“Truth is like the sun, you can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away”- Elvis Aron Presley ( January 8, 1935-August 16, 1977)
Let me just start off by saying that I have admired this man since the ripe age of two. To this day, no one in my family can even recall how it happened. My parents mocked him while they tuned into the sounds of Motown. Thus, I had to discover him on my own. What started as sitting on my father’s lap as he would flip through the TV Guide each night, and to my surprise he would always find an Elvis movie for me, I would get my favorite doll and blanket and I would just stare in all my glory. Although many trials and tribulations have occurred, during my life, I still find myself sixteen years later glued in-front of the TV when Elvis’ movies play.
I’ve been on Tumblr since 2009 and every year since then, I find myself thinking long and hard of what I’m going to do for his birthday. Whether it be a spam, videos, gifs, you name it, I’ve probably done it. But this year would have been his 76th birthday. So instead of out-doing myself, I have decided to dedicate one post to him on his birthday.
Often times, people state that the world really missed out when greats like Elvis pass. They begin to speculate all of the wonderful things Elvis could have done; what he could still continue to do. However, I don’t see it as such. When it comes to people like Elvis, it’s best that they die young. It’s best that they are taken from us. That way, they aren’t forced to suffer or be forced to face demons any longer. This way, they die a legend. This way, they are remembered for what they truly were by people who will continue to pass that imagine on to their children, and so on and so forth.
To be honest, I never saw Elvis for his image, his attractiveness, or for his comical 70s sunglasses with bushy sideburns. I never saw him for the women, or for the impersonators (who are sometimes crazier than the women), I saw a human who had a god given gift, that destroyed it with fame and poor choices. That’s the Elvis everyone should remember. Even the unreachable can still hit rock bottom.
