I woke up this morning to Elvis tributes and remembrances on my social media timelines commemorating this date…and it took me back in time… August 16, 1977.…..I was 17 and had asked my youngest older brother, Carlos, if I could return to California from Georgia and stay with him while I looked for work and took on the challenge of getting a new start…”back home” in California. (I had already been out on my own…with roommates….since my 17th birthday a few months prior while still in Georgia) I was excited that morning as I hopped on the Greyhound bus with a couple of suitcases and settled in for the 4 day trek across country. There were many small stops along the way after we left Georgia and the first large city we were going to stop in was to be Memphis, Tennessee. There was to be a two hour layover with a change of buses and I was looking forward to being able to “stretch my legs” and walk about once we would arrive. The bus pulled in to the Memphis station and I quickly made my way into the station from the parking lot on a mission to find some food and a cold drink to enjoy during the lay-over. When I entered the lobby….which was quite large…I was thrown by the amount of people …crying. They weren’t in one spot or gathered around a loved one who was leaving…there were red eyes and tears everywhere I looked. Even passengers who had just arrived began to cry soon after conversing with someone who was already in the station. As I was standing in line to purchase my food I overheard the people in front of me say “I can’t believe it…he can’t be dead. Elvis can’t be dead.” I felt as if somebody had run full force into me and knocked all of the breath out of my body at that moment. When planning my trip a few days before, I had thought about going over to Graceland during the layover to try and get a “glimpse” of Elvis. There I was in Memphis for the first time…where the “King” lived…in his beautiful “Graceland”…and he had left…..for good. I found a place to sit at a table with my food in a dining room filled with others who sat staring in silence….or numb…some allowing silent tears to escape their sorrow filled eyes. The two hour lay-over seemed as if it had been an entire day and I and my fellow travelers boarded our new bus…in complete silence. The only reason I had ever wanted to visit Memphis while I was growing up was because of Elvis…he lived there…in that beautiful Plantation home called Graceland. I made it to Memphis that day….August 16, 1977...but I would never be able to catch a “glimpse” of Elvis…he was gone…forever. Im sharing a link to what I consider to be the BEST Elvis special....ever. Take a peek and enjoy!! youtu.be/hqKQ5OxYofE
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 21:08:26 +0000
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