Happy Birthday To Elvis

Think,Saddle Oxfords,cardigans turned around backwards,45's,sock hops,Zoot Zooters,duck tails, pedal pushers. I rode my bike daily to school, never had a lock for it and never had it stolen. I played in our street. Neighbors left their doors unlocked at night,Keys in cars. I remember playing hide-and-seek after dinner in the dusk and could peer into open screen doors and see what television shows neighbours were watching.

We were one of the first on our block to have a black and white TV. We watched the shows called The Avengers, Perry Mason, Ed Sullivan, Desi and Lucy, The Honeymooners and Bewitched. Featuring Guys like Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Charles Bronson, Robert Duvall, James Coburn, Bruce Lee, and Martin Sheen Diana Rigg, all viewed on the black and white tube.

Kids in my neighborhood did not have every desire satisfied with the flip of a cell phone or the logging on to the internet.A text message was what you scribbled on schoolbooks; a chat room was between Besties and in the sanctity of your bedroom. Blogs were the monsters in the closet, or the creatures trapped inside the screens of the 25 cent Saturday afternoon matinees. The lack of technological advancement never stopped us from having the times of our lives. Imagination was more valuable than anything, and I'd swap out a cell phone or a Wii for a fishing trip with my dad any old day of the week.

These are my memories when I think of Elvis and remember him today...his birthday.What are yours?