It's hard for us cats to believe that Elvis Presley has been gone for 35 years. Not because we were big fans (excusez-nous), but because it's just another reminder that our political awakening during the age of Watergate is starting to be, um, a very long time ago.
Add to that the fact that Elvis, had he lived, would be 77 today — not that much older than folks we love, like Ringo Starr, Simon & Garfunkel and Gordon Lightfoot. Of course, he'd be younger than Pete Seeger — but then, everybody is.
But never mind. Suffice to say that despite his influence on the popular culture, we cats never had much use for The King after he stumbled his way into the Oval Office in 1970. His mission was not clear, and Nixon, being Nixon, did not understand. But this photo is the result.
(Looking back, one realizes that Presley is shaking hands with the man who secretly bombed Cambodia and who promised to end the war in Southeast Asia but didn't for going on five years. How many guys died in the meantime? We don't think Nixon cared. But, we digress.)
Thanks, but no thanks, Elvis. We cats will take this instead.
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