“Elvis is dead and I don't feel so good myself.”

This is a title to one of my favorite books by Lewis Grizzard from my old hometown of Atlanta. Lewis passed away several years ago while having heart surgery at Emory University hospital but made us laugh all the way to the end. I miss him as he was a client of mine when I had my company before I left Georgia. His dog Catfish was a big part of his life and like all great dogs was selfless in his love for his master. Lewis Grizzard’s books and comedy albums are filled with humor which is much needed in our trying times.

His book title brings me to today’s topic . . . the 30^th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death. Has it really been that long? My sister loved Elvis and has always had a special place in her heart for ‘The King’ since we were young. Our aunt and uncle lived in Memphis for awhile in a subdivision around the corner from Graceland and the couple of times we visited them we had the great pleasure of spending the day inside the mansion and playing softball with Elvis and his ‘friends’ on the field to the side of the house. We spent time around the pool area another time when he was not home as our uncle knew Elvis’ cousin who worked security at the front gate.

I had not really thought about these memories in quite a long time but was reminded today of his untimely death. The man I met was really something and you could sense his presence and effect that he had on those around. This was his early years as his career was going strong and the man looked great.

I remember my sister was devastated upon his death and I still loved his music but was not too sure of what he became at the time. He put on a great show and was entertaining even toward the end when he had gained all the weight and still tried to fit into his sequined jumpsuits.

Had he become a caricature of his former self or slipped and lost his sense of reality? We will never know but find ourselves torn between the music . . . the stage presence . . . and the loner lying dead of a drug overdose.

He changed music around the world and our lives which is still strangely affected today. His smile . . . that sneer . . . the shaky leg . . . the sometimes bad acting in the movies he made . . . all bring us back to the performer and that ‘hunk of burning love’ he had for everyone.

The ballads, the rock and roll, and the catchy tunes that have stayed with us for all these years . . . it is timeless . . . as great music should be.

We miss you Elvis . . . we tend to overlook your final days because of the music you gave us.

Maybe one day one of the sightings of Elvis is seen in some small town or eatery will come true and you can return as one of the aging rockers who still try to entertain us after 35 years . . . at 72 you could probably still out perform Mick Jagger.

What I need now is some type of big finish. I'm racking my brain as I sit here quickly trying to write this before the clock strikes midnight and the start of a new day! I mean what would 'The King' Do??

Knowing he would want a big finish, he would send the audience spinning with some highly-complicated, fine-tuned karate maneuvers, designed full-well to show off the shine of his sequined jumpsuit, and then come out with a big, big finish, drop it like it's hot and then the announcer would give us that final "Elvis Has Left The Building" vocal and the stadium would go berserk! That's it! It's what I have to do, right?

Unfortunately, I feel less like the early shiny sequined star-powered Elvis, and much more like his fat, evil, and significantly less-appealing, "Elvis has eaten the Building!" version that left us so suddenly 30 years ago.

I'm slightly sad that the tragic 'end' left many of us somewhat bittersweet knowing that there were many more great songs and music lost on that day that we would never hear or experience.

Ice