Stephen King Majestic 11/10/11

I’d like to say I’m the biggest Stephen King fan. I’d like to say I’ve read everything he’s written. But I really can’t. He writes faster than I can read. If I only read his books I’d still have a stack of books on my nightstand and be a decade behind in my reading. And to be truthful, his fans scare me.

It’s been 20 years since I really thought about his fans. That was when I worked at Waldenbooks.  His fans are true to meaning of the word ‘fan’ - short for fanatic. They are like Dallas Cowboy fans during a winning year. They are over top and believe the Cowboys can do no wrong. Yes, Cowboy fans scare me too.

Too many of fans are like Annie Wilkes in Misery, they love/hate him. They think he walks on water and he talks directly to their souls and are also pissed off he doesn’t write more and say exactly what they want him to say.

I often said back in those retail days, they would buy his grocery list if it was published it.

When the announcement came out that King was coming to town it lit up the chat rooms like Christmas. Every factum was reviewed and analyzed.  As details come out from the other stops the energy faded.  Not everyone was going to get a signed book that showed up. The other bookstores were randomly seeding the signed books with the unsigned and handing them out after you paid.

From the time I spent on the message boards trying to get more details, it seems his fans haven’t changed in 20 years.  Putting aside the creepy aspect, it is amazing how he has a connection with the public.

Dallas was unique though and was going to have two stops and one 0f those stops was the Majestic where you could pay extra and guarantee getting a signed copy. The only problem was the book was presigned. You didn’t get to see him sign or say thanks.

I must admit after all of the signings and events I've been to I was antsy to attend this lecture.

He did speak at the Majestic Theater.  Stephen King is as gifted a speaker as he is a writer. Even with the audience pre-dispositioned to love him, he was witty and charming and intelligent. I was amused and entertained as I worked through my irritation of the Kool-Aid drinkers.

While I was surprised how much he spoke about politics that was only my own ignorance showing. The book is about the Kennedy assassination. Of course he’s going to talk about politics. He made comparisons about the past and the present and the how history does repeat itself.

One thing that Stephen King and I share is we both call the messages on Twitter: Twits.  Great minds think alike.

After he spoke and we picked up our presigned copy and quickly checking that it WAS signed, we walked back to the car.  I wondered out loud to the wife if this book would put to rest the conspiracy theorists of the JFK assassination. King’s followers are loyal and legion. I’m sure many fans will consider King’s verdict the final words on the subject.

AH