Tag-Archive for ◊ Stephen King ◊

SOWISA, Baby! SOWISA!
Tuesday, June 09th, 2009 | Author: Beamer

I actually thought, when I read it the first time, that I was going to hate it.  To me, it started off kind of slowly.  And the first appearance of Dooley seemed kind of cliche-ish, or overdone.  I thought it was just going to be another Psycho- On- The -Loose kind of story.  And I really hated that feeling because it had been awhile since I had time to sit down with a good King read and I’d really been looking forward to it.

lisey2

I should have never doubted the Master of Macabre!  What an incredible tale this was!

But I’m not sure I liked it for the same reasons that everyone else did.

I never connected with Lisey at all.  Through the whole story, I would speed read through the sections that concentrated on just Lisey.  Fortunately, there weren’t that many  LOL!

But Scott Landon!  I fell in love with that guy!  Maybe because I’ve always been attracted to Bad Boys… and Scott Landon was definitely a Bad Boy.

You know the type?  They have some deep, dark mystery in their past that prevents them from ever behaving like a mature, responsible adult.  They’re always out to have fun, no matter the cost.  You can’t ever rely on them to be where they’re supposed to be, when they’re supposed to be there.  But when they do turn up, OMG! They make you forget you were ever angry with them.  They have that cute, little, impish grin that always manages to melt your heart and they live for the moment, because they learned a long time ago that the present is fleeting and the future may never arrive.

Bad Boys always take care of their women, they’ll defend them to the death!  And Scott, even in DEATH, manages to take care of Lisey.  Scott knows, years before his death, that Lisey is going to desperately need his help.  And even though he’s usually three sheets to the wind, he’s there for her.  Of course, it’s not always when she NEEDS him to be there, but he’s there.  Bad Boys like to take care of business in their own time.

And Boo’ya Moon belonged to Scott, and his ancestors before him.   Scott is the one who showed Lisey how to get to Boo’ya Moon, and what it’s magical powers were.

And it was memories of Scott’s childhood and adolescence that Lisey finally drew her courage from.  The courage she needed to take care of her sister, Amanda, and the courage she needed to take a stand against Dooley.

Oh, and let’s not forget SOWISA, BABY!  What would Lisey had done if Scott had never imparted this bit of wisdom?!  I mean, come on…this woman gets a threatening phone call from a whack-o at the very beginning of the story, she STILL insists on wandering tearfully around in the dark, into empty barns, up into dark, empty lofts, and she doesn’t even pick up a gun until the end of the story!  (Apparently, Lisey never watched that scene in “Scary Movie” where the guy lists the things you should NOT do in a Horror movie!)

*Sigh*  I don’t know…I just don’t like Lisey.  I like Lisey and Scott together, and I like Scott, and I really liked this story.  I even like all of the sisters.  But something about Lisey…

In some ways, I think she’s weak.  Or maybe meek is the word.  Or codependent.

In one of her first memories of Scott, she tell us about waiting for him to show up to take her to a movie.  She sits and waits for hours, knowing full well that he’s out drinking with his buddies and if he DOES show up his going to be shit faced.  She gets angrier and angrier, YET SHE STILL SITS AND WAITS?!  And when he finally DOES show up, sure, she confronts him.  But…

  • what strong, independent woman would sit and wait that long for a guy she’s just barely met to show up knowing that he’s out getting drunk with his buddies instead of keeping the date with her that he set up?
  • after she confronts him, the drunk guy goes out and intentionally hurts himself to prove his sincerity and she immediately goes into mothering mode, all is forgotten, I think I love this guy….bleh!

Any woman worth her salt would have waited a total of maybe 30 minutes, called up her girls and gone out to find her own fun.  And if she DID happen to see the loser again, she would have told him…well, nothing.  Why waste her breath?

And throughout their courtship, she’s always afraid to ask him anything.  Afraid he’ll get angry at her, or afraid she’ll ruin the moment.

Even after they’re married, she still won’t confront him about anything.  He doesn’t talk to her for days, sits in his office drinking and NOT writing, and she just SITS (again, she SITS) and waits for him to “Come Out Of It”.  “Oh, well, he’s just being Scott.  He’ll come around.  He’ll talk to me again eventually….”  Blah, Blah, Blah…

C’mon Lisey, Strap On Whenever It Seems Appropriate!  Women’s shelters are full of women like you!

