Blogging Friends…. When you feel like creating a fictional story
about building a time machine to attend an Elvis Presley show and Bob Dylan
invites himself along for the ride…. I write ‘The King’!! This was {by far} the
most fun ‘Bob Dylan Story’ that I have ever written…. And it is actually my
sixth!! Wait…. Or is it my fifth ‘Bob Dylan Story’? I am a prolific artist…. I
write way faster than I can post them on ‘Minuscule is good!’!! Case in point….
‘The King’ is my fortieth posted fictional story!! Since September 2013!! Peace
out, Mary Lou
Note Number One…. Can Bob Dylan build a time machine? Like Doc
from Back to the Future? I have no idea!! This is a fictional story…. I make
things up as I go along!! What I do know about Bob is that he’s good with his
hands, he’s an artist in every single sense of the word, and he’s a brilliant
genius!! So, why not? It is my fictional story!!
Note Number Two…. The address that I listed—1941 S.E. Katsopolis Street—for Bob Dylan’s Black Buffalo Ironworks is fictional!! I neither know {nor do I care to know} where Bob partakes in his welding!! Besides, several dear Blogging Friends of mine have expressed that my ideas are ‘brilliant’…. And, since this is partially a fictional story about Elvis Presley, then Uncle Jesse from Full House {who is obviously an Elvis Presley freak} deserves a little nod!! Hence Katsopolis Street!! Also, on the same note, Bob’s home address—1944 S.E. Katsopolis Street—is obviously fictional, as well!! Because {face it} we are not supposed to know where Bob Dylan relaxes, reads, watches television and calls home when he isn’t touring or on vacation!!
Happy, happy, happy birthday, Blue Eyes!! {A.K.A. Bob Dylan}!! Thanks—from the depths of my heart and soul—for shamelessly being Beautifully Unique you!! Never stop. ‘May you stay forever young’…. Or, in an effort to be less cliché, I will now quote Frank Sinatra…. ‘And if you should survive to a hundred and five; Look at all you’ll derive out of bein’ alive; And here is the best part, you have a head start; If you are among the very young at heart’!! Thanks for being there for me through your songs…. Thanks for making me laugh—and feel—every single day…. Thanks for inspiring me as an artist!! I love you…. I truly do.
Time travelling. This is something that I have always felt like doing
{ever since watching Back to the Future},
but, unlike Doc Brown, I am not an eccentric mad scientist. I couldn’t build a
time machine, even if my Life and the Universe depended on me to do so!! I am
not intelligent enough. I’m no mechanic. I break things, I don’t fix them!! I
am not a brilliant genius like ‘Science Bros’ Tony Stark/Iron Man and Bruce
Banner/The Incredible Hulk. I’m an artist!! And, although several dear,
wonderful, beloved Blogging Friends of mine have expressed that my story ideas
are ‘brilliant’? I’m merely a writer!! For some people, being intelligent is
something that they were born with. Me? I am not the smartest duck swimming in
the pond!! Some people are natural-born brilliant geniuses. I am not!! Some
people are great at working with their hands {and they weld, pull a car’s
engine apart, or paint pictures}, for some people have a steady hand. Like Bob
Dylan!! I am not at all good with my hands…. And they literally tremble when
fear of failure overcomes me!!Note Number Two…. The address that I listed—1941 S.E. Katsopolis Street—for Bob Dylan’s Black Buffalo Ironworks is fictional!! I neither know {nor do I care to know} where Bob partakes in his welding!! Besides, several dear Blogging Friends of mine have expressed that my ideas are ‘brilliant’…. And, since this is partially a fictional story about Elvis Presley, then Uncle Jesse from Full House {who is obviously an Elvis Presley freak} deserves a little nod!! Hence Katsopolis Street!! Also, on the same note, Bob’s home address—1944 S.E. Katsopolis Street—is obviously fictional, as well!! Because {face it} we are not supposed to know where Bob Dylan relaxes, reads, watches television and calls home when he isn’t touring or on vacation!!
Happy, happy, happy birthday, Blue Eyes!! {A.K.A. Bob Dylan}!! Thanks—from the depths of my heart and soul—for shamelessly being Beautifully Unique you!! Never stop. ‘May you stay forever young’…. Or, in an effort to be less cliché, I will now quote Frank Sinatra…. ‘And if you should survive to a hundred and five; Look at all you’ll derive out of bein’ alive; And here is the best part, you have a head start; If you are among the very young at heart’!! Thanks for being there for me through your songs…. Thanks for making me laugh—and feel—every single day…. Thanks for inspiring me as an artist!! I love you…. I truly do.
“The King”
I am a writer, an artist who ‘paints pictures’ with words!!
Good deeds and causes. Seemingly countless celebrities {who, as a result of their success, are obviously well-to-do}, partake in good deeds and causes. Some celebrities have foundations of their own which they, themselves created. Such as causes that raise awareness, research, and finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease. Or saving Earth’s wildlife from extinction. Such as causes that raise awareness, research, and finding a cure for multiple sclerosis. Other celebrities support foundations which were already created. Such as causes that raise awareness, research, and finding a cure for cancer. Or supporting People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals {P.E.T.A.}. Such as causes that raise awareness, research, and finding a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Some celebrities are open about their philanthropic deeds…. While other well-known people {such as Bob Dylan, for example}, do great things privately, secretively and quietly behind closed doors. Bob Dylan visits ill children in hospitals!!
That was exactly where we randomly bumped into each other while walking through the lobby of Compassion & Empathy Pediatrics!!
“Mary Lou!!” exclaimed Bob Dylan, with a smile written on his face, as his blue eyes were warm, “Are you sure that you understand my songs?”
“Blue Eyes!!” I exclaimed, with a smile written on my face, “Hi!! Yes, I do understand your songs!! We have talked about this before, and you know it!! All I need to do is listen with my heart and soul!! Remember?”
“What are you doing here…. At Compassion & Empathy Pediatrics?” asked Bob Dylan, with sincere concern in his blue eyes, “I hope that you don’t have a sick kid as somebody’s patient here, Mary Lou!!”
“No…. And yes,” I said, with a smile written on my face, “I do not have any children, Blue Eyes!! But my little niece, Opal, was rushed to Emergency last night because of a severe asthma attack!!”
“Oh no!!” said Bob Dylan, who still had concern in his blue eyes, “Is Opal going to be alright, Mary Lou?”
“Yes!!” I said, with a smile written on my face, “Opal’s doctors and nurses are giving her treatments…. She’s being well taken care of!! Opal is one brave girl, Blue Eyes!! I was just visiting her!! I brought Opal a purple teddy bear!!”
“Aw….” said Bob Dylan, with a gentleness in his blue eyes, “I imagine that she enjoyed that, Mary Lou!! You’re a good Aunt!!”
“What are you doing here…. At Compassion & Empathy Pediatrics?” I asked, “You do not even have any children…. Well, they are all grown!! And none of your grandchildren would even be young enough to qualify as patients here!! Am I right?”
“I was playing for sick kids at Compassion & Empathy Pediatrics’ cancer wing, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were full of compassion.
“Oh, my goodness….!!” I exclaimed, as my brown eyes misted up with wet, hot tears, “You were playing music for children who are battling cancer? Awww…. You have my heart and soul for that, Blue Eyes!!”
“Why?” said Bob Dylan, with sarcasm in his blue eyes, “Do I have your heart and soul because I play for sick kids? Or…. Do I have your heart and soul because I’m Bob Dylan?”
“No….” I said matter-of-factly, “I have a cosmic heart for cancer patients and survivors of any age…. Especially children!! Plus, as a baby, I was born with craniosynostosis, congenital diaphragmatic hernia and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome—all three of which were surgically repaired—so my family has personally had their own fair share of hospitals, Blue Eyes!!”
“Wow!!” said Bob Dylan, as
his blue eyes became softer, “Well, that
is a very good reason for me to have your heart and soul, Mary Lou!!”
“Speaking of Opal—which we just were—I am pretty sure that I’m turning her and her sister, Amethyst, into a fanatic of yours!!” I said, “They love listening to ‘Man Gave Names To All The Animals’!! I play them both versions of ‘Forever Young’, and, of course, ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’…. Oh yeah…. I sort of got into ‘trouble’ for playing Amethyst, Opal and their brother, Capricorn ‘Tombstone Blues’!! Ah, but they absolutely love your line, ‘The sun’s not yellow, it’s chicken’, Blue Eyes!!”
To which Bob Dylan laughed.
“Is that right?” said Bob Dylan, as he was smiling with his blue eyes, “Listen, would you like to get a mocha at De-Café Coffee, Mary Lou?”
“Amethyst, Opal and Capricorn are ‘my children’, Blue Eyes!!” I said with a smile written on my face, “I claim them!!”
I paused for a nanosecond.
