Elvis and Other Greats
It's nearly 11:00 p.m. and it's 92 degrees outside. Yes, it is summer in the South and...Elvis Death Week. At 10:00 p.m. there were approximately 75,000 visitors at Graceland for the candlelight vigil. I doubt there will ever be another performer that can continue to pack them in 30 years after their death. I never got to meet him, but my friend Steve from work did. Steve and his brother lived across the street from Elvis, so they would go over and visit with Elvis and Priscilla. Steve said he was nice to them, but he never got a Cadillac out of the deal.
I've had very few brushes with greatness. One night back in about 1978 I was going through the drive-thru window at a Wendy's in Pearl, Mississippi when I noticed what I thought was a commotion inside. There were several large black men standing around a table inside. I mumbled to myself, "...shit, I'll never get my food." I placed my order at the intercom and drove around to the pick-up window. I was straining to see what was going on when the girl working there opened the window and literally threw a bag of food in my car. I handed her a ten dollar bill and she said excitedly, "Muhammad Ali is in here!" I drove up a little farther and sure enough, Muhammad Ali was sitting at the table where the big black guys were standing. I didn't linger but a second or two, then drove off. It costs me about five bucks to see Ali because I forgot to get my change.
About fifteen years ago I flew to Augusta Georgia and landed at the FBO there. It was nearly midnight and our landing was delayed because there was a Lear jet that they wanted to let in before us. When we landed, we got off and went out front to wait on our car. As we stood around, James Brown and his entourage came walking out the front door. We spoke and he smiled and said hello. As you would imagine, he was wearing a purple tuxedo. His wife was with them as they went out into the parking lot and climbed into a Cadillac parked there. They drove off about ten yards or so, then they stopped and James got out and checked the headlights. One of them wasn't working.
I also remember one evening in Jackson, Mississippi about thirty years ago when I was coming off I-20 onto I-55 and merging into my lane were none other than...the Mongolians! A local wrestling tag team. They were easy to identify because they had their ponytails that came out of the top of their shaved heads and they were in their wrestling costumes. They were driving a Buick station wagon with a whole bunch of crap in the back.
I guess this shows that even "famous" people are no different that the rest of us. Eating at Wendy's, having blown headlights and going to work driving a car full of junk.
I've had very few brushes with greatness. One night back in about 1978 I was going through the drive-thru window at a Wendy's in Pearl, Mississippi when I noticed what I thought was a commotion inside. There were several large black men standing around a table inside. I mumbled to myself, "...shit, I'll never get my food." I placed my order at the intercom and drove around to the pick-up window. I was straining to see what was going on when the girl working there opened the window and literally threw a bag of food in my car. I handed her a ten dollar bill and she said excitedly, "Muhammad Ali is in here!" I drove up a little farther and sure enough, Muhammad Ali was sitting at the table where the big black guys were standing. I didn't linger but a second or two, then drove off. It costs me about five bucks to see Ali because I forgot to get my change.
About fifteen years ago I flew to Augusta Georgia and landed at the FBO there. It was nearly midnight and our landing was delayed because there was a Lear jet that they wanted to let in before us. When we landed, we got off and went out front to wait on our car. As we stood around, James Brown and his entourage came walking out the front door. We spoke and he smiled and said hello. As you would imagine, he was wearing a purple tuxedo. His wife was with them as they went out into the parking lot and climbed into a Cadillac parked there. They drove off about ten yards or so, then they stopped and James got out and checked the headlights. One of them wasn't working.
I also remember one evening in Jackson, Mississippi about thirty years ago when I was coming off I-20 onto I-55 and merging into my lane were none other than...the Mongolians! A local wrestling tag team. They were easy to identify because they had their ponytails that came out of the top of their shaved heads and they were in their wrestling costumes. They were driving a Buick station wagon with a whole bunch of crap in the back.
I guess this shows that even "famous" people are no different that the rest of us. Eating at Wendy's, having blown headlights and going to work driving a car full of junk.
Duh Niece (who has never done anything embarassing in her life) once stepped up a couple of risers on an escalator in a Jackson, MS, mall to escape what she considered to be "a seedy-looking man wearing janitor clothes," as she put it. It was Gene Hackman in a navy blue twill jumpsuit, seeking to blend in with the rest of the rednecks shopping there. She was almost embarassed when she found out who he was...but not quite.
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