Elvis Has Left

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Elvis Has Left

“ Ladies and Gentlemen — Elvis has left the building.” After Elvis Presley finished a concert and left the building — that message was usually announced over the PA system. It was a way to let the thousands of fans know that their idol was gone and there was no reason to remain in the building.

Even though Elvis had left the stage and the building, the fans had been blessed with a memorable performance that would remain in their thoughts for years to come. In fact, they actually carried a part of Elvis’s Legacy with them.

Nowadays, in my opinion, too much is said about legacies, which is merely a donation to society that someone leaves after they either retire, or after they die. Some legacies are so evident that the person involved doesn’t have to create one. For example, Ronald Reagan’s Legacy, in my opinion, was the ending of the Cold War and the beginning of a trickle-down economy.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Legacy might be that he brought this country out of a Great Depression. You may not agree with my opinion of Presidents, or Celebrities, and their Legacies — and that’s OK, because I also believe that a Legacy may be defined differently by anyone who has the will and imagination to do so.

Harry Truman brought an end to Japanese aggression in World War II by dropping atomic bombs on two cities in Japan, and he also left us with some things to talk about because of his love for his daughter and her piano playing.

Jimmy Carter’s Legacy, in my opinion, was continued from page

an administration of doubledigit interest rates, doubledigit inflation and American hostages held in Iran. He also left us with a greater Hispanic presence in Southern Florida, but on the lighter side — he did indirectly give us “Billy” beer and a new love for peanuts.

As you know, the Presidential Election is just a few weeks away and it won’t be long.

By the way — speaking of politics, I got an interesting e-mail from Jerry McDaniel — it started with the question — Who am I? I am under 45 years of age, I love the outdoors and I hunt. I’m a Republican reformer — I’ve even taken on the Republican Party establishment. I have many children, and I have a spot on the national ticket as vice president with less than two years in governor’s office. Can you guess my name? My guess was Sarah Palin — I was wrong — it was Teddy Roosevelt!

Anyway, folks, do you know what the top ten cities in the U.S. with the highest poverty rate all have in common? The answer is Democrat leadership. Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

(email:slsurveyors@aol.com)