elvis and the king of kings

You may not have known this, but last week was “Elvis Week.” If you didn’t know, don’t worry -- no presents are exchanged.

It’s a little known fact that people often send me emails detailing their most recent “Elvis sighting.” Here are just a few places Elvis has been recently sighted ...

• Eating at Dunkin’ Donuts in Paducah, Kentucky.
• Selling RV’s in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
• Face painting at the Tremont Turkey Festival in Tremont, Illinois.
• Working as an undercover Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas.

OK, maybe people don’t actually send me Elvis sighting emails but there really is a Tremont Turkey Festival in Tremont, Illinois.

People have become more fascinated with Elvis since he died than when he was alive. I remember watching an “Is Elvis Alive?” TV special in the early 1990’s, hosted by Bill Bixby.
The entire show was devoted to showing both sides of the argument.

Conspiracy theorists would have loved it. For example, it was alledged that Elvis’ middle name was misspelled on the original grave marker. Obviously he wasn’t dead!

The best part of the show was the end: they displayed two 1-900 numbers for people to call in and vote. One to vote “No, he’s dead” and the other to vote “Yes, he’s alive.” I could understand that someone who was convinced Elvis was still alive would spend money to say so. But I couldn’t understand people who thought he was dead -- why waste the money?

It’s unfortunate that we often see Elvis portrayed today as a caricature of his last years. The lamb chop sideburns, sparkling outfits. Elvis impersonators jump out of airplanes and perform weddings, often doing both at the same time.

Before he got caught up in fame, drugs, and his sparkling outfits, Elvis recorded some of the best versions of Gospel music you’ll ever find. That was before he became the King, when he was just plain-old Elvis.

Today is the day we celebrate a different king, the King of Kings. No lamb chops or sequin suits. They share a few conspiracy theories about how they died and if they are alive. And one King is alive ... which one do you think it is?