“Yes!!” I said, “I would love a mocha from De-Café Coffee!! Well…. That is, if you want me to get high on caffeine, chocolate, sugar and who-knows-what-else those baristas put in their mochas!! Sure, Blue Eyes!!”
“Hmmm…. There ought to be a De-Café Coffee somewhere inside Compassion & Empathy Pediatrics, Mary Lou,” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes looked around, “Since they are such an incredibly world-renowned franchise!!”
“No!!” I adamantly said, “Not here!! This is a children’s hospital, for Heaven’s sake!! There are way too many contagious, nasty germs inside Compassion & Empathy Pediatrics, Blue Eyes!! No, let’s meet at our usual De-Café Coffee location!!”
“The one on 1965 Street, Mary Lou?” asked Bob Dylan, with agreement in his blue eyes.
“Yes!!” I said, “That is the one, Blue Eyes!!”
“Then, I’ll meet you at De-Café Coffee on 1965 Street, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were trusting.
“Ah….” I said, “Not if I do not beat you there, Blue Eyes!!” I said, with an incredible smile written on my face.
A dapper, handsome gentleman who has just stepped out of the 1930’s. That’s what Bob Dylan looked like to me!! I observed that he was not wearing blue jeans. No, Bob Dylan didn’t look like some rock ‘n roll biker who had just hopped off of his motorcycle. He was actually wearing an ebony-colored suit. Atop his head, Bob wore a white cowboy hat. Underneath the Stetson, he clearly did not have on his trusty, straight, bleached-blond wig. This surprised me…. I thought that Bob Dylan always wore his wig out in public!! As resulted, he was very sharp-looking!!
It was not until just then, that I noticed the guitar case in Bob Dylan’s right hand.
Ah, my ‘old’ 1970’s baby blue-painted Ford pickup truck!! Because I’ve driven her ever since I was sixteen—and I’m currently thirty-four—she has definitely served me well!! Yes, this ‘old’ 1970’s baby blue-painted Ford pickup truck was my first car. No little white-colored Subaru station wagon would have ever suited me. See, my Dad used to drive an ‘old’ 1966 baby blue-painted Ford pickup truck. I possess some very fond memories of riding in that vehicle with just him and I {plus my brown-haired, blue-eyed Pretty Crimp ‘n Curl Cabbage Patch Kid doll who I named Nicole Jane}, to run errands or simply drive around our city neighborhood!! So naturally, my first car would be an ‘old’ baby blue-painted Ford pickup truck, as well!! Well, 1970’s was as close as I could get to 1966. So I hopped into my faithful baby blue-painted Ford pickup truck and met Bob Dylan at De-Café Coffee.
He was the first one there, patiently waiting for me.
“Ha!!” Bob Dylan teasingly said, as his blue eyes twinkled, “You didn’t beat me at De-Café Coffee, after all, Mary Lou!!”
“Sorry….” I explained, “I hope that I did not keep you waiting for very long, Blue Eyes!! I needed to fill my pickup truck’s tank up at Gas Guzzler Station!! I hurried as fast as I could, honest!!”
I paused for a nanosecond.
“Now, if we had each other’s cell-phone numbers or some other form of contact information, then I would have been able to call you!!” I said, with a smile written on my face.
Then, Bob Dylan swiftly changed the subject.
“Alright, I’m going to order you a medium-sized mocha, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes twinkled, “Why, yes…. So that you can get high on caffeine, chocolate, sugar and who-knows-what-else those baristas put in their mochas!!”
“Alright….” I said, with a smile written on my face, “But I will babble your ears off at, like, one-hundred miles per hour, Blue Eyes!!”
“I consider myself forewarned, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes twinkled, while he walked up to De-Café Coffee’s counter.
And, {just like he always does}, Bob Dylan ordered me an incredibly addictive medium-sized mocha…. Plus a double chunk chocolate chip cookie!!
‘A well’a bless my soul; What’sa wrong with me?; I’m itchin’ like a man in a fuzzy tree; My friends say I’m actin’ wild as a bug; I’m in love; I’m all shook up; Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay….’ played the Oldies But Goodies Radio Station.
“Hey!!” I exclaimed, as I sipped my mocha, “They are playing Elvis Presley on the radio, Blue Eyes!!”
“Really, Mary Lou?!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes lit up like Independence Day fireworks, “They are?!”
“Yes!!” I said, as I sipped my mocha, “Listen, Blue Eyes!! It is ‘All Shook Up’!!”
‘Well, my hands are shaky and my knees are weak; I can’t seem to stand on my own two feet; Who do you think of when you have such luck? I’m in love; I’m all shook up; Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay….’ crooned Elvis’ deep, somewhat sexy-sounding, singing voice.
“Yeah!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes sparkled, “It is!! You have a very good ear, Mary Lou!!”
“‘Well, please don’t ask me what’sa on my mind; I’m a little mixed up, but I’m feelin’ fine; When I’m near that girl that I love best; My heart beats so it scares me to death! Well she touched my hand what a chill I got; Her lips are like a volcano when it’s hot; I’m proud to say that she’s my buttercup; I’m in love; I’m all shook up; Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay; My tongue gets tied when I try to speak; My insides shake like a leaf on a tree; There’s only one cure for this body of mine; That’s to have that girl that I love so fine! She touched my hand what a chill I got; Her lips are like a volcano that's hot; I’m proud to say that she’s my buttercup; I’m in love; I’m all shook up; Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay; Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay; I’m all shook up….’,” I sang, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas.
“Have I mentioned that I like you, Mary Lou?” said Bob Dylan, with a smile written on his face and sincere love in his blue eyes.
“Yes….” I said, with a smile written on my face, “As a matter of fact, you have, Blue Eyes!!”
“Because, not only did you just sing Elvis, but ‘All Shook Up’ was written and recorded long before your time, Mary Lou!!” exclaimed Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes revealed that he was impressed with me.
“Yeah….” I said, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “I’m not sure why, but I absolutely love songs that were written and recorded before I entered the world!! There was just so much great music {yours included, Blue Eyes}, before my time!!”
I paused for a split caffeine-fueled nanosecond.
“I strongly believe that an artist’s legacy lives on forever through their music, Blue Eyes!!” I said, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “Elvis may have died in 1977 {yes, before my time}, and yet when I first heard Elvis, I was a kid {this happened sometime in the 1990’s}, as I was riding in our ‘old’ yellow and white-painted Chevy suburban with my Mom listening to Oldies But Goodies Radio Station. Then ‘Hound Dog’ or ‘Burning Love’ came on. And I was immediately enamored by Elvis’ singing voice!! Smitten, even!! And I had no clue what my ‘feelings’ toward any guy—much less Elvis—even meant!! I still listen to him several days a week while I’m washing our dishes by hand!! I sing in my very best Elvis impression, I play air guitar, I splash soapy water everywhere!! I always choose at least one or two songs where I hip sway until I literally hurt!! My body—which has been injured literally countless times—does not like it when I dance to too much rockabilly music all at once!!”
I paused for a split emotional caffeine-fueled nanosecond.
“Whenever I hip sway and tap my right foot to ‘All Shook Up’, I’m very interactive with its lyrics {which, by the way, Elvis co-wrote…. Did you know that, Blue Eyes?}, I am like a dancing, lip-synching mime!!” I said, as I sipped my mocha, “You know what? My Mom once told me that when she was a girl, she danced to ‘All Shook Up’!! So, I guess ‘the apple does not fall far from the tree’, as they say!!”
To which Bob Dylan laughed.
“When Elvis died, it was so sad,” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were intense, “I had a breakdown!! I broke down…. One of the very few times I went over my whole life. I went over my whole childhood. I didn’t talk to anyone for a week after Elvis died. If it wasn’t for Elvis, I couldn’t be doing what I do today…. ‘An artist’s legacy lives on forever through their music’…. I like that, Mary Lou….”
“So, see?” I said, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “Elvis isn’t dead, after all, Blue Eyes!! And, no, I am not a conspiracy theorist!! Elvis isn’t dead because he has recorded songs, albums, and acted in movies!! All we need to do if we’re missing him is listen to his music!!”
I paused for a split emotional caffeine-fueled nanosecond.
“I will be able to do the exact same thing with you, Blue Eyes…. Someday…. When you are dead….” I said, as my eyes filled up with wet, hot tears, and I sipped my mocha.
“Ah, don’t make me cry, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes glistened, “When I first heard Elvis’ voice, I just knew that I wasn’t going to work for anybody, and nobody was going to be my boss…. Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail.”
“Oh!!” I exclaimed, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “‘Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail…. Blue Eyes!! You just automatically put ‘Jailhouse Rock’ in my head!! Not that I am complaining!! Ah, a girl can do worse!!”
I paused for an excited, split caffeine-fueled nanosecond.
“Elvis soothes my soul, like a healing balm!!” I exclaimed, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “His deep crooning voice…. The rockabilly music that I cannot help but swing my poor hurting hips to…. His slower songs…. I can have a moody, irritable, agitated, edgy attitude, and just listening to Elvis always soothes my soul, immediately snapping me out of it!!”
