It’s almost Labor Day weekend, which means I’m going to continue my annual tradition of watching one of my favorite movies of all time, “Stand By Me,” a movie that takes place during Labor Day weekend. Anyone who has read Danger Peak probably knows how influential the movie (and, consequently, the Stephen King short story, The Body, the movie was based on) was on my book. Here’s a hint: Not counting the Prologue, there’s a reason the first scene in my book takes place inside a treehouse.

I’m not going to go on at length about this movie, since I already did in an older blog that was an excerpt from my book Lists, Life, and Other Unimportant Details (you guys already signed up for blog updates in the opt-in box at the bottom of my Blog/FREE Book page to get the book for free, right?), so I’ll just mention something I haven’t before, at least not publicly. One of my favorite lines in the movie comes at the very end and is something that, if you’re not paying attention, you’ll miss. I actually did miss it the first time I saw the movie, and even if I didn’t, I’m sure its resonance didn’t register with me.

After their great adventure and the kids say goodbye to each other, Teddy Duchamp, played by Corey Feldman, casually says, “See you in junior high,” only, looking back, it’s not casual at all. Obviously, the whole thing is a coming-of-age story, but that very moment is Teddy drawing a line in the sand. He didn’t say, “See you in a few days” or even, “See you in school.” No, he very specifically said, “See you in junior high.” He may as well be saying in boldfaced letters: “THIS IS IT. THIS IS THE END OF OUR CHILDHOOD. THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN, AND WE DON’T EVEN KNOW IT YET.”

Of course, Richard Dreyfuss’ narrator (the adult writer Wil Wheaton’s Gordie Lachance grows up to be) underlines this with the film’s final lines: “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?” But that line from Teddy gets me every time, too. It’s just much more subtle.

In other words, there’s a reason why this story is set during Labor Day weekend and why King titled the section where The Body appears in his book Different Seasons “The Fall from Innocence.” It’s the end of summer. It’s the end of childhood. The games are over.

I was so inspired by this movie, in fact, that I wrote a song 9 years ago to commemorate it with a few old band members. (I used to play sax and occasionally sing and rap in a ska/punk band you’ve never heard of called All Out Riot.) Then we made a music video. Okay, it’s basically a slideshow, but it was a big deal for me at the time. Notice how the pictures are closely related to the lyrics, so listen well!

This video is already posted on my Bio page, but it’s pretty obvious, at least according to my WordPress site statistics, that most people who visit this website don’t click on my Bio page, so I’m presenting it here in an official blog. If nothing else, you get to hear my terrible Richard Dreyfuss impression at the beginning. Enjoy!

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: A Very Brief, True Story That Has Nothing to Do With Danger Peak

P.P.S.: Danger Peak is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

• Amazon