Elvis Presley lives#

Elvis Presley is 80 years old. All over the world a myriad of tributes, publications, documentation and analysis’ will appear in all kinds of media paying homage to the King or to explain his fascination .

None of this will be the phenomenon mentioned in a little story that I read in "The Best of Reader 's Digest" some 30 (or more) years ago. I have long since lost the magazine in question and forgotten the name of the author. I have tried to find the booklet at issue or to discover the story in an archive. In vain.

However, I can retell the story from memory. In many details it will be inaccurate, but the important point will be quite clear.

(By the way, if a reader of Austria-Forum has the "Reader's Digest" booklet or at least this story in the original (best in English of course), I am very grateful if you could contact me through office@global-geography.org.

So here is the story :

Why have I never married (Author unknown)

I have never married. Of course, I was told by relatives, friends and colleagues that they do not understand why I never married. I have given them the usual answers that an unmarried woman in the still "marry-able age” would give: "Not the right guy", or "career", or "can still happen", and so on.

These answers were all lies. Because the truth is this:

I was twelve. In school of my older brother there was an event, and my parents went with me. I sat in the front row. On stage, one of the many unknown bands of a few boys in college age played. They played the usual teenager songs as they were heared every day on the radio or the jukebox. Singer and guitarist was a likeable boy who looked at me a few times .

After the event, we went to an Ice Cream Parlor. A little later the band people came in and went to a neighboring table. In passing, the singer said "Hello, cute one" to me. No one knew his name.

Six months later his name was known all over the world: Elvis Presley.

"Hello, cute one," he said to me, "Hello, cute one." Do you understand now why I never married?