I think I’ll write to Stephen King and ask him to change the name of this book to “Scott’s Story About His Airhead Wife Who Couldn’t Remember to SOWISA, BABY! until it was almost too late!

Lisey’s Story

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Roland’s Creed For Gunslingers
Tuesday, June 09th, 2009 | Author: Beamer

I do not Aim with My Hand; He who Aims with His Hand has Forgotten the Face of His Father.

I Aim with My Eye.

I do not Shoot with My Hand; He who Shoots with His Hand has Forgotten the Face of His Father.

I Shoot with My Mind.

I do not Kill with My Gun; He who Kills with His Gun has Forgotten the Face of His Father.

I Kill with My Heart.

Throughout the Dark Tower Saga, Roland reminds the members of his Ka-tet to “Remember the Faces of Their Fathers”.

Strange words, in the beginning, coming from a man who shoots to kill.  And he does kill.  Roland is a Gunslinger, after all.

And even though most people fall in love with Roland while reading this wonderful tale,  he is STILL a Gunslinger.  He will let nothing stand between him and his Quest for The Dark Tower.  He demonstrates that right in the very beginning when he lets Jake fall into the abyss just so he can hold a palaver with the Man In Black.

He kills to right wrongs, he kills to defend himself, he kills to remove obstacles in his path, and he even kills just because someone asks him to, as we see in “Wolves of the Calla“.

But Roland does have a bit of Honor about him.  He comes to recognize that Eddie, Suzannah and Jake all look to him as a leader, and with respect and awe.  And he understands that it is his duty to teach them and guide them to be the best that they can be.  He has to, to protect them.  And he has to because he needs their help.

In every lesson they learn, he tells them, “Remember the Face of Your Father.” If they fail at a task he reminds them again that they need to “Remember Their Father’s Face”.

Roland is a 30-th generation descendant of Arthur Eld and one of his “gillies” – mistresses.  He is the last of the Gunslingers in this world, the world after time moved on.  Even his guns are made from the melted down metal from Excalibur.  He IS history and he literally carries the weight of the world on his shoulders.

What is his meaning, then, when he constantly reminds his companions to “Remember The Face of Their Father”?

I think he means to tell them to always Stand Tall.  And to always do what they know in their hearts is right.  To do what they know would make their father proud of them.  No matter how difficult and no matter what they really want to do.  What is it that would make their father most proud of them?

The Gunslinger doesn’t shoot straight because he wants to hit a target.  The Gunslinger shoots straight because his father, and his father’s father, and all fathers before that shot straight.  And they passed down to him that that is what a Gunslinger Does.  A Gunslinger shoots straight and true NO MATTER WHAT.  Because, if the Gunslinger has chosen to shoot at something, then there must be a valid reason, a TRUE reason, so he should shoot with his Heart and make the shot count!

Too many of us have forgotten our Fathers’ Faces.

Think back on what you did throughout the day today.  Even though you’re dog tired, did you give up your seat on the bus to the older gentleman with the cane?  Were you nice to the teller at the bank or did you vent your frustration on her when she explained you didn’t have enough in your account to cover the check?  Did you snap at the Deli Clerk when she used the wrong mustard on your sandwich?

Did you stick up for the class geek when the bully started picking on him again today?  Or did you laugh along with everyone else while inside you were so embarrassed for the geek that you just wanted to crawl in a hole and disappear? That’s the easiest thing to do, isn’t it?  To just stand aside and laugh on the outside, even though you’re sick on the inside.

That’s your sign, right there, that you Forgot the Face of Your Father.  If you can’t hold your head high because you’re embarrassed or humiliated about something you did or didn’t do, then you know you’ve done wrong and that your father wouldn’t be proud of you.

If more people Remembered the Faces of Their Fathers, think how much better this world would be!  Try it!  The next time you’re bullying someone so you can get your way, Remember the Face of Your Father.  Seriously.

Would you want your father to see you flipping off the old guy who drives a little slower than you?  Would you want him to see you knocking some kid out of the way so you can get the last Xbox on the shelf?  Imagine the look on his face if he saw you walk right on by as that little old lady was having her purse stolen.

Remember The Face Of Your Father and see how it changes your life.

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