I just finished reading The Stand. There were many parts that touched me, none so much as when the four men are walking to Las Vegas sharing animal crackers. I was reminded of the four young boys in Stand by Me, walking towards a dark thing that they cannot unsee, banded together by trust. And then I come to see that Stand by Me is based on The Body. I had no idea! I have only seen the movie. I was so pleased to draw the parallel and then I went in search of an interview of Stephen talking about these themes and couldn't really find any. People seem to fixate on King's genre when interviewing him.. it feels like the true themes of his books are sometimes eclipsed by his ability to embrace his unwanted thoughts and darn them into awesome books. On the off chance that you, Stephen King, ever read this, I want you to know that I really love the way you write about friendship and love. That's all.