Barn Quilt

Today would have been Elvis Presley's 90th birthday.  If you are a fan of the King you may have made the hajj to Graceland or even Tupelo.   In my state true believers don't need to go that far.  The site where Elvis performed his last 'miracle' is located on the east side of our state capital.  It was 1977 at one a.m.   Elvis had finished a concert in Iowa, hadn't bothered to change out of his iconic jumpsuit but immediately jumped in a plane and and flown here before his next scheduled concert. On the way from the airport to the hotel, his limo stopped for a traffic light.   Looking out the limo's window, Elvis saw some teenagers  beating up another kid.  He opened the limo door and, over the objections of his bodyguard, got out.  Elvis was not to be deterred.  He had earned a black belt in karate (though by 1977 he was pretty out of shape.)   Imagine what these kids saw.  Out of the darkness an obese man, dressed head to toe in a brilliant sparkling suit with low slung jewel encrusted belt, is striding confidently toward them yelling "I'll take you on!"   The beating stopped mid-punch.  The victim got loose and scampered off to a safe spot.  The King came up to them, did a few classic martial arts moves before the teenagers recognized who he was.   They promised him they wouldn't fight anymore, shook hands all around, and Elvis walked back to his limo.  "Did you see those kid's faces?" he laughed as he climbed back in.  Two months later he died.  There still remains a plaque, however, commemorating the event at the intersection of Stoughton and East Washington Avenue.