*Cough*
Cell-- A "half-constructed kiddie ride" at Kashwak is named Charlie the Choo-Choo, which is also the name of a plot-important children's book in The Dark Tower series. Also, the graphic novel that Clay sells prior to the Pulse is called Dark Wanderer, a story (as his wife puts it) involving "apocalypse cowboys." The story, and its characters, are likely a reference to The Dark Tower series and the gunslingers of King's apocalyptic fantasy world. Most notably, the protagonist of Clay's novel is named Ray Damon, who shares the initials of Roland Deschain, the hero of The Dark Tower Series. King frequently creates alter-egos of repeated characters with identical initials, such as Randall Flagg. There is also a recurring motif, in which many of King's villains are linked in one way or another: The Raggedy Man wears a red hooded garment, which mirrors one of the many forms of the Crimson King, who is the main antagonist of The Dark Tower series. The Raggedy Man wears a Harvard sweatshirt; Harvard's sports teams and daily newspaper are both nicknamed Crimson, another allusion to the Crimson King.
