11.22.63

JIMLA is a word Jake first hears when he meets the Yellow Card Man a second time. It means nothing to him at that point. However, Jake hears the word again during a football game in Jodie when the cheerleaders lead the crowd in a cry of support for the quarterback, Jim LaDue. Later, Jake dreams of a monster who appears to be named JIMLA. The expression is also part of a billboard in support of Jim LaDue.

Jake is unnerved by the word JIMLA and feels as though it is some kind of warning. At the end of the novel, the reader realizes that it is a warning. There are guardians of the timeline who receives snippets of sound or action that allows them to become aware of changes to the timeline. Because they do not get the entirety of the episode, they do not understand everything they see and hear. To them, JIMLA is simply a warning that something is changing on the timeline. It is a memory Jake has that he should not, and a warning that he is changing time and putting the whole time continuum in danger. As the guardian tells Jake at the end in regard to his frequent travels through time, “It gums up the machine. Eventually a point will come where the machine simply…stops” (1025).

Jake was married before the novel begins. He and his wife, Christy, were competition ballroom dancers early in their relationship and often danced the lindy to the song, “In the Mood.” This song and the dance become a harmony in time for Jake that comes up over and over again. The first time Jake encounters this harmony is when he meets Beverly Marsh and Richie Tozier. The preteens are practicing the lindy for a talent show at their school. Jake helps them slow down the song on their record player so that they might be able to learn the quick steps at a slower tempo but with the rhythm of the music. In return, Beverly and Richie give Jake information he needs.

This motif appears again shortly after Jake meets Sadie. They chaperone a dance together and someone asks the DJ to play “In the Mood” for the couple, thinking it is a joke. However, everyone is surprised by how naturally and perfectly Sadie and Jake come together in the dance. It is a magical moment for Jake, in which he first realizes Sadie might be the woman he was meant to be with, and that he might be happy remaining in the past. This moment marks the beginning of their romantic relationship.

The next time this song appears is at the end of the Jodie Jamboree when Jake and Sadie dance once again to celebrate the success of the show and the money raised for Bobbi Jill’s surgeries. Later, the song is played at the end of the second Jodie Jamboree arranged to raise money for Sadie’s surgeries, but instead of Jake and Sadie, it is Mike and Bobbi Jill who dance. Finally, Jake requests that “In the Mood” be played in 2012 when he finds Sadie again. Although she is now 80 and unable to dance the energetic lindy, she and Jake dance together once more.

When Jake travels through the rabbit-hole, he tries to be careful not to bring anything with him from the future. He does forget to leave his cellphone behind on his second trip and ends up leaving it in a pond behind the motor court. Otherwise, he manages to blend into the past fairly easily. The only thing that he brings with him that he does not get rid of is the notebook Al gave him. Inside this notebook are notes on Lee Harvey that will help Jake predict Lee Harvey’s actions in the weeks and months leading up to the assassination. Because of this, the notebook could be very dangerous for Jake and the fabric of reality. If someone were to find it, they might believe Jake is insane and put him in a hospital. Alternatively, they might discover the existence of the rabbit-hole and cause greater damage to the fabric of reality. For this reason, Jake is very careful with this notebook.

Jake purchases a 1954 Ford Sunliner on his second and third trips through the rabbit-hole. It is a convertible and a car he loves more than any car he owned in the future. The Ford Sunliner becomes something of a symbol to Jake, a representation of the simplicity of the past. It is huge and a gas guzzler, but it is a joy to drive and reliable. It is Jake’s companion for several years as he waits for 1963 to arrive. He is saddened when he has to give it up. But the Ford Sunliner comes back in a moment when Jake needs it. On the morning of 11/22/63, Jake needs transportation to the Texas School Book Depository, and a Ford Sunliner comes to his rescue. It is not the same car, but a harmony of the one he had, and it comes at the perfect moment, almost like a good friend coming to the rescue.