Grains of Sand …

I stopped reading Stephen King about 1/2 way through It. At the time, I was a field investigator for Children’s Services Sexual Abuse Intervention Team (SAIT). It contained a lurid passage of child sexual assault and murder which I feel did nothing to credibly advance the story. In short, the book became the very definition of “gratuitous” for me.

It has now been 8 years since I took my last SAIT case and I work in an entirely different profession. However, the memory of that passage in It still makes me angry. So, when a friend suggested I listen to King’s Lunch at the Gotham Cafe, my knee-jerk reaction was “Hell, no!”

Then, I took a step back and thought about my reaction to the recent flap over the following statement made by Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks in reference to the impending war with Iraq.

“Just so you know, we’re ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas.”

This comment lead to a great deal of public outcry; from simply branding the Dixie Chicks as unpatriotic to calling for their songs to be pulled from radio rotation and their CDs to be removed from store shelves.

I consider myself neither hawk nor dove; not chafing for, or at, war. I accept it as something that must, on occasion, occur and pray that all reasonable means are taken to prevent it. One thing I do chafe at is censorship, in any form.

If you disagree with the Dixie Chicks, do not buy their CDs and/or turn off their songs on the radio, that is certainly your right. However, don’t call radio stations or your local Wal-Mart and attempt to restrict my access to their music because you find it offensive.

Blocking access to artists because you disagree with their point of view does not diminish the artist, it diminishes the censor. It reveals him/her as willing to cast aside the collective works of an artist because of one mistake, phrase taken out of context or, expression of a POV which you do not hold.

You may enjoy, appreciate and even agree with 99% of what the artists creates, but are willing to cast aside the vast sunny beach that is their work for hatred of the few grains of sand that chafe your soft spots on the drive home. Patently foolish.

Focus to much on the sand in your shorts and you’ll run the car off of the road. Run the car off the road, and you may never return to the beach you enjoyed so much today. Funny how that works.

So, I took a moment to reconsider my position on Stephen King. I remembered the beautiful works that were The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption; the chilling character studies of Christine and Misery; and the epic cautionary tale of The Stand, which incidentally rings eerily true in this day of biological terrorists. I remembered the beach, not the irritating grain of sand in my short.

I still think It is King’s worse work. And if asked, I’ll be frank with my opinion and supporting rationale. However, I won’t deny myself the pleasure of this talented artist. So, I took in Lunch at the Gotham Cafe. It was wonderful. This surreal “slice of life” is that perfect King balance of everyday madness which puts the vagaries of personal and corporate politics in perspective.

Give it a read, or a listen. Lunch at the Gotham Cafe is part of two collections; Six Stories (Limited Edition book) and Blood and Smoke (CD audiobook read by the author).