“That was very well said!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were soft, “Those words which you just expressed about Elvis ought to be written on a plaque inside Graceland, Mary Lou!!”
“Oh, but I am not famous!!” I said, as I sipped my mocha, “I was never even the popular kid as a girl growing up!! Why on Earth would I have something that I’ve said about Elvis inside Graceland?! You are so sweet, though, Blue Eyes!!”
“Ah, but your quotation should be on a plaque inside Graceland, Mary Lou!!” insisted Bob Dylan, with encouragement in his blue eyes, “Elvis would have appreciated those words, you know what I’m sayin’?”
“I can listen to Elvis’ songs and watch his movies,” I said, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “That part is easy!! But do you know what the only thing that I have never been blessed to do {because I was born too late and he died too young}, Blue Eyes? I have never been able to attend an Elvis Presley concert!!”
I paused for a split caffeine-fueled nanosecond.
“Sometimes….” I said, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “I’ll listen to one of his ‘live’ songs, and I can almost see, hear, smell, touch, and taste everything…. From Elvis’ hips swaying, to wild fanatics’ cheering, to the sweat pouring down his body…. I can feel everything, Blue Eyes!! And I wish that I could have been there—in a crowd of generations before me—to scream for Elvis….”
“Well….” Bob Dylan mysteriously said, with brilliance in his blue eyes, “What if you can attend an Elvis Presley show, Mary Lou?”
“Are my ears playing tricks on me?!” I excitedly asked, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “Did you just say that I can attend an Elvis Presley concert, Blue Eyes?! How?! You’re not toying with my thoughts, feelings and emotions…. Right?! Because you have a crazy look in those blue eyes of yours!! I cannot handle my thoughts, feelings and emotions being toyed with!!”
“What ‘crazy look’ in my blue eyes?” Bob Dylan mysteriously said, with a smile written on his face, “And, no, I’m not toying with you, Mary Lou!!”
“That crazy look in those blue eyes of yours where you are formulating a brilliant, beyond brilliant idea!!” I said, as I sipped my mocha.
“Ah….” said Bob Dylan, with a smile written on his face, as his blue eyes were soft, “Well, don’t you have me all figured out, Mary Lou? Fine, I’m going to cut to the chase and just say it, then…. I can build you a time machine!!”
“Wait. What?!” I exclaimed, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “I know that you are great with your hands, Blue Eyes…. However. Can you seriously build me a time machine so that I will actually attend an Elvis Presley concert?!”
“Never underestimate what I can do with a tool in my hands, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were confident.
“Right, you weld beautiful intricate fence gates at Black Buffalo Ironworks!!” I said, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “Which I absolutely love, Blue Eyes!! But, can you build a time machine?! You’re not exactly Doc from Back to the Future…. Well, are you?”
To which Bob Dylan simply smiled mysteriously, with brilliance in his blue eyes.
“Yes, I can build a time machine…. With your help, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were confident, “Are you in? Well? Do you want to attend an Elvis Presley show, or not?”
“Yes!!” I excitedly said, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “Are you kidding me, Blue Eyes?! Yes, I am in!! It will be like a dream come true to attend an Elvis Presley concert!!”
I paused for a split caffeine-fueled nanosecond.
“There is just one not-so-good thing that you need to know about me, Blue Eyes,” I said, as I sipped my mocha.
“What’s that, Mary Lou?” asked Bob Dylan, as he listened with his blue eyes.
“Unlike you, I am not great with my hands!!” I confessed, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “I’m self-described as ‘building challenged’!! I can hardly construct a Rotor Blade Spinner out of plastic building blacks…. With instructions!! And that is just an insanely popular children’s toy!! I break things…. I don’t make things!! So go ahead and underestimate what I can do with a tool in my hands, Blue Eyes!!”
“Ah….” Bob Dylan mysteriously said, with a mischievous smile written on his face, as his blue eyes were teasing me, “And building your time machine is far more important than constructing some Rotor Blade Spinner, Mary Lou!! If something goes terribly wrong, you could accidentally be blasted toward another historical era!! And how sad would that be? Then you wouldn’t be able to attend an Elvis Presley show!! Or worse…. You could die!!”
“Oh, stop being such a Drama King, Blue Eyes!!” I said, with an incredible smile written on my face, as I sipped my mocha, “Get it? You’re a man!! That means you are not a Drama Queen!!”
To which Bob Dylan laughed.
“But you can still help me build this time machine!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes believed in me, “You’ll be my assistant, Mary Lou!! You can hand me tools, push buttons, and maybe learn a thing or two about building time machines!!”
“So {according to Home Improvement}, if I’m your assistant, then that means I will do all the work, Blue Eyes!!” I said, with a smile written on my face, as I sipped my mocha.
To which Bob Dylan laughed, as his blue eyes twinkled.
“Alright, meet me at Black Buffalo Ironworks on 1941 S.E. Katsopolis Street, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, with brilliance in his blue eyes.
“We are going to build a time machine in your welding studio, Blue Eyes?” I said, as I sipped my mocha.
“Why not?” said Bob Dylan, with confidence in his blue eyes, “I have tools and diverse parts at Black Buffalo Ironworks!!”
“Are you going to weld me a time machine, Blue Eyes?” I asked, with an incredible smile written on my face, as I sipped my mocha.
“Nope!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were mysterious, “I am going to build you a time machine, Mary Lou!! It will even have an engine, steering wheels and buttons to push!!”
“When, Blue Eyes?!” I excitedly said, as I sipped my mocha.
“Will working on your time machine today be alright, Mary Lou?” asked Bob Dylan, with brilliance in his blue eyes, “To quote Elvis…. ‘It’s now or never’….”
“Yes!!” I excitedly said, as I sipped my mocha.
“Alright!!” said Bob Dylan, with confidence in his blue eyes, as he stood up, “Then I will meet you at Black Buffalo Ironworks, Mary Lou!!”
“Ah….” I said, “Not if I do not beat you there, Blue Eyes!!” I said, with a smile written on my face, as I finished my mocha.
“Remember what happened last time we said that, Mary Lou?” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes twinkled, “I ‘won the race’, if you will!!”
To which I laughed.
“I know, I know, I was late, Blue Eyes!!” I said, with a smile written on my face, “I apologized!!”
An eccentric mad scientist. With his crazy, somewhat messy, thinning silver hair, that was what Bob Dylan looked like when I met him at Black Buffalo Ironworks. A brilliant, ingenious mad scientist…. Yes, sort of like Doc Brown from Back to the Future!! For obvious reasons, Bob Dylan was no longer wearing his ebony-colored suit and white cowboy hat. Why? Because Bob Dylan was now wearing blue jeans, a casual t-shirt and an understandably smudged long-sleeved white-colored overcoat. He obviously no longer looked like some dapper, handsome gentleman who had just stepped out of the 1930’s. As an eccentric artist, Bob Dylan has literally worn countless getups throughout his Life!! Such as white face paint, dark eye shadow and a flowery hat…. Leather pants…. And, yes, Frank Sinatra-like country-gentleman finery. Bob Dylan did not have an appearance of a rock ‘n roll biker who had just ridden his motorcycle when I met him at Black Buffalo Ironworks. He wasn’t wearing any wigs on his head, either.
Bob Dylan looked like an inventor!!
“I only have one request, Mary Lou,” said Bob Dylan, with a passionate sense of longing in his blue eyes before he began building my time machine.
“What is that, Blue Eyes?” I asked.
“Can I come with you?” asked Bob Dylan, who still had a passionate sense of longing in his blue eyes, “I want to attend an Elvis Presley show, as well, Mary Lou!! So, can I come with you?”
To which I smiled.
“I would not have it any other way, Blue Eyes!!” I said.
Building a time machine can take its own sweet time. According to Bob Dylan, constructing anything with iron does not occur overnight…. Especially a time machine!! According to Bob Dylan, constructing things from iron is an excellent patience-producing activity!! For it took us five long days to build our time machine!! I handed Bob Dylan tools, which he used. Bob Dylan even trusted me to push a few buttons!! He and I worked very, very, very, very, very hard on our time machine {for several hours}, from morning to evening. We only took three breaks a day {breakfast, lunch and dinner}, because, after all, we both needed to eat!! Bob Dylan even smoked the occasional cigar. Then, he immediately added even more parts to our time machine!!
I loved observing Bob Dylan’s hands at work…. It looked much different than him playing the piano or strumming a guitar!!
“Our time machine needs a name,” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were focused while he added yet another part to our invention, “Do you have any suggestions, Mary Lou?”
“This will sound ridiculously cliché, but since we are time travelling to attend an Elvis Presley concert, then how about ‘The King’?” I said.
“I absolutely love it!!” said Bob Dylan, with a smile written on his face, as his blue eyes twinkled, “Alright…. ‘The King’ it is!!”
