thoughts on Elvis

Today is Elvis' birthday. Not that I knew this before, they just mentioned it on cnn. When I was a kid growing up I never thought much of him or his songs. Most guys didnt. We were too into the hard rock culture: Led Zeppelin, Lynard Skynard, the Stones, getting stoned, and so on. I mean, the guy did Vegas, which was like a sellout, going into retirement, if you will. But as I have grown older and read about life, his music, the kind of person he was I gained a greater respect for him...even his movies, none of which were all that great. But, he was an American icon, hero even...especially here in the town I live in Grafenwoehr, Germany where he spent some of his time in the army in the late 50's. They have a museum here with many pictures of him training with other troops. In many ways he symbolizes the best of America: a healing force after the war that helped rebuild germany and protect europe from the Russians and communism. Not just that, though, he represented America. And in a good way. He was the Sanatra or Crosby of his time, yet he ushered in a movement: Rock & Roll. With style. I hate what Vegas did to him, what that life did to him. Its not that big of a deal, but I just thought about that today. That and this weekend, taking care of myself, my baby and the dog. I guess thats the theme for this today: take care of yourself, no one else can but YOU, really.