30 years ago today. I was 13 and staying with my grandmother for a few days before school started back. I remember getting up early to go fishing with Earl, my grandmother's husband. We were heading towards Knoxville to a lake. We were crossing a rather long bridge and I remember the DJ on the radio saying something like, "...and if you're just joining us, Elvis Presley died in his home earlier today....." My mind instantly went back to about a year before.A bunch of my friends and I were in the driveway one afternoon playing basketball. One of my neighbor friends came down and said they had an extra ticket to see Elvis the next night at Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City. He said I could have it if I wanted it. Free. I thought it might be cool to go see Elvis. But before I could say anything some of the other guys started making comments about how stupid it would be to go to an Elvis concert. They wanted to know why anybody in their right mind would want to go see some old fat man sing and dance around a stage. I really wanted to go. But peer pressure won out and I said no.
It's 30 years later and I've always wished I'd taken the ribbing and gone to see Elvis. But at 13, being cool in front of your friends means more than doing what you really want to do.....
1 comment:
You should have gone. I was there. In fact I saw Elvis twice in Johnson City.
CTM
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