“Wow, it is getting late!!” I suddenly exclaimed as I looked at a wall clock, “I completely lost track of time, Blue Eyes!! I should go home now!!”
“Time flies when you’re building a time machine!!” exclaimed Bob Dylan, with brilliance in his blue eyes.
To which I laughed.
“Ah….” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were soft, “You don’t have to go, Mary Lou!! Stay at my house!! It’ll be much more convenient that way!! My house is just down the street from Black Buffalo Ironworks!! I even have a guest bedroom!! Then you won’t be wasting gas….”
Bob Dylan smiled, with brilliance in his blue eyes.
“….And time….” continued Bob Dylan, “….By driving back and forth to Black Buffalo Ironworks!!”
“Oh, the paparazzi will have a field day with me staying at your house, Blue Eyes!!” I exclaimed, “I can only imagine what their ‘Fake News’ magazines would say about you…. About me!! I am already your ‘Mystery Girl’, remember?”
“If the paparazzi talk about you and I….” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were fiercely protective of me, “Behind our backs…. Spreading inaccurate stories that we’re lovers who live together and even make out? Mary Lou? If that happens then ‘The King’ will permanently keep you and I in whatever ‘historical’ era you want him to take us!! Alright? Don’t worry about the paparazzi and their ‘Fake News’ magazines!!”
“Alright, I will stay at your house, Blue Eyes!!” I said.
“My home address is 1944 S.E. Katsopolis Street,” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were trusting, “Just for the record, Mary Lou? I never do this!!”
“What, Blue Eyes?” I asked.
“I never give my home address away to people!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were still trusting, “For obvious reasons, I only do that with close friends or family!! But you’re not some fanatic, reporter, or even a Dylanologist!! No…. You are a friend, Mary Lou!!”
“I consider myself honored to be trusted with something as private and personal as your home address, Blue Eyes!!” I said.
Lather, rinse, repeat. That phrase flawlessly describes how the next four days played out as Bob Dylan built our time machine with my assistance. I stayed and slept overnight in his guest bedroom. I handed Bob Dylan tools, which he used. Once again, Bob Dylan even trusted me to push a few buttons!! He and I worked very, very, very hard on ‘The King’ {for several hours}, from morning to evening. We only took three breaks a day {breakfast, lunch and dinner}, because, after all, we both needed to eat!! Bob Dylan smoked the occasional cigar. Then, he immediately added even more parts to our time machine!! For Bob Dylan’s skilled hands are capable of doing a great many things…. Such as play music, write poetic songs, paint pictures, weld fence gates…. And build time machines!!
Finally, ‘The King’ was nearly finished!!
“Alright….” said Bob Dylan, with brilliance in his blue eyes, “What ‘historical’ era do you want ‘The King’ to take us to, Mary Lou?”
“1957!!” I replied, “That was, after all, the year when Elvis released ‘All Shook Up’, which, they played at De-Café Coffee!! Besides, I have so many favorite songs of his from 1956!! Maybe Elvis will perform those during his concert, Blue Eyes!!”
“Do you want to know how old I was in 1957, Mary Lou?” asked Bob Dylan, with self-depreciation in his blue eyes.
“Yeah!!” I exclaimed, “Yes, I actually do, Blue Eyes!!”
“I was sixteen, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, with a sense of matter-of-factness in his blue eyes, “But not when ‘All Shook Up’ came out…. That song was released in March!! Since my birthday is on May 24th…. I was still fifteen when Elvis released ‘All Shook Up’!!”
“Ah, I imagine that you were a very cute teenager!!” I said.
To which I laughed, because those words felt silly coming out of my mouth.
“I probably would have had an incredible crush on you!!” I continued, “You’re a musician…. Who was {I am guessing}, shy and private who mostly kept to himself…. I had several crushes on musicians as a teenager!! Those who were shy, private and introspective? I somehow felt the most attracted to them!!”
I paused for a nanosecond.
“Wait, you were sixteen in 1957?!” I said, “Cool…. You are, like, literally fifteen years older than my Mom, Blue Eyes!! I did not know that!!”
“Are you trying to make me feel old, Mary Lou?” said Bob Dylan, with a smile written on his face and self-depreciation in his blue eyes.
“Nope!!” I said, “Age is just a number, Blue Eyes!! Besides….”
Then, I smiled.
“‘May you stay forever young’!!” I said.
“Ah, that’s way too cliché, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes smiled, while he preprogrammed ‘The King’ to time travel toward 1957, “But you do have a valid point…. Stay forever young…. I’ll give you that!! Alright…. 1957 it is!!”
“Blue Eyes?” I asked, “Do we need a magic word or something for ‘The King’ to take us toward 1957?”
“You mean….” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were soft, “Like a password, Mary Lou?”
“Yeah, that is it!!” I exclaimed, “So…. Do we need a password for ‘The King’ to take us toward 1957, Blue Eyes?”
“It’s…. ‘Thank-you, thank you very much’!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes twinkled, “But there’s a little catch, Mary Lou…. You absolutely, positively must say that line in your very best deep Elvis Presley voice, or else we’ll never time travel toward 1957!! Alright?”
To which I laughed.
“I’m serious, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, with a good ‘poker face’, as his blue eyes twinkled, “We’re time travelling to attend an Elvis Presley show!! This is serious business!!”
But I could not stop laughing!!
“Alright, ‘The King’ is officially complete, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, with satisfaction in his blue eyes “We’re going in a time machine toward 1957 to attend an Elvis Presley show!! Are you ready?”
“Yes!!” I excitedly said, “It is about time!!”
To which Bob Dylan laughed.
“It feels like we are astronauts flying toward the moon, not time travelers, Blue Eyes!!” I exclaimed.
“Ten…. Nine…. Eight…. Seven…. Six…. Five…. Four…. Three…. Two…. One…. Say our password, Mary Lou!!” shouted Bob Dylan, with excitement in his blue eyes.
“‘Thank-you, thank-you very much’!!” I said in my very best deep Elvis Presley voice.
“Blastoff!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were intense.
‘The King’ has left the building!! Bob Dylan and I sat in our seats!! We revved the iron time machine’s engine!! Together, Bob Dylan and I positioned his steering wheels!! Like trained pilots—or astronauts—we pushed the appropriate buttons to assure liftoff!! For obvious reasons, Bob Dylan had previously opened Black Buffalo Ironwork’s doors. Because, just then, ‘The King’ moved and flew outside!! He was extremely fast!! I felt as though we were flying Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon from Star Wars!! For ‘The King’ moved and flew at one-hundred miles-per-hour!! Then, suddenly, everything became a blur of psychedelic colors!! It literally felt as though we were flying through rainbows in the skies!! Then, those psychedelic colors started spinning faster, faster, faster, faster, faster!!
Finally—in far less time it required for Bob Dylan and I to build ‘The King’—we landed…. It was officially 1957!!
“Where are we, Blue Eyes?” I asked, as I was feeling somewhat groggy from our time travelling adventure, “What date is this in 1957?”
“‘The King’ landed us at Multnomah Civic Stadium!!” answered Bob Dylan, who was also feeling somewhat groggy from our time travelling adventure, yet his blue eyes were surprisingly still alert, “We’re in Portland, Oregon!! It’s September 2nd, 1957!! As a matter of fact, today is Labor Day!!”
“Did you say Portland, Oregon?!” I exclaimed, “Oh my goodness!! I am from the beautiful, often-rainy, green Pacific Northwest, Blue Eyes!!”
“Really?” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were pleased, “You are? I did not know that, Mary Lou!! I suppose ‘The King’ served us well, then!!”
“I guess he did!!” I said, “Does it feel weird to be in 1957 as a grown man and not as a sixteen-year old kid, Blue Eyes?”
“You have no idea, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, with a laugh, as his blue eyes twinkled.
“Well….” I said, with a smile written on my face, “At least you would not have had to attend high school on Labor Day in 1957, Blue Eyes!! Am I right?”
To which Bob Dylan smiled with his blue eyes.
“Are you ready for your very first Elvis Presley show experience, Mary Lou?” asked Bob Dylan, with excitement in his blue eyes.
“Yes!!” I said, “I was born ready, Blue Eyes!! You know, this is somewhat revolutionary!! Because, after all, how many people fly in a time machine to attend an Elvis Presley concert?”
“I don’t know,” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were soft, “Probably nobody, Mary Lou!!”
“This will definitely be way more fun than Marty’s adventure in Back to the Future, Blue Eyes!!” I exclaimed.
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!!” exclaimed Bob Dylan, with a little boy-like impatience in his blue eyes, “Elvis awaits us, Mary Lou!! We don’t want to be late!!”
“No!!” I said, with a smile written on my face, “We want to be on time for our Elvis Presley concert!!”
To which Bob Dylan laughed.
