Last Stand for The Stand

I returned from a wonderful vacation in DC, Baltimore and Rehoboth Beach. I had a great time and thanks to all the friends who made it possible. One of the first things I did on my return was to re-assess the condition of my battered copy of Stephen King's The Stand.



I decided I would read at least the first 50 pages of this book, a favorite of mine since my teens. To my dismay, when I opened the copy I discovered that the first 15 pages were missing.



I immediately made the decision - as much as I love this book, this copy was decrepit and incomplete. It had been read probably dozens of times by me, my ex-girlfriend and friends to which we lent it. It was time for it to die a grisly and honorable end on my compost heap. Not put there out of hate, but out of love.



As I covered it over with rich compost I wondered how long before I turned it over with my spade and discovered its rotting, worm-eaten pages. Would it grow there in my compost heap into something shambling and horrible?

It's raining tonight in Austin, Texas, and I think I hear something squealching around outside my door . . .