Who is Rodney Lewis

In 1982 when I was six they decided for obvious reasons that my future was in computers. Once a week my mom would drive me down to St. Martin's College (now SMU) in Lacey for instruction from a professor of mathematics. My first programming language was Applesoft Basic and the first code I wrote printed my name on the screen continuously in an infinite loop.

On one of these occasions I was introduced to the concept of flight simulation. I was amazed.

I grew up reading Stephen King. I was a huge fan until Rose Madder. Until then he was my favorite author, but I still don't have another favorite author picked, so...

It wasn't the subject matter of horror and the macabre that I liked nearly as much as his deft ability to describe very subtle and nuanced things, his ability to articulate common everyday experiences that everybody has that nobody would think even relevant to try to find words for.

His best works transcend the genres he is too-often pigeonholed into.

The Stand Unabridged will always be one of my all-time favorites, an epic everyone should read. Pet Sematery will always stand out in my mind for being the book equivalent of a great popcorn flick, never pretending to be more than it is and being perfectly fine and happy with that. Rage is still one of the most intense page-turners I've ever read. His compilations of short stories are better than most of his novels. The Jaunt will always freak me out.

He inspired me to begin a plethora of short stories and novels that I never finished when I was a teen. I always felt confident opening up a tale but sadly by the middle and end it lost its wind. By my early twenties reality got weirder and more surreal that any fiction Stephen King or I could have ever come up with, which is kind of ironic when you think about it.

I picked up a copy of Dreamcatchers recently and could not get past the first couple pages. I could not cope with the onslaught of Stephen King cliches. It was like he was writing It again. It was horrifying indeed but not for the typical scary story reasons.. That Family Guy episode was right on in accusing him of not even trying anymore.

But our abilities are never all our own. I would be remiss in not giving a bestselling author that was once a high school English teacher credit for whatever writing ability I may have. I hope if you like anything you've ever read that I've written, you too will think kindly of him for it. I have many fond childhood memories of reading his tales and trying to write ones just as good. I never succeeded, but it got me writing and writing and writing, and no matter if anyone else likes my writing, I enjoy it and feel confident about it, and that's what's really most important.

That reminds me of another extremely valuable lesson he teaches his readers: Don't pander to your audience. Don't give them what they want, give them what you want. They will appreciate it so much more. I think if you give it some thought, you, as I have, could learn to apply that lesson to many aspects of your life.

Every third weekend of August in Myrtle Edwards Park. This event is not centered around doing drugs and getting high, it is a family festival about the preservation and advancement of our eroding civil liberties.