Attend an entire outdoors show. I have somehow always wanted to experience that!! Like The Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969. Alright…. Perhaps that was not such a great example, with all of the hippies, peace, love and dope!! Like Hyde Park in London, England. Or a local Country Music Festival. I have somehow always wanted to experience an entire outdoors show, as I inhale the open air, watch Heaven’s brightly-colored sunset, and murder pesky, nasty, blood-sucking mosquitoes. At this particular concert, where about twelve thousand fanatics attended—which were mostly screaming fourteen and fifteen-year old girls—Elvis performed on a portable stage which sat over second base.
Well, what do you know…. Mine and Bob Dylan’s historical 1957 Elvis Presley show just so happened to be performed outdoors!!
Enamored. Although, at age thirty-four, I was most likely Elvis’ oldest female fanatic in attendance, that’s exactly how he made me feel as I watched him perform some of my very favorite songs like ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, ‘(Let Me Be) Your Teddy Bear’, ‘All Shook Up’, ‘Don’t Be Cruel’, ‘I Was The One’, ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘Mystery Train’, ‘Return To Sender’, and his standard 1950’s closer, ‘Hound Dog’!! I had a cosmic smile written on my face as I watched Elvis sway those hips and move his body in an almost illegal-looking sensual fashion!! I screamed loudly along with everybody else!! I sang and danced to my favorite songs…. Especially ‘All Shook Up’!! Elvis Presley was my first musician love {long before Bob Dylan}, and I could not believe that I was actually literally attending an Elvis Presley show!! It all felt so magical!! Me? I felt like Cinderella {and at the stroke of midnight} everything will return back to 2018 again.
But throughout forty-five blissful minutes and fifteen songs, I was utterly captivated by Elvis, as I let him soothe my soul!!
“I have no idea how on Earth Elvis could dance like he did….” I exclaimed, as Bob Dylan and I walked back toward our time machine, “I think that The King must have possessed bionic hips, or something!! I mean, ouch!!”
“If Elvis were still alive today, he’d have most likely needed hip replacement surgeries, Mary Lou!!” exclaimed Bob Dylan, with a smile written on his face, as his blue eyes twinkled.
“Oh, no, do not say that, Blue Eyes!!” I said, “It makes Elvis sound so, you know, ‘old’!!”
“Why not?” said Bob Dylan, with matter-of-factness in his blue eyes, “If Elvis were still alive, he would be old…. Older than I am!!”
But then, I changed my song…. No pun intended.
“Yeah, you are probably right, Blue Eyes!!” I said, “Elvis would also have most likely needed knee replacement surgeries, as well!! Like a dear, older friend of mine did!!”
“Now you’re talking, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as he cringed in pain with his blue eyes, “Ah, but not unless Elvis possessed bionic knees along with his bionic hips!!”
“Thank-you, Blue Eyes, for such an unforgettable once-in-a-Lifetime evening!!” I said, “No future ‘date’ that you ever take me on will come even remotely close to topping this one!!”
“Not even dinner at some fancy restaurant, Mary Lou?” asked Bob Dylan, with a smile written on his face, as his blue eyes teased me.
Then, I laughed.
“You took me to attend an Elvis Presley concert, Blue Eyes!!” I exclaimed, “In a time machine!! Which we named ‘The King’!! So….”
I shook my head and I smiled.
“Nope!!” I said.
“Well, are you ready to go back to 2018, Mary Lou….?” asked Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes misted up.
“No….” I said, as emotion overcame me, “I kind of like 1957, Blue Eyes…. It is a much simpler time than 2018…. And—not to sound ungrateful—but I would like to attend another Elvis Presley concert someday….”
“We need to go back, Mary Lou….” said Bob Dylan, with seriousness in his blue eyes, “You don’t have a choice….”
“I know, Blue Eyes….” I said, as I wiped away wet, hot tears.
“Shall we, Mary Lou?” said Bob Dylan, as he unlocked the doors to ‘The King’.
“It feels like we are aliens in an unidentified flying machine, not time travelers, Blue Eyes!!” I exclaimed, as I looked at ‘The King’ while he was parked in the street.
“Don’t forget to say our password, Mary Lou!!” shouted Bob Dylan, with determination in his blue eyes.
“‘Thank-you, thank-you very much’!!” I said in my very best deep Elvis Presley voice.
Once again, ‘The King’ has left the building!! Just like we did before, Bob Dylan and I sat in our seats!! We revved the iron time machine’s engine!! Together, Bob Dylan and I positioned his steering wheels!! Like trained pilots—or aliens—we pushed the appropriate buttons to assure liftoff!! See, some fanatics rode in cars after they left that Elvis Presley show. We travelled in an iron time machine!! Just then, ‘The King’ moved and flew away!! Once again, he was extremely fast!! Just like before, I felt as though we were flying Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon from Star Wars!! For ‘The King’ moved and flew at one-hundred miles-per-hour!! Then, just like before, everything became a blur of psychedelic colors!! It literally felt as though we were flying through rainbows in the skies!! Then, once again, those psychedelic colors started spinning faster, faster, faster, faster, faster!!
And—in far less time than our Elvis Presley show lasted—‘The King’ landed…. It was 2018 once again….
“Speaking of Opal—which we just were—I am pretty sure that I’m turning her and her sister, Amethyst, into a fanatic of yours!!” I said, “They love listening to ‘Man Gave Names To All The Animals’!! I play them both versions of ‘Forever Young’, and, of course, ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’…. Oh yeah…. I sort of got into ‘trouble’ for playing Amethyst, Opal and their brother, Capricorn ‘Tombstone Blues’!! Ah, but they absolutely love your line, ‘The sun’s not yellow, it’s chicken’, Blue Eyes!!”
To which Bob Dylan laughed.
“Is that right?” said Bob Dylan, as he was smiling with his blue eyes, “Listen, would you like to get a mocha at De-Café Coffee, Mary Lou?”
“Amethyst, Opal and Capricorn are ‘my children’, Blue Eyes!!” I said with a smile written on my face, “I claim them!!”
I paused for a nanosecond.
“Yes!!” I said, “I would love a mocha from De-Café Coffee!! Well…. That is, if you want me to get high on caffeine, chocolate, sugar and who-knows-what-else those baristas put in their mochas!! Sure, Blue Eyes!!”
“Hmmm…. There ought to be a De-Café Coffee somewhere inside Compassion & Empathy Pediatrics, Mary Lou,” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes looked around, “Since they are such an incredibly world-renowned franchise!!”
“No!!” I adamantly said, “Not here!! This is a children’s hospital, for Heaven’s sake!! There are way too many contagious, nasty germs inside Compassion & Empathy Pediatrics, Blue Eyes!! No, let’s meet at our usual De-Café Coffee location!!”
“The one on 1965 Street, Mary Lou?” asked Bob Dylan, with agreement in his blue eyes.
“Yes!!” I said, “That is the one, Blue Eyes!!”
“Then, I’ll meet you at De-Café Coffee on 1965 Street, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were trusting.
“Ah….” I said, “Not if I do not beat you there, Blue Eyes!!” I said, with an incredible smile written on my face.
A dapper, handsome gentleman who has just stepped out of the 1930’s. That’s what Bob Dylan looked like to me!! I observed that he was not wearing blue jeans. No, Bob Dylan didn’t look like some rock ‘n roll biker who had just hopped off of his motorcycle. He was actually wearing an ebony-colored suit. Atop his head, Bob wore a white cowboy hat. Underneath the Stetson, he clearly did not have on his trusty, straight, bleached-blond wig. This surprised me…. I thought that Bob Dylan always wore his wig out in public!! As resulted, he was very sharp-looking!!
It was not until just then, that I noticed the guitar case in Bob Dylan’s right hand.
Ah, my ‘old’ 1970’s baby blue-painted Ford pickup truck!! Because I’ve driven her ever since I was sixteen—and I’m currently thirty-four—she has definitely served me well!! Yes, this ‘old’ 1970’s baby blue-painted Ford pickup truck was my first car. No little white-colored Subaru station wagon would have ever suited me. See, my Dad used to drive an ‘old’ 1966 baby blue-painted Ford pickup truck. I possess some very fond memories of riding in that vehicle with just him and I {plus my brown-haired, blue-eyed Pretty Crimp ‘n Curl Cabbage Patch Kid doll who I named Nicole Jane}, to run errands or simply drive around our city neighborhood!! So naturally, my first car would be an ‘old’ baby blue-painted Ford pickup truck, as well!! Well, 1970’s was as close as I could get to 1966. So I hopped into my faithful baby blue-painted Ford pickup truck and met Bob Dylan at De-Café Coffee.
He was the first one there, patiently waiting for me.
“Ha!!” Bob Dylan teasingly said, as his blue eyes twinkled, “You didn’t beat me at De-Café Coffee, after all, Mary Lou!!”
