King is a talented writer
“Here you are,” my mother said, handing me the book. “It’s called The Green Mile. I just bought it at the library book sale. I thought you might enjoy it.”
I thanked her as she left the room. I sat up in my bed on that cold winter afternoon and examined the paperback. I opened up to the first page and set about inhaling the first of many books I would read by one of the most iconic figures of American literature today: the master of the macabre, Stephen King.
Stephen Edwin King was born on Sept. 21, 1947, in Portland, Maine. He and his adopted brother David were raised by a single mother. The Kings relocated frequently during his childhood before finally settling back down in Durham.
King attended Lisbon Falls High School and graduated from the University of Maine in 1970 with a B.A. in English. He later acquired a position as a teacher at a nearby public high school.
King’s first novel, Carrie, was published in 1974 and greatly helped establish King as a prominent literary figure. Over the next several decades, King, while struggling with substance addiction, pumped out book after book, including: The Shining, The Stand, Cujo, Pet Sematary, It, Misery, and many others. In 1999, King was struck and nearly killed by a minivan, sustaining injuries so severe that they threatened to end his literary career. He managed, with love, support, and determination, to fight through the hardships and continue writing.
To date, King has penned over 50 novels, six books of nonfiction, and nearly 200 short stories.
In 2003, he received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He has also won the Hugo Award, the Bram Stoker Award, the O. Henry Award, and the World Fantasy Award, among others. On Sept. 10, 2015, Barack Obama bestowed upon King a National Medal of Arts. King has been married to novelist Tabitha Spruce since 1971. They have three children: Naomi, Joe, and Owen, two of whom are also authors.
Ever since my encounter with The Green Mile, I have been at the mercy of Stephen King’s masterful storytelling. His strong, lucid prose, his ability to connect with the common man, his unparalleled aptitude for scaring the bejesus out of his readers have forever cemented King as a giant of American literature in the book-reading world.
With admiration and gratitude, Mr. King, I doff my hat ever your way.
I suppose I owe my mother and the local library a thank-you as well.
Thomas Beck
Mayfair
No to charters
I have been watching the proliferation of charter schools for some time and I must say, I’m not happy about it. The only reason we need charter schools is because the public school system is so poorly funded.
I see ads espousing the existence of charter schools because it gives people a choice as to where their children go to school. I submit you have always had that choice, all you had to do is pay for it.
Using public school funds for charters is not the way to go. If all public schools were properly funded, there would be no need for charters. Before anyone makes any assumptions about me, let me say I am not now nor ever have been a teacher, I just care about the future of public education.
Joe Orenstein
Bustleton
Changing of the seasons…
At the close of fall,
Winter begins.
The temperature drops,
Much to our chagrin.
A soft white blanket,
Falls to the ground below.
For better or for worse,
It’s the arrival of snow.
Proceed with caution!
The snow has turned to ice.
Now even a normal stroll,
Is really rolling the dice.
Always bundling up,
Is something you must do.
Make sure to take a coat,
You’d be crazy not to.
About the weather man,
A warning to heed.
His reports are flawed,
And they may mislead.
The worst part of it all,
Is coming down with the cold.
No matter how many try,
The disease has its hold.
Then as warmth returns,
And grass dances in the breeze.
New life appears,
Highlighted by budding trees.
The earth awakens,
Its soul revived.
And once again,
Nature comes alive.
Yaakov Horwitz
