Wednesday, August 16, 2006

You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog


Twenty-nine years ago today, Elvis left the building.

I had turned ten the month before. My oldest daughter just turned ten. Circle of life.

Twenty-nine years ago today, I was on an adventure with my father, travelling cross-country, on our way back from visiting my Grandma Martha and Grandpa Abe in Southern California. We had left Billings, Montana, where we had seen an A-League game featuring the Billings Mustangs.

On August 16, we had completed the 325-mile trek from Billings to Spearfish, South Dakota. We were in the vicintiy of Mount Rushmore. All I really remember about remembering Elvis was that he sang "Hound Dog." For a ten-year old boy, that was a cool song. All his love songs made me go "ick".

And so we heard it on the radio. I'm sure it was all over the news on the TV in the motel. I'm sure it was all people talked about. We saw Mt. Rushmore. And then we were off again, next stop Council Bluffs, Iowa.

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Here's some More-akami. I finished another story from Blind Willow..., this one I had also read before, and it reminded me of the beach at Ft. DeRussy in Waikiki. It was another one that appeared originally in The New Yorker. Anyone who's been to Ft. DeRussy, read it here. Or even if you haven't. Another good Haruki Murakami story.

1 comment:

bonnie said...

Fascinating. Think it would've been even if Ft. DeRussy wasn't the place my family went to the beach, which it was. Thanks for the link.