“Sorry….” I explained, “I hope that I did not keep you waiting for very long, Blue Eyes!! I needed to fill my pickup truck’s tank up at Gas Guzzler Station!! I hurried as fast as I could, honest!!”
I paused for a nanosecond.
“Now, if we had each other’s cell-phone numbers or some other form of contact information, then I would have been able to call you!!” I said, with a smile written on my face.
Then, Bob Dylan swiftly changed the subject.
“Alright, I’m going to order you a medium-sized mocha, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes twinkled, “Why, yes…. So that you can get high on caffeine, chocolate, sugar and who-knows-what-else those baristas put in their mochas!!”
“Alright….” I said, with a smile written on my face, “But I will babble your ears off at, like, one-hundred miles per hour, Blue Eyes!!”
“I consider myself forewarned, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes twinkled, while he walked up to De-Café Coffee’s counter.
And, {just like he always does}, Bob Dylan ordered me an incredibly addictive medium-sized mocha…. Plus a double chunk chocolate chip cookie!!
‘A well’a bless my soul; What’sa wrong with me?; I’m itchin’ like a man in a fuzzy tree; My friends say I’m actin’ wild as a bug; I’m in love; I’m all shook up; Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay….’ played the Oldies But Goodies Radio Station.
“Hey!!” I exclaimed, as I sipped my mocha, “They are playing Elvis Presley on the radio, Blue Eyes!!”
“Really, Mary Lou?!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes lit up like Independence Day fireworks, “They are?!”
“Yes!!” I said, as I sipped my mocha, “Listen, Blue Eyes!! It is ‘All Shook Up’!!”
‘Well, my hands are shaky and my knees are weak; I can’t seem to stand on my own two feet; Who do you think of when you have such luck? I’m in love; I’m all shook up; Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay….’ crooned Elvis’ deep, somewhat sexy-sounding, singing voice.
“Yeah!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes sparkled, “It is!! You have a very good ear, Mary Lou!!”
“‘Well, please don’t ask me what’sa on my mind; I’m a little mixed up, but I’m feelin’ fine; When I’m near that girl that I love best; My heart beats so it scares me to death! Well she touched my hand what a chill I got; Her lips are like a volcano when it’s hot; I’m proud to say that she’s my buttercup; I’m in love; I’m all shook up; Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay; My tongue gets tied when I try to speak; My insides shake like a leaf on a tree; There’s only one cure for this body of mine; That’s to have that girl that I love so fine! She touched my hand what a chill I got; Her lips are like a volcano that's hot; I’m proud to say that she’s my buttercup; I’m in love; I’m all shook up; Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay, yay; Mm mm mm, mm, yay, yay; I’m all shook up….’,” I sang, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas.
“Have I mentioned that I like you, Mary Lou?” said Bob Dylan, with a smile written on his face and sincere love in his blue eyes.
“Yes….” I said, with a smile written on my face, “As a matter of fact, you have, Blue Eyes!!”
“Because, not only did you just sing Elvis, but ‘All Shook Up’ was written and recorded long before your time, Mary Lou!!” exclaimed Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes revealed that he was impressed with me.
“Yeah….” I said, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “I’m not sure why, but I absolutely love songs that were written and recorded before I entered the world!! There was just so much great music {yours included, Blue Eyes}, before my time!!”
I paused for a split caffeine-fueled nanosecond.
“I strongly believe that an artist’s legacy lives on forever through their music, Blue Eyes!!” I said, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “Elvis may have died in 1977 {yes, before my time}, and yet when I first heard Elvis, I was a kid {this happened sometime in the 1990’s}, as I was riding in our ‘old’ yellow and white-painted Chevy suburban with my Mom listening to Oldies But Goodies Radio Station. Then ‘Hound Dog’ or ‘Burning Love’ came on. And I was immediately enamored by Elvis’ singing voice!! Smitten, even!! And I had no clue what my ‘feelings’ toward any guy—much less Elvis—even meant!! I still listen to him several days a week while I’m washing our dishes by hand!! I sing in my very best Elvis impression, I play air guitar, I splash soapy water everywhere!! I always choose at least one or two songs where I hip sway until I literally hurt!! My body—which has been injured literally countless times—does not like it when I dance to too much rockabilly music all at once!!”
I paused for a split emotional caffeine-fueled nanosecond.
“Whenever I hip sway and tap my right foot to ‘All Shook Up’, I’m very interactive with its lyrics {which, by the way, Elvis co-wrote…. Did you know that, Blue Eyes?}, I am like a dancing, lip-synching mime!!” I said, as I sipped my mocha, “You know what? My Mom once told me that when she was a girl, she danced to ‘All Shook Up’!! So, I guess ‘the apple does not fall far from the tree’, as they say!!”
To which Bob Dylan laughed.
“When Elvis died, it was so sad,” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were intense, “I had a breakdown!! I broke down…. One of the very few times I went over my whole life. I went over my whole childhood. I didn’t talk to anyone for a week after Elvis died. If it wasn’t for Elvis, I couldn’t be doing what I do today…. ‘An artist’s legacy lives on forever through their music’…. I like that, Mary Lou….”
“So, see?” I said, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “Elvis isn’t dead, after all, Blue Eyes!! And, no, I am not a conspiracy theorist!! Elvis isn’t dead because he has recorded songs, albums, and acted in movies!! All we need to do if we’re missing him is listen to his music!!”
I paused for a split emotional caffeine-fueled nanosecond.
“I will be able to do the exact same thing with you, Blue Eyes…. Someday…. When you are dead….” I said, as my eyes filled up with wet, hot tears, and I sipped my mocha.
“Ah, don’t make me cry, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes glistened, “When I first heard Elvis’ voice, I just knew that I wasn’t going to work for anybody, and nobody was going to be my boss…. Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail.”
“Oh!!” I exclaimed, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “‘Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail…. Blue Eyes!! You just automatically put ‘Jailhouse Rock’ in my head!! Not that I am complaining!! Ah, a girl can do worse!!”
I paused for an excited, split caffeine-fueled nanosecond.
“Elvis soothes my soul, like a healing balm!!” I exclaimed, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “His deep crooning voice…. The rockabilly music that I cannot help but swing my poor hurting hips to…. His slower songs…. I can have a moody, irritable, agitated, edgy attitude, and just listening to Elvis always soothes my soul, immediately snapping me out of it!!”
“That was very well said!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were soft, “Those words which you just expressed about Elvis ought to be written on a plaque inside Graceland, Mary Lou!!”
“Oh, but I am not famous!!” I said, as I sipped my mocha, “I was never even the popular kid as a girl growing up!! Why on Earth would I have something that I’ve said about Elvis inside Graceland?! You are so sweet, though, Blue Eyes!!”
“Ah, but your quotation should be on a plaque inside Graceland, Mary Lou!!” insisted Bob Dylan, with encouragement in his blue eyes, “Elvis would have appreciated those words, you know what I’m sayin’?”
“I can listen to Elvis’ songs and watch his movies,” I said, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “That part is easy!! But do you know what the only thing that I have never been blessed to do {because I was born too late and he died too young}, Blue Eyes? I have never been able to attend an Elvis Presley concert!!”
I paused for a split caffeine-fueled nanosecond.
“Sometimes….” I said, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “I’ll listen to one of his ‘live’ songs, and I can almost see, hear, smell, touch, and taste everything…. From Elvis’ hips swaying, to wild fanatics’ cheering, to the sweat pouring down his body…. I can feel everything, Blue Eyes!! And I wish that I could have been there—in a crowd of generations before me—to scream for Elvis….”
“Well….” Bob Dylan mysteriously said, with brilliance in his blue eyes, “What if you can attend an Elvis Presley show, Mary Lou?”
“Are my ears playing tricks on me?!” I excitedly asked, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “Did you just say that I can attend an Elvis Presley concert, Blue Eyes?! How?! You’re not toying with my thoughts, feelings and emotions…. Right?! Because you have a crazy look in those blue eyes of yours!! I cannot handle my thoughts, feelings and emotions being toyed with!!”
“What ‘crazy look’ in my blue eyes?” Bob Dylan mysteriously said, with a smile written on his face, “And, no, I’m not toying with you, Mary Lou!!”
“That crazy look in those blue eyes of yours where you are formulating a brilliant, beyond brilliant idea!!” I said, as I sipped my mocha.
“Ah….” said Bob Dylan, with a smile written on his face, as his blue eyes were soft, “Well, don’t you have me all figured out, Mary Lou? Fine, I’m going to cut to the chase and just say it, then…. I can build you a time machine!!”
“Wait. What?!” I exclaimed, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “I know that you are great with your hands, Blue Eyes…. However. Can you seriously build me a time machine so that I will actually attend an Elvis Presley concert?!”
“Never underestimate what I can do with a tool in my hands, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were confident.
“Right, you weld beautiful intricate fence gates at Black Buffalo Ironworks!!” I said, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “Which I absolutely love, Blue Eyes!! But, can you build a time machine?! You’re not exactly Doc from Back to the Future…. Well, are you?”
