King and Frankenstein

I'm assuming you've noticed the title change. I got sick of the "Within You" nonsense, so i decided to change it (finally). I'm working really hard to find a new, better one soon. But. No promises.

Also, I'm not done with the Stephen King book. I may have, sorta kinda, put it on "hold" for a few days while I finish another awesome book I'm borrowing from a friend. I'm ALMOST done. (In both cases) But today, during lunch, a friend of mine and I went to the library and I pulled down Stephen King's first book, Carrie from the shelves. I knew that I have alot of books to read before the chaos of NaNoWriMo (another entry for another day) but since I've been reading his memoir/how-to book, I figured I better try out one of his actual novels. I know that Carrie isn't one of his better known books, but I wanted to know how he started out. If I could compare myself to him when he was in my 'stage' writing.

UM.

Have you ever read Carrie?

No? Okay. I don't want to ruin it for you but let me just leave you with this; The first ten pages of the book... ARE ABOUT SOME IDIOT GIRLS FIRST menstrual cycle. WHAT?? WHAT?? STEPHEN KING! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WRITING ABOUT THIS? WHY ARE YOU--? WHAT??

My friend and I were seriously sitting there, in awe of what we were reading. It was insane. We could not believe it. Not only is that the first scene in the book-- which is more than enough reason for my to put the book down-- but a) the main character is obnoxious, dull and extraordinarily dumb-witted, b) one of the other antigonistic characters is named Sue Snell.  (Yes, that's right. You heard me) And then I guess the dumb-witted main character, Carrie, developes telekinesis and attacks her tormenters.... I just have no response to that. Not only is it weird but I feel like it's such a simple plot. Like, who cares. Nothing happens. Or more like, something happens, but there's only one thing. I know every thing that happens before I've even read the thing! A) Carrie developes powers. B) She gets bullied and decides she's had enough C) She goes crazy and kills people at her prom. Done! I didn't even have to read it. How can a book be sucessful if people already know what it's about? Stephen King is amazing. Becuase that's all she seems to do. He amazes. (I can tell you one thing, that's certainly how Maggie and I felt in the library: Absolutely fishing amazed.)

I'm also reading Frankentein by Mary Shelley through A.P English Literature. It's interesting, not only because M. Shelley was 19 when she wrote in (not far off from me :)... ) but becuase it's one of those books that full of lessons and meanings and morals. It seems like everything Victor Frankenstein says can be related to death. He's always going on about how death is coming, it's around every corner, that he lives a cursed existence and what not. That death is misfortune. It's implied that death is personified by the monster that he creates, a looming dark figure that is shunned by people and viewed as the greatest atrocity by its creator.

And today in driver's ed, we were talking about drunk driving. Accidents. Statistics.

So it's no wonder my mind is on death.

But there's another reason. I have this anniversary coming up. November 4th. And there was another anniversary that just passed. October 5th.

Death is hard. It's scary. It's another unknown variable in an already unknown life. It takes people away from you. People that you love. People that you rely on and care about and need. People that make you feel better when you're sad. People that make things real, that makes things meaningful. Death humbles heroes. It takes away the people that you've always thought were unshakeable. It turns the people that you've always thought were strong into shadow's of themselves. And it's scary. It's hard. It's painful and it's lonely and it will make you sad. But it's not death that is all these things. It is not the act of dying.

It's the aftermath. It's what is left behind. It's the hole that the dead person left. That is what's scary. That's what's painful. That's what makes you cry and your heart beat faster and your thoughts shy away. What will happen now? That's what we worry about. What happens after we're gone? Life keeps turning but they and you and we are know where to be found.

I can't stand that about death. The loneliness after some one dies. It's like that thing when a parent says to a kid you can't have it, and they just want it more. When someone you love dies, all you want is her. You know, deep down that she's the only thing that will make you feel better, and of course. That's the one thing you can never have.

I didn't want to make you guys sad, but it's something that eats at me sometimes. And this won't happen often, but the next couple of weeks are tough, and I'll be mentioning it. Not alot, because I have A TON of things to do and write about, but you know. I wanted to prepare you.

Okay. 'Night.