Long Live the King!

Today...is the 30th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley.

I remember when the King died (ahem, I will not disclose how old I was, but I was young enough to not know who he was). It's one of those vivid childhood memories in addition to being a milestone memory, like "where were you when Kennedy was shot?" or "where were you when the Challenger blew up?" and, of course, "where were you on 9/11?"

When Elvis died, my family was having a small reunion at my parents' house. My parents had over-stuffed, dark brown Naugahyde sofas and linoleum flooring in the den. I remember my aunts and uncles spinning yarns about Elvis, debating the earlier hits and the "fat years." It was one of the first times I remember wanting to hang out with the adults to hear their conversation instead of playing with my younger siblings or creating Lite-Brite designs. If memory serves me right, I was wearing my pink, square-framed Coke bottle eye glasses. Eww!

Where were you when Elvis left the building?

P.S. A local restaurant, Chuy's, has several shrines of Elvis, built on their customers' love of the King.