The king is dead - Period.

Today is the anniversary of Elvis' death however many years ago. I don't really keep track of such things, but the Turner Classic Movie channel has been running his movies all day, so I'm pretty sure today is the day. Once again, I'm impressed to see that for another year they're willing to drag this out. Why don't they run Roy Rogers' movies on the anniversary of his death? Or Gene Autry's or any of the other stars who are no longer with us? I would mention John Wayne, but they run a lot of his movies any way.

Elvis is dead, so are John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin and so many other great entertainers, yet none have received the memorial tributes on the anniversaries of their death and birth that Elvis has. Why is that?

All of the artists listed above sang many songs, recorded numerous albums and performed in concerts all over, but of all of them, as far as I know, Elvis is the only one who didn't write his own music. Why is he considered so talented?

Honestly, I don't have an answer. To me, he was just a guy who made movies, some of which I enjoyed, and sang songs, again, some of which I enjoyed. But I just can't understand all the fuss over him.

If he were alive today, what would he be doing other than singing remakes of his old stuff and maybe having somebody write some new songs for him? What is it that makes him so great in so many people's eyes?

It's true that he lead a flamboyant lifestyle with Graceland, his cars and his generosity at times to total strangers. He was also supposedly addicted to drugs like Jim Morrison, Jimmy Hendrix and Janis Joplin. But you seldom hear ofElvis being referred to in the same manner that they are; the bad/evil ones of rock and roll.

The only thing I'm sure of is that he's dead. He's not selling used cars in Montana, flipping burgers in Idaho, or doing any of the things I've heard rumors of over the years.

A Personal Opinion and Nothing More

Was just reading Stephanies Blog and read about Tom Mauser's petition to keep automatic assault-type weapons illegal and off the street. The loss of his son truly gives him reason for doing what he's trying to do. I commend him for his efforts and wish him every success. Automatic weapons do not belong in the hands of children and should not even be available to the public as they serve no true purpose other than that for which they were designed; making it easier for one person to kill as many other people as he can in as short a time as possible.

That said, I also believe that maintaining these weapons on the illegal firearms list will not keep them off the street. How much difference can it make to the criminals and gang-bangers if they can't buy a fully automatic AK47/74, UZI or M-16 at their local sporting goods store? They're not in the habit of shopping there anyway. They'll either steal what they need from wherever these weapons are, or buy them from someone else who's stolen them from the same place.

There are people who are in the business of selling stolen guns or guns obtained from foriegn suppliers, who have no restrictions on automatic weapons, and the ammunition for them, to anyone who can come up with the money. You and I may not know who these people are, but I can guarantee the "bad guys" know who they are and how to get in touch with them. Keeping these weapons illegal may slow down the supply somewhat, but you'll still see people die because of them.

Okay, no more running off at the mouth. It's just that I see so many people who think that just because you make something illegal, it will go away. If only that were true.

Trip Plans

Working on our trip later this month. We'll be going to PA for a week or so, doing the tourist thing (first time ever). First stop will be the UTZ plant in Hanover to take the tour and pick up some samples, then on to Hershey for a couple days, then we'll be going up through the Coal Region to see some of the sights. We're going to the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine and ride their steam train. Then up to the Miner's Village in Eckley (where they filmed the movie "The Molly Maguires starring Sean Connery). After that we'll go up to route 6 and head west to see the Grand Canyon (yep, Peeaay has it's very own), then down to Austin to the remains of the dam. We'll then stop by my sister's house in Emporium and on over to see my Dad in Dubois. And since St. Marys is between Emporium and Dubois we have to stop at Vito's for some hoagies.

This is going to be a real adventure since we're taking our three year old grandson and his mom along. He went with us two years ago when we went up, but he was young enough to sleep for most of the trip and we weren't going as tourists. We just visited with my sister and Dad, then came home. This trip there are no time restraints, just limits on the funds to dictate how long we'll be gone. If I'd only hit the lottery between now and then this trip could take a while.

Hate putting titles on these things, so I won't.

Logan's birthday today. Three years old, wow time flies when you're having fun. Or is it fun flies when you're doing time? Mox nix, I guess.

Had a cookout, but most of the invited ones didn't show. Weather was good so it was their loss. Guess it's par for the course. Only Michelle and her two kids made it. Logan had a good time, though. Enjoyed his presents (Rescue Heroes, Power Ranger, Spongebob fishing pole and a battery powered slot car race set) and got to play with Brandon and his sister. Can't for the life of me remember her name right now. That was one happy, worn out little guy when he went to bed tonight.

DD,SS

Different Day, Same S... Stuff, yeah, that'll do.

Well, that's how it is around here most of the time. Looks like we're in for another thunderstorm, so I've got to shut this machine down again. This is bloody tiresome. Not real good for the machine either, I imagine.

TTFN

Second Post, Same Day

Looks like this will work, so I may stay with it.

Just giving this a shot to see what happens.

OK, here we go, first entry.
"Live fast, die young and leave a good looking corpse." Yikes, none out of three ain't too good is it?