At the beginning of my third year in college, on the advice of my sister Kathy, I picked up what was at the time the latest novel of the horror writer Stephen King, entitled It. I am not a big fan of horror books, but I had just that summer seen and loved the lovely coming-of-age film Stand By Me (directed by Rob Reiner), and since it was based on a Stephen King novella, I decided that I shouldn’t be too snobby and should give Mr. King’s storytelling a chance. The book was ma