To which Bob Dylan simply smiled mysteriously, with brilliance in his blue eyes.
“Yes, I can build a time machine…. With your help, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were confident, “Are you in? Well? Do you want to attend an Elvis Presley show, or not?”
“Yes!!” I excitedly said, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “Are you kidding me, Blue Eyes?! Yes, I am in!! It will be like a dream come true to attend an Elvis Presley concert!!”
I paused for a split caffeine-fueled nanosecond.
“There is just one not-so-good thing that you need to know about me, Blue Eyes,” I said, as I sipped my mocha.
“What’s that, Mary Lou?” asked Bob Dylan, as he listened with his blue eyes.
“Unlike you, I am not great with my hands!!” I confessed, as I was high on chocolate, caffeine and whatever else the baristas at De-Café Coffee mix into their mochas, “I’m self-described as ‘building challenged’!! I can hardly construct a Rotor Blade Spinner out of plastic building blacks…. With instructions!! And that is just an insanely popular children’s toy!! I break things…. I don’t make things!! So go ahead and underestimate what I can do with a tool in my hands, Blue Eyes!!”
“Ah….” Bob Dylan mysteriously said, with a mischievous smile written on his face, as his blue eyes were teasing me, “And building your time machine is far more important than constructing some Rotor Blade Spinner, Mary Lou!! If something goes terribly wrong, you could accidentally be blasted toward another historical era!! And how sad would that be? Then you wouldn’t be able to attend an Elvis Presley show!! Or worse…. You could die!!”
“Oh, stop being such a Drama King, Blue Eyes!!” I said, with an incredible smile written on my face, as I sipped my mocha, “Get it? You’re a man!! That means you are not a Drama Queen!!”
To which Bob Dylan laughed.
“But you can still help me build this time machine!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes believed in me, “You’ll be my assistant, Mary Lou!! You can hand me tools, push buttons, and maybe learn a thing or two about building time machines!!”
“So {according to Home Improvement}, if I’m your assistant, then that means I will do all the work, Blue Eyes!!” I said, with a smile written on my face, as I sipped my mocha.
To which Bob Dylan laughed, as his blue eyes twinkled.
“Alright, meet me at Black Buffalo Ironworks on 1941 S.E. Katsopolis Street, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, with brilliance in his blue eyes.
“We are going to build a time machine in your welding studio, Blue Eyes?” I said, as I sipped my mocha.
“Why not?” said Bob Dylan, with confidence in his blue eyes, “I have tools and diverse parts at Black Buffalo Ironworks!!”
“Are you going to weld me a time machine, Blue Eyes?” I asked, with an incredible smile written on my face, as I sipped my mocha.
“Nope!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were mysterious, “I am going to build you a time machine, Mary Lou!! It will even have an engine, steering wheels and buttons to push!!”
“When, Blue Eyes?!” I excitedly said, as I sipped my mocha.
“Will working on your time machine today be alright, Mary Lou?” asked Bob Dylan, with brilliance in his blue eyes, “To quote Elvis…. ‘It’s now or never’….”
“Yes!!” I excitedly said, as I sipped my mocha.
“Alright!!” said Bob Dylan, with confidence in his blue eyes, as he stood up, “Then I will meet you at Black Buffalo Ironworks, Mary Lou!!”
“Ah….” I said, “Not if I do not beat you there, Blue Eyes!!” I said, with a smile written on my face, as I finished my mocha.
“Remember what happened last time we said that, Mary Lou?” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes twinkled, “I ‘won the race’, if you will!!”
To which I laughed.
“I know, I know, I was late, Blue Eyes!!” I said, with a smile written on my face, “I apologized!!”
An eccentric mad scientist. With his crazy, somewhat messy, thinning silver hair, that was what Bob Dylan looked like when I met him at Black Buffalo Ironworks. A brilliant, ingenious mad scientist…. Yes, sort of like Doc Brown from Back to the Future!! For obvious reasons, Bob Dylan was no longer wearing his ebony-colored suit and white cowboy hat. Why? Because Bob Dylan was now wearing blue jeans, a casual t-shirt and an understandably smudged long-sleeved white-colored overcoat. He obviously no longer looked like some dapper, handsome gentleman who had just stepped out of the 1930’s. As an eccentric artist, Bob Dylan has literally worn countless getups throughout his Life!! Such as white face paint, dark eye shadow and a flowery hat…. Leather pants…. And, yes, Frank Sinatra-like country-gentleman finery. Bob Dylan did not have an appearance of a rock ‘n roll biker who had just ridden his motorcycle when I met him at Black Buffalo Ironworks. He wasn’t wearing any wigs on his head, either.
Bob Dylan looked like an inventor!!
“I only have one request, Mary Lou,” said Bob Dylan, with a passionate sense of longing in his blue eyes before he began building my time machine.
“What is that, Blue Eyes?” I asked.
“Can I come with you?” asked Bob Dylan, who still had a passionate sense of longing in his blue eyes, “I want to attend an Elvis Presley show, as well, Mary Lou!! So, can I come with you?”
To which I smiled.
“I would not have it any other way, Blue Eyes!!” I said.
Building a time machine can take its own sweet time. According to Bob Dylan, constructing anything with iron does not occur overnight…. Especially a time machine!! According to Bob Dylan, constructing things from iron is an excellent patience-producing activity!! For it took us five long days to build our time machine!! I handed Bob Dylan tools, which he used. Bob Dylan even trusted me to push a few buttons!! He and I worked very, very, very, very, very hard on our time machine {for several hours}, from morning to evening. We only took three breaks a day {breakfast, lunch and dinner}, because, after all, we both needed to eat!! Bob Dylan even smoked the occasional cigar. Then, he immediately added even more parts to our time machine!!
I loved observing Bob Dylan’s hands at work…. It looked much different than him playing the piano or strumming a guitar!!
“Our time machine needs a name,” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were focused while he added yet another part to our invention, “Do you have any suggestions, Mary Lou?”
“This will sound ridiculously cliché, but since we are time travelling to attend an Elvis Presley concert, then how about ‘The King’?” I said.
“I absolutely love it!!” said Bob Dylan, with a smile written on his face, as his blue eyes twinkled, “Alright…. ‘The King’ it is!!”
“Wow, it is getting late!!” I suddenly exclaimed as I looked at a wall clock, “I completely lost track of time, Blue Eyes!! I should go home now!!”
“Time flies when you’re building a time machine!!” exclaimed Bob Dylan, with brilliance in his blue eyes.
To which I laughed.
“Ah….” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were soft, “You don’t have to go, Mary Lou!! Stay at my house!! It’ll be much more convenient that way!! My house is just down the street from Black Buffalo Ironworks!! I even have a guest bedroom!! Then you won’t be wasting gas….”
Bob Dylan smiled, with brilliance in his blue eyes.
“….And time….” continued Bob Dylan, “….By driving back and forth to Black Buffalo Ironworks!!”
“Oh, the paparazzi will have a field day with me staying at your house, Blue Eyes!!” I exclaimed, “I can only imagine what their ‘Fake News’ magazines would say about you…. About me!! I am already your ‘Mystery Girl’, remember?”
“If the paparazzi talk about you and I….” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were fiercely protective of me, “Behind our backs…. Spreading inaccurate stories that we’re lovers who live together and even make out? Mary Lou? If that happens then ‘The King’ will permanently keep you and I in whatever ‘historical’ era you want him to take us!! Alright? Don’t worry about the paparazzi and their ‘Fake News’ magazines!!”
“Alright, I will stay at your house, Blue Eyes!!” I said.
“My home address is 1944 S.E. Katsopolis Street,” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were trusting, “Just for the record, Mary Lou? I never do this!!”
“What, Blue Eyes?” I asked.
“I never give my home address away to people!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were still trusting, “For obvious reasons, I only do that with close friends or family!! But you’re not some fanatic, reporter, or even a Dylanologist!! No…. You are a friend, Mary Lou!!”
“I consider myself honored to be trusted with something as private and personal as your home address, Blue Eyes!!” I said.
Lather, rinse, repeat. That phrase flawlessly describes how the next four days played out as Bob Dylan built our time machine with my assistance. I stayed and slept overnight in his guest bedroom. I handed Bob Dylan tools, which he used. Once again, Bob Dylan even trusted me to push a few buttons!! He and I worked very, very, very hard on ‘The King’ {for several hours}, from morning to evening. We only took three breaks a day {breakfast, lunch and dinner}, because, after all, we both needed to eat!! Bob Dylan smoked the occasional cigar. Then, he immediately added even more parts to our time machine!! For Bob Dylan’s skilled hands are capable of doing a great many things…. Such as play music, write poetic songs, paint pictures, weld fence gates…. And build time machines!!
Finally, ‘The King’ was nearly finished!!
