Chapter 28: The Golden Oldies and Barbara's Defiant Essay
⚠️ Spoiler Notice: This page contains major spoilers for Holly by Stephen King. Reading ahead is at your own risk.
Summary
On July 27, 2021, Holly returns to the Strike Em Out bowling alley. She examines a framed photo of a girls' school team from 2015 and recognizes a young Barbara Robinson in the front row. Holly takes a picture of the old men’s league photo and sends it to Barbara, asking if she remembers Cary Dressler.
Holly drives to Sugar Heights to interview Hugh Clippard, the captain of the "Golden Oldies" bowling team. He is a fit, suntanned man in his late seventies with unnaturally defined abs and long white hair. His younger wife, Midge, dismisses them to read The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. Clippard exuberantly describes Cary as a great guy and a skilled bowler who sold decent marijuana to some team members. He identifies the men in the championship photo, revealing that many are deceased or incapacitated. Holly senses Clippard’s desperation to deny aging; his vibrancy feels forced and hysterical. He admits he is considering quitting the team because it depresses him. Holly obtains contact information for the surviving members.
Holly smokes in a shopping center parking lot, strategizing. She plans to visit Roddy Harris, Avram Welch, and Ernie Coggins, the remaining local players. She theorizes the kidnapper knew the victims' habits centered on Deerfield Park. The bowlers knew Cary, but Holly decides to keep the other disappearances secret for now, relying on instincts taught by Bill Hodges.
Meanwhile, Barbara Robinson struggles to write her mandatory Penley Prize essay. After multiple false starts and a frustrating, angry run, she showers and remembers advice from Olivia: a quote from Juan Ramón Jiménez about writing against the lines. She tears a page from a notebook and writes a defiant, honest statement across the lines, declaring that her poems are her essay. She mails it immediately, accepting that only the work itself truly matters.
Key Events
- Holly identifies a young Barbara Robinson in a bowling alley photo and messages her.
- Holly interviews Hugh Clippard, learning Cary Dressler was a beloved, adaptable team sub and occasional marijuana dealer.
- Clippard provides the names and fates of the Golden Oldies; three are dead, one had a stroke, and one moved away.
- Holly feels an instinctive unease around Clippard’s performative youthfulness and denial of decline.
- Holly narrows her suspect list to three local surviving bowlers: Harris, Welch, and Coggins.
- Barbara Robinson abandons a formal essay draft, writes a raw, cross-lined statement, and mails it without regret.
Character Development
- Holly Gibney: Demonstrates sharp observational skills, connecting the bowling alley photos to her investigation. She feels visceral discomfort with Clippard’s vanity and denial of mortality, reflecting on the idea that time is the ultimate avenger. She makes methodical, strategic decisions about her next interviews, holding back information as Bill Hodges taught her.
- Hugh Clippard: A wealthy, obsessively maintained septuagenarian whose exclamatory, upbeat facade masks a deep terror of aging and death. The dwindling of his bowling team forces him to confront a reality he resists with cosmetic fitness and a younger wife.
- Barbara Robinson: Grapples with creative paralysis and resentment toward the prize committee’s bureaucratic requirement. She channels frustration into physical exertion and ultimately finds clarity through Olivia Kingsbury’s remembered lesson, embracing artistic integrity over formal expectation.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- The Avenger Time: Holly and Clippard both grapple with physical and social decay. The aging bowlers—felled by strokes, heart attacks, and plane crashes—stand as stark evidence of time’s relentless toll, which Clippard futilely resists with unnatural "six-pack abs" and denial.
- Artistic Integrity vs. Approval: Barbara’s narrative thread confronts the conflict between authentic self-expression and the external validation of prizes. Her decision to write "the other way," across the lines, symbolizes a rejection of prescribed forms in favor of truth.
- Clues and Connections: The bowling alley serves as a nexus, linking Cary to the other missing persons through geography (Deerfield Park) and social circles. The investigation hinges on Holly’s ability to perceive patterns others miss.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter deepens the investigation into the Deerfield Park disappearances by explicitly connecting Cary Dressler’s social life to the broader mystery. The Golden Oldies become a tangible lead, and Holly’s unease around Clippard suggests that the truth may lie buried under layers of aging, ego, and denial. The parallel storyline with Barbara Robinson reinforces the novel’s meditation on integrity and purpose. Barbara’s creative breakthrough—sparked by Olivia’s mentorship—provides a thematic counterpoint to Holly’s dogged, integrity-driven detective work. Both women reject superficial expectations to pursue a deeper, more uncomfortable truth.
Study Questions and Answers
1. How does Barbara’s approach to writing her essay mirror Holly’s approach to her investigation? Barbara discards the “correct” way to write—the formatted screen, the expected introduction—in favor of a raw, honest method using a torn page. Similarly, Holly ignores richer suspects like Clippard to focus on the bowlers who knew Cary, trusting her instincts over obvious assumptions. Both women prioritize authentic process over conventional appearance.
2. Why does Holly feel uncomfortable around Hugh Clippard, and what does this reveal about his character? Holly notices Clippard’s unnaturally sculpted physique, forced exclamations, and visible wrinkles that suggest he is fighting a losing battle against age. His discomfort with the dwindling, dying Golden Oldies betrays a deep denial of mortality. Holly’s reaction underscores her empathy for natural aging and her ability to detect the hysterical energy of someone living inauthentically.
3. What is the strategic importance of Holly withholding information about the other missing persons from the bowlers she plans to interview? Holly holds back the names of Ellen Craslow, Pete Steinman, and Bonnie Dahl to avoid alerting a potential suspect. She plans to gauge reactions solely through questions about Cary, watching for defensiveness or guilt as Bill Hodges taught her. This controlled approach minimizes the risk of the perpetrator altering their behavior or destroying evidence.