IT Teaser Trailer!

The miniseries was so good, that I was convinced I'd read the book itself until I "re-read" it a couple of years ago and realized I never had. Mostly because of the changes in the end.

(Is it okay for a side story here, or should I move this elsewhere?)

On Facebook, I mentioned one of my scariest moments in childhood that, at least atmosphere-wise, is similar to something from a King story.

(Here's the approximate location. There's a MASSIVE construction area there now, but we're talking 30 years ago, so whatever was there might actually be houses now, or re-filled in...or be one of those patches of sandy ground between the trees next to the houses.)

Foot Travel from "Gully" to Apartment

Behind my apartment complex, there was a stretch of woods that extended for several miles between houses and neighborhoods along major roads. A couple of my friends and I would ride our bikes through the woods, following a network of walking trails.

One day we found a trail that led to a dirt gully, possibly a future construction site, next to the neighborhood and connected by a short access road. The gully was dug out of the forest, so the forest floor was about 5-10 feet up, with sandy slopes leading down to the ground. My friend and I took our bikes to the top and attempted to ride down, but that didn't work very well, so we left our bikes by the road and walked up, then took running leaps off into the sand and slid down to the bottom.

On what ended up being my last jump, as I landed, laughing, I felt something sting me in the ass. I yelped, and jumped up, and saw a yellow jacket on my arm, which also stung me. I started running, screaming and swatting as an entire swarm of them buzzed around me, stinging me through my clothes, all over my arms, legs, body and neck.

That 8-10 minute distance on Google Maps? I ran half of that in about a minute before I stopped, and was sure the wasps weren't chasing me any more. My friend finally caught up with me and helped me the rest of the way home...he had no idea what had happened, he just saw me start screaming and run away.

I am very, VERY lucky that I'm not allergic to yellow jacket stings.