Remembering Elvis and 1977

I remember 1977.
August 16, 1977 to be exact.
Elvis was dead.
We were on our way to Boston to see my oldest brother get married.
The two events are connected forever in my mind - being in Boston in 1977 and Elvis being dead.
Now I was never a fan of Elvis' music but you couldn't help reading about it in the papers as they dissected the death of a legend...of the King!
Back then my taste in music ran more to Z Z Top, the Stones, Alice Cooper and The Beatles.
I've always been eclectic to say the least -- I even used to sing along with Mitch Miller!
But not to Elvis.
I didn't really appreciate the music of Elvis and it just wasn't cool to say you liked him. At least not in my town, and not if you were me.
His movies, on the other hand, I adored.
Viva Las Vegas anyone?
But I still didn't really talk about it.
Watching Elvis movies was something that you did on quiet Sunday afternoons back in the day when we had only 3 television stations, monster movies every Saturday afternoon and Hee Haw on Saturday night.
But now that I am older I can appreciate the magic of Elvis and realize the sadness surrounding how he lived...and died.
So here we are 30 years later remembering Elvis, remembering 1977, and for me at least, thinking about Boston.
Take a listen to my favorite Elvis tune and let a legend (with a little remix) help you get your day started.





Ken - Pass on a Big Hello to everyone in Boston!

Today I was 15 again

But I wasn't wearing braces this time around.
Thank goodness.
And I have to tell you, it was fun!
I took someone back in time with me too, a friend from high school.
Now you're probably wondering how and why we traveled back in time, and we did it for him:
And the encounter we had was via a DVD -- my friend Cindy and I got together to watch this movie:
Sooner or Later, with Sexy Rex Smith.
(Lucky Cindy even got to see him in concert in 1978.)
Does anyone remember watching this on tv in 1978?
I do, and I also remember braiding my wet hair at night and using the elastics from the orthodontist to hold the braids in place, all so I could have poufy hair in the morning.
This is way back in the dark ages of hair styling, before crimping irons.
And I also remember wishing I could find some 17 year old guy who looked like Rex Smith who didn't mind that I was 13.
Yeah, well that didn't happen.
Only in my fertile imagination.
Cindy and I had a good time together, just watching the movie and thinking about a time when we had our entire lives in front of us and they were wide open with possibilities.
All we (I) had to do was get out of this small, rinky-dink town.
Cindy never left and here I am back again.
Spending Friday night sleeping in the gym of my old high school, and Sunday watching a movie from when I was a freshman/sophmore in high school.
Man, life is cyclical, isn't it?
The biggest difference?
Those Calvin Klein jeans I keep that I will never fit into again.
Well, a girl can always keep on dreaming, and I guess I will.

Oh to be in Punxsutawney

It's Groundhog Day.
A day for monumental things to happen.
First and foremost, will the shadow be seen or not?
I know this is a day we always use to predict the remaining length of winter, but it has always seemed to me that we're going to have another 6 weeks of it (at least) regardless of what Phil and his progeny see.
So you can be entertained and watch the irascible Bill Murray relive his life over and over.
Did you ever think about how long a period of time he was there repeating the day? Long enough to learn how to play piano and do many other things to a high level of proficiency. My prediction: it had to be about 3 years.
When I went to SNCO Academy in '93, this movie came out and it prompted many discussions about which day you could live over and over, if you had a choice.
I think it's hard to chose, and sometimes not even necessary.
As Freak says, "You don't need a time machine if you know how to remember."

If this doesn't make you feel old, I don't know what will

Time: 10:30 pm (it's late, it's a Saturday, so sue me)
Place: My living room
People: DN2 (age 8) and me
Watching: "Desperately Seeking Susan"
Set up: Scene where Roseanna Arquette is in jail and is placing her one (actually second) phone call. She asks if she can make another call and then proceeds to dial the phone (it's a rotary dial).

DN2: How do they do that?
Me: What? (Pause) Dial the phone?!?!?!
DN2: Yes
Me: Well you put your finger in the holes and turn the dial.
DN2: (Pauses while thinking) You're going to have to buy one because I just don't understand.
Me: (Laughing)

Tomorrow we'll talk about records. This should be interesting.