Elvis Presley, Bigfoot, the UFO and Me

I often joke with people who are fanatics about Elvis music, telling them that yeah, I saw Elvis Presley once — he sat between me and Bigfoot on the UFO I was abducted on. My mother, who will be 77-years old within a month (two years older than Elvis would have been if he was still alive), is not in the best of health and hasn't been in good health since before my father died of cancer last year. She is one of the greatest fans of Elvis that I have ever known, stopping just short of joining any kind of Elvis Presley fan club. I grew up in the 1960s, at the height of his career and it was through my mother that I became a fan as well.

Elvis Presley Music

Back when my family (my parents' family, not my own) lived in Hawaii (1974-1977), my mother listened to Elvis Presley's music all the time, almost enough to be annoying. The day his death was announced, a local radio station played Elvis Presley music for 24 hours with few interruptions. We were camped out at Koloa beach on Kauai at the time and I remember my mother reading one of her many romance novels and listening to the music at the same time.

I don't know if I accidentally met Elvis while we were living on Kauai. I was at the Kauai Surf Hotel once (and I don't remember why) and someone came through that looked a lot like Elvis. Of course, I actually saw Brian Keith at that hotel once, of that I'm sure. Did Elvis impersonators exist back then? Somehow I doubt it. Of course, I bumped into a lot of Elvis impersonators when I was stationed in North Carolina in the late eighties and early nineties. I think they grow them there.

Of all the singers that have ever existed, there are only a very few that I can imitate while performing with karaoke machines or specialty microphones. Elvis Presley is one of them. I used to always get applauded when I sang "Suspicious Minds" or "It's Now or Never". Of course, I couldn't wiggle my legs like that (I never could, even when I was much younger).

Elvis Presley Movies

Elvis made a slew of movies during his short lifetime. Only a couple of them were non-musicals. I really think I've seen them all, but I'm not going to list them here. You can visit IMDB to get that information if you want it.

Besides all the Elvis sightings that have been reported by the general public, some tongue-in-cheek like mine, Elvis sightings even exist in other movies. Take "The Frighteners" of 1996, for example. One character exclaimed "He's alive!" as a statuette of Elvis flew around the room during a poltergeist experience.

The most amazing thing about Elvis Presley is that his original music is STILL being listened to today, more than 33 years after his death. That speaks volumes about the lasting impression he made on millions of listeners. I can't count how many movie and TV soundtracks have used one or more of his songs in the background. I think it would be an exercise in futility.

My Mother

I just found out that my mother fell a few weeks ago, breaking her pelvis. According to one of my sisters (not the one that lives with her), she now spends all of her time in bed, not eating or drinking much. My sister is under the impression that my mother is giving up on life and that may very well be so.

Perhaps I need to hire and send over a good Elvis impersonator to cheer her up and make her realize that life, even as a widow, is worth living.

For those of you who have never seen Elvis Presley perform, or for those of you who just want to be reminded of his talent, I present this YouTube video. Hopefully it won't get taken down anytime soon.

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