for cat litter disposal); and hopefully will never see another one again. Wow. That was quite the overshare. I swear to God, my life is more than celebrating the fact I can now scoop cat poop into paper bags. 

Ok, that didn’t help. I’m just going to stop now. 

Back to the heat... I’m not going to lie, reading Storm of the Century had me fantasizing about a cold, snowy blizzard. Which, thanks to quarantine, I won’t have to leave the house to go drive in. I kinda hope this whole social distancing thing will extend through March, so I can live in Uggs and leggings all winter long, drink lots of tea, and continue to binge watch Cold Case Files with my daughter. A girl can only dream... 

In the introduction, Steve talks about how he wanted to try his hand at a screenplay, and a jailhouse image wouldn’t leave him alone: “...that of a man...sitting on the bunk in his cell, heels drawn up, arms resting on knees, eyes unblinking. This was not a gentle man, or a good man... this was an extremely evil man. Maybe not a man at all.” 

I have to give Steve credit for trying a new format, and I thought he was successful. I fully anticipated reading a dry screenplay, full of director’s notes. But instead it was a vividly descriptive screenplay, with plenty of Steve’s humor and snark throughout. For example, “He bends out of the frame, and we hear the SOUND OF VOMITING. (Sort of like the SOUND OF MUSIC, only louder.” and then later on, “He gestures to the girl, who is (pardon the pun) just about CATatonic.” The girl in question, her name is Cat. Groan. But also kind of snort-laugh. 

There were also plenty of references to Steve’s universe:

The story is set on Little Tall Island (the former home of Dolores Claiborne)

“There hasn’t been a murder on this island for almost seventy years... unless you counted Dolores Claiborne’s husband, Joe, and that was never proved.” 

“Crawl out of the sewer” (It)

“A friendly, grinning, Saint Bernard” (Cujo)

Storm of the Century takes place seventy years after Dolores Claiborne killed her husband. Little Tall Island is bracing themselves for... you guessed it... the snow storm of the century. People are stocking up on groceries, getting the town hall ready in case the island loses power, and picking their babies up from daycare. 

While all this hustle and bustle is going on, Andre Linoge bludgeons Martha Clarendon to death with his cane (black, with a silver wolf’s head on the top); while whistling “I’m a little teapot”. 

Local kid Davey Hopewell is walking home when he stumbles across the crime scene, and immediately alerts the police. When Constable Mike Anderson arrives on the scene, he finds Linoge calmly waiting to be arrested. Creepy. Of course a murder happens just as a massive snowstorm is starting, and he can’t contact the authorities on the mainland. 

Mike tries to get Linoge into the jail, but the door won’t budge. So, he needs to parade him inside the grocery store, to get to the attached jail. While in the grocery store, Linoge locks eyes with a few townsfolk, and spills some dangerous secrets. He seems particularly fascinated with Mike’s son Ralphie. Mike eventually gets him locked in a jail cell, and calls on teams of men to guard the cell. 

All hell breaks loose. 

Linoge has the ability to visualize a crime from his cell, and have unwilling participants commit it. For example, he has one woman bludgeon her boyfriend to death, and he has one of his guards hang himself. And he keeps leaving little notes everywhere, “Give me what I want, and I’ll go away!” 

What Linoge wants is one of the town’s children. He puts them all into a deep sleep, and makes the parents pick which one of the eight children will leave with him. If they can’t decide, or decide not to give him a child, he’s going to kill all the kids. Mike is the only parent that strongly objects to this, but the town (and his wife Molly) quickly overrule him. The parents all pick a stone out of a sack, and whichever parent picks the black stone, loses their child. Of course Molly picks it, and Ralphie leaves with Linoge. 

Mike is understandably heartbroken, and leaves Molly and Little Tall Island for San Francisco. One day he’s out getting groceries, and sees an older man and a teenage boy walking down the street singing, “I’m a little teapot.” He’s convinced it’s Ralphie. He chases after them, and Ralphie turns around and snarls, showing him his fangs. Mike decides to leave well enough alone. 

And that’s pretty much where the book ends. It was an annoying, and frustrating end: I hate it when the good guys get screwed over without any silver lining. But there was a rather prophetic moment in the book. Mike tells some of the local townspeople, “You know the story about Job? In the Bible? Well, here’s the part that never got written down. After the contest for Job’s soul is over and God wins, Job gets down on his knees and says, “Why did you do this to me, God? All my life, I worshiped You, but You destroyed my livestock, blighted my crops, killed my wife and my children, and gave me a hundred horrible diseases...all because You had a bet going with the devil? Well, okay... but what I want to know, Lord- all your humble servant wants to know is- Why me? So he waits, and just when he’s about made up his mind God isn’t going to answer, a thunderhead forms in the sky, and lightning flashes, and this voice calls down, “Job! I guess there’s just something about you that pisses me off!” 

Well, I guess there’s just something about Mike Anderson that pisses God off too. 

Overall, I thought the book was good. There were a few loose threads for me: what exactly IS Linoge? Is he a monster like Pennywise, or a villain like Leland Gaunt? Lots of fan sites claim he might be Randall Flagg. And what’s up with the word “Coratan?” That was never really teased out. I also feel like three quarters of the screen play was the lead up, the end felt kind of rushed and unsatisfying. But all in all, it was a quick, fun read. And now I need to watch the television series. 

Speaking of television series... there was a character I thought was named Fred Andrews... which made me sniffle, thinking of Luke Perry in Riverdale. 

You can imagine how dumb I felt when I realized his name was FERD and not Fred. Selective dyslexia strikes again. 

Total Wisconsin Mentions: 28

Total Dark Tower References: 39

Book Grade: B-

Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books

The Talisman: A+

Wizard and Glass: A+

Needful Things: A+

The Green Mile: A+

Rose Madder: A+

Misery: A+

Different Seasons: A+

It: A+

Four Past Midnight: A+

The Shining: A-

The Stand: A-

Bag of Bones: A-

The Wastelands: A-

The Drawing of the Three: A-

Dolores Claiborne: A-

Nightmares in the Sky: B+

The Dark Half: B+

Skeleton Crew: B+

The Dead Zone: B+

Nightmares & Dreamscapes: B+

‘Salem’s Lot: B+

Carrie: B+

Creepshow: B+

Storm of the Century: B-

Cycle of the Werewolf: B-

Danse Macabre: B-

The Running Man: C+

Thinner: C+

Dark Visions: C+

The Eyes of the Dragon: C+

The Long Walk: C+

The Gunslinger: C+

Pet Sematary: C+

Firestarter: C+

Rage: C

Desperation: C-

Insomnia: C-

Cujo: C-

Nightshift: C-

Gerald’s Game: D

Roadwork: D

Christine: D

The Tommyknockers: D-

Next up... ugh... I put it off long enough. It’s time to come back to the twisted world of the long-deceased Richard Bachman. It’s time for Regulators. Mount up!

Until next time, Long Days & Pleasant Nights,

Rebecca