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Posted on 05/08/2005 5:18:59 PM PDT by rpage3
Stephen King exhorts UMaine grads to stay Boston Globe ORONO, Maine -- Delivering the commencement speech at his alma mater, the best-selling author Stephen King counseled University of Maine graduates yesterday to be voracious readers, to donate a tenth of their earnings to worthy causes, and to carve out their careers in Maine. May 8, 2005 -->
ORONO, Maine -- Delivering the commencement speech at his alma mater, the best-selling author Stephen King counseled University of Maine graduates yesterday to be voracious readers, to donate a tenth of their earnings to worthy causes, and to carve out their careers in Maine.
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King, a member of the class of 1970, spoke twice, because rain forced officials to move the 203d commencement to Alfond Arena. No indoor facility could accommodate all the graduates, friends and family members, and staff, so two ceremonies were held.
After he was introduced by Robert Kennedy, the university president, King joked that if he faltered on the first speech, he would be the one introducing Kennedy in the afternoon ceremony.
King said he remembered speaking to the same class in the fall of 2001, when they were ''freshpeople." He had told them he would be back when it was time for them to graduate.
''I never thought you would make good on your word -- I guess Kid Rock and Donald Rumsfeld were busy," he said.
When the time came for King to impart advice, he rattled off a ''top 10" list, urging students to hug and kiss whoever had helped them get to this point, to read as much as they could, and to give away a dime for every dollar they make.
''If you don't, the government is just going to take it for you," said King, who is known for his own generosity to the university. ''You go out broke. . . . You're not an owner in this life, you're just a steward."
The last four points of his list were the same: Stay in Maine.
Despite his celebrity, King has chosen to live in his native state for most of his life. He makes his home in nearby Bangor.
''This can be home if you want it to be," he said. ''If you leave, you will miss it, so you might as well skip the going away part."
The university awarded honorary doctorates to journalist Douglas Kneeland, a Lincoln native and University of Maine graduate whose career included work at The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune, and Andrew Shepard, president and CEO of the Maine Winter Sports Center.
King and his wife, Tabitha, received honorary doctorates when he addressed Maine graduates in 1987.
This year's commencement was the university's largest, with 1,923 graduates, including 33 at the doctoral level.
Big Roland Deschain Bump!
He's left of center, but still a great writer in my book.
He's your garden variety leftist.
My guess, and it's only a guess, is that he probably trends left-of-center, but not in a moonbat way.
Anyone else have more info?
I agree.
He's got a reputation as a hard-core, anti-gun leftie. At the same time, he gets the idea of government confiscation of personal wealth (taxes), and anyone who has read The Stand can't help but get the sense that he knows something about the Bible. Not the grace of God necessarily, but the Bible.
Definitely a man of many contradictions.
The last time I heard King speak at UMO he introduced Edwards to the campus. He referred to our current administration as being a bit evil. Before the primaries he donated to Dean.
He could be a card-carrying Communist who eats babies for breakfast . . . The Stand is still a kick-ass book.
"the best-selling author Stephen King counseled University of Maine graduates yesterday to be voracious readers,"
Book sales down?
"to donate a tenth of their earnings to worthy causes, and to carve out their careers in Maine. May 8, 2005 --> "
Does Stephen King donate this amount?
I don't think soooooo ... .
Left, in a big way.
Are you a fan of the Dark Tower series?
I know that King has donated a tremendous amount of money to the community in Bangor. The city needs it.
Obviously you've never read Insomnia. NARAL and NOW couldn't have done a better pro-abortion piece of propaganda.
HUH? What are you babbling about?
King's a good writer and I'm a good (even rabid) fan. But he's a political leftist nutjob and a Bush basher. His wife Tabby is worse. He was not as vocal the last election as he was when Gore ran - for example, there was no DNC sponsored website called, "I Know What You Did In Texas" like there was in 2000, but he did stump hard for Dean and later sKerry/Edwards after Howard imploded.
Like I said, he's a good ... even a great writer - but, he's a major PITA politically. Shut up and write Stevo.
I think he's becoming more lefty as he gets older. I used to love his books and his early ones seemed to be apolitical and sometimes even to the right a bit. But I stopped reading because more and more leftist views started cropping up in his works. I can't think of anything specifically, but it's there.
King is obviously exhorting grads to stay in Maine because grads must be leaving the state for better opportunities. Maine, a blue state, has to beg people to stay because it doesn't provide the economic incentives on its own. Anyone know how high the taxes are in Maine, off hand?
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