A thought after finishing 11/22/63

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Brian D

Member
Dec 28, 2016
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First of all what a great book! I'm still relatively new to SK's works (and to the SKMB) and realize any SK book I finish I put in the one of my favorites category, so far I guess they all are.

So a while after finishing 11/22/63 and realizing how easily one could get caught up pondering time travel and it's ramifications (the butterfly effect), a thought occurred to me: How many times have you said (or heard someone say) "If I only knew then what I know now"...sounds simple, maybe it's not...
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
First of all what a great book! I'm still relatively new to SK's works (and to the SKMB) and realize any SK book I finish I put in the one of my favorites category, so far I guess they all are.

So a while after finishing 11/22/63 and realizing how easily one could get caught up pondering time travel and it's ramifications (the butterfly effect), a thought occurred to me: How many times have you said (or heard someone say) "If I only knew then what I know now"...sounds simple, maybe it's not...
....no it's not....the ramifications of such are mind bogglingly immense.....
 

RichardX

Well-Known Member
Sep 26, 2006
1,737
4,434
If old Lee Harvey had just packed away that rifle and went home it would have saved a lot of grief. Or maybe if someone in his sad and lonely life had gone the extra mile and set him straight no time travel would be necessary. The implications that one disgruntled guy can cause so much harm in the here and now is as profound as the ability to set things right with time travel.
 

BigBadJohn13

Member
Jun 28, 2018
5
27
31
It's so crazy to think that in the story the tragedy of the JFK assassination was the very thing needed to keep the world from plunging into utter chaos.

If given time for introspection after reading, I walk away with thinking, "wow, what seemingly terrible events in my life have shaped who I am now?" Without them I'd be a completely different person. There's a tendency to think the bad things in your past are currently making life harder in the present, but that doesn't always have to be the case.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
Six times.
GettyImages-536907259-57fae6233df78c690f77cb45.jpg
 

doowopgirl

very avid fan
Aug 7, 2009
6,946
25,119
65
dublin ireland
If old Lee Harvey had just packed away that rifle and went home it would have saved a lot of grief. Or maybe if someone in his sad and lonely life had gone the extra mile and set him straight no time travel would be necessary. The implications that one disgruntled guy can cause so much harm in the here and now is as profound as the ability to set things right with time travel.
But did you read the after affects?
 
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doowopgirl

very avid fan
Aug 7, 2009
6,946
25,119
65
dublin ireland
It's so crazy to think that in the story the tragedy of the JFK assassination was the very thing needed to keep the world from plunging into utter chaos.

If given time for introspection after reading, I walk away with thinking, "wow, what seemingly terrible events in my life have shaped who I am now?" Without them I'd be a completely different person. There's a tendency to think the bad things in your past are currently making life harder in the present, but that doesn't always have to be the case.
Sometimes the hard stuff teaches you how to deal with other things and gives you a better perspective.
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Although things have worked out quite fine for me here, I do often wonder what would have happened if I had stayed in school.
Me too - I wanted to go to college after graduating high school but my Dad wouldn't sign paperwork I needed to get a student loan. I ended up joining the Canadian military and spending 21 years there, then finally got to go to college to upgrade my education in my 40s!

Looking back, I think it all turned out for the best - I learned to deal with adversity and it made me stronger.