“Alright….” said Bob Dylan, with brilliance in his blue eyes, “What ‘historical’ era do you want ‘The King’ to take us to, Mary Lou?”
“1957!!” I replied, “That was, after all, the year when Elvis released ‘All Shook Up’, which, they played at De-Café Coffee!! Besides, I have so many favorite songs of his from 1956!! Maybe Elvis will perform those during his concert, Blue Eyes!!”
“Do you want to know how old I was in 1957, Mary Lou?” asked Bob Dylan, with self-depreciation in his blue eyes.
“Yeah!!” I exclaimed, “Yes, I actually do, Blue Eyes!!”
“I was sixteen, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, with a sense of matter-of-factness in his blue eyes, “But not when ‘All Shook Up’ came out…. That song was released in March!! Since my birthday is on May 24th…. I was still fifteen when Elvis released ‘All Shook Up’!!”
“Ah, I imagine that you were a very cute teenager!!” I said.
To which I laughed, because those words felt silly coming out of my mouth.
“I probably would have had an incredible crush on you!!” I continued, “You’re a musician…. Who was {I am guessing}, shy and private who mostly kept to himself…. I had several crushes on musicians as a teenager!! Those who were shy, private and introspective? I somehow felt the most attracted to them!!”
I paused for a nanosecond.
“Wait, you were sixteen in 1957?!” I said, “Cool…. You are, like, literally fifteen years older than my Mom, Blue Eyes!! I did not know that!!”
“Are you trying to make me feel old, Mary Lou?” said Bob Dylan, with a smile written on his face and self-depreciation in his blue eyes.
“Nope!!” I said, “Age is just a number, Blue Eyes!! Besides….”
Then, I smiled.
“‘May you stay forever young’!!” I said.
“Ah, that’s way too cliché, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes smiled, while he preprogrammed ‘The King’ to time travel toward 1957, “But you do have a valid point…. Stay forever young…. I’ll give you that!! Alright…. 1957 it is!!”
“Blue Eyes?” I asked, “Do we need a magic word or something for ‘The King’ to take us toward 1957?”
“You mean….” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were soft, “Like a password, Mary Lou?”
“Yeah, that is it!!” I exclaimed, “So…. Do we need a password for ‘The King’ to take us toward 1957, Blue Eyes?”
“It’s…. ‘Thank-you, thank you very much’!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes twinkled, “But there’s a little catch, Mary Lou…. You absolutely, positively must say that line in your very best deep Elvis Presley voice, or else we’ll never time travel toward 1957!! Alright?”
To which I laughed.
“I’m serious, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, with a good ‘poker face’, as his blue eyes twinkled, “We’re time travelling to attend an Elvis Presley show!! This is serious business!!”
But I could not stop laughing!!
“Alright, ‘The King’ is officially complete, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, with satisfaction in his blue eyes “We’re going in a time machine toward 1957 to attend an Elvis Presley show!! Are you ready?”
“Yes!!” I excitedly said, “It is about time!!”
To which Bob Dylan laughed.
“It feels like we are astronauts flying toward the moon, not time travelers, Blue Eyes!!” I exclaimed.
“Ten…. Nine…. Eight…. Seven…. Six…. Five…. Four…. Three…. Two…. One…. Say our password, Mary Lou!!” shouted Bob Dylan, with excitement in his blue eyes.
“‘Thank-you, thank-you very much’!!” I said in my very best deep Elvis Presley voice.
“Blastoff!!” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were intense.
‘The King’ has left the building!! Bob Dylan and I sat in our seats!! We revved the iron time machine’s engine!! Together, Bob Dylan and I positioned his steering wheels!! Like trained pilots—or astronauts—we pushed the appropriate buttons to assure liftoff!! For obvious reasons, Bob Dylan had previously opened Black Buffalo Ironwork’s doors. Because, just then, ‘The King’ moved and flew outside!! He was extremely fast!! I felt as though we were flying Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon from Star Wars!! For ‘The King’ moved and flew at one-hundred miles-per-hour!! Then, suddenly, everything became a blur of psychedelic colors!! It literally felt as though we were flying through rainbows in the skies!! Then, those psychedelic colors started spinning faster, faster, faster, faster, faster!!
Finally—in far less time it required for Bob Dylan and I to build ‘The King’—we landed…. It was officially 1957!!
“Where are we, Blue Eyes?” I asked, as I was feeling somewhat groggy from our time travelling adventure, “What date is this in 1957?”
“‘The King’ landed us at Multnomah Civic Stadium!!” answered Bob Dylan, who was also feeling somewhat groggy from our time travelling adventure, yet his blue eyes were surprisingly still alert, “We’re in Portland, Oregon!! It’s September 2nd, 1957!! As a matter of fact, today is Labor Day!!”
“Did you say Portland, Oregon?!” I exclaimed, “Oh my goodness!! I am from the beautiful, often-rainy, green Pacific Northwest, Blue Eyes!!”
“Really?” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were pleased, “You are? I did not know that, Mary Lou!! I suppose ‘The King’ served us well, then!!”
“I guess he did!!” I said, “Does it feel weird to be in 1957 as a grown man and not as a sixteen-year old kid, Blue Eyes?”
“You have no idea, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, with a laugh, as his blue eyes twinkled.
“Well….” I said, with a smile written on my face, “At least you would not have had to attend high school on Labor Day in 1957, Blue Eyes!! Am I right?”
To which Bob Dylan smiled with his blue eyes.
“Are you ready for your very first Elvis Presley show experience, Mary Lou?” asked Bob Dylan, with excitement in his blue eyes.
“Yes!!” I said, “I was born ready, Blue Eyes!! You know, this is somewhat revolutionary!! Because, after all, how many people fly in a time machine to attend an Elvis Presley concert?”
“I don’t know,” said Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes were soft, “Probably nobody, Mary Lou!!”
“This will definitely be way more fun than Marty’s adventure in Back to the Future, Blue Eyes!!” I exclaimed.
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!!” exclaimed Bob Dylan, with a little boy-like impatience in his blue eyes, “Elvis awaits us, Mary Lou!! We don’t want to be late!!”
“No!!” I said, with a smile written on my face, “We want to be on time for our Elvis Presley concert!!”
To which Bob Dylan laughed.
Attend an entire outdoors show. I have somehow always wanted to experience that!! Like The Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969. Alright…. Perhaps that was not such a great example, with all of the hippies, peace, love and dope!! Like Hyde Park in London, England. Or a local Country Music Festival. I have somehow always wanted to experience an entire outdoors show, as I inhale the open air, watch Heaven’s brightly-colored sunset, and murder pesky, nasty, blood-sucking mosquitoes. At this particular concert, where about twelve thousand fanatics attended—which were mostly screaming fourteen and fifteen-year old girls—Elvis performed on a portable stage which sat over second base.
Well, what do you know…. Mine and Bob Dylan’s historical 1957 Elvis Presley show just so happened to be performed outdoors!!
Enamored. Although, at age thirty-four, I was most likely Elvis’ oldest female fanatic in attendance, that’s exactly how he made me feel as I watched him perform some of my very favorite songs like ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, ‘(Let Me Be) Your Teddy Bear’, ‘All Shook Up’, ‘Don’t Be Cruel’, ‘I Was The One’, ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘Mystery Train’, ‘Return To Sender’, and his standard 1950’s closer, ‘Hound Dog’!! I had a cosmic smile written on my face as I watched Elvis sway those hips and move his body in an almost illegal-looking sensual fashion!! I screamed loudly along with everybody else!! I sang and danced to my favorite songs…. Especially ‘All Shook Up’!! Elvis Presley was my first musician love {long before Bob Dylan}, and I could not believe that I was actually literally attending an Elvis Presley show!! It all felt so magical!! Me? I felt like Cinderella {and at the stroke of midnight} everything will return back to 2018 again.
But throughout forty-five blissful minutes and fifteen songs, I was utterly captivated by Elvis, as I let him soothe my soul!!
“I have no idea how on Earth Elvis could dance like he did….” I exclaimed, as Bob Dylan and I walked back toward our time machine, “I think that The King must have possessed bionic hips, or something!! I mean, ouch!!”
“If Elvis were still alive today, he’d have most likely needed hip replacement surgeries, Mary Lou!!” exclaimed Bob Dylan, with a smile written on his face, as his blue eyes twinkled.
“Oh, no, do not say that, Blue Eyes!!” I said, “It makes Elvis sound so, you know, ‘old’!!”
“Why not?” said Bob Dylan, with matter-of-factness in his blue eyes, “If Elvis were still alive, he would be old…. Older than I am!!”
But then, I changed my song…. No pun intended.
“Yeah, you are probably right, Blue Eyes!!” I said, “Elvis would also have most likely needed knee replacement surgeries, as well!! Like a dear, older friend of mine did!!”
“Now you’re talking, Mary Lou!!” said Bob Dylan, as he cringed in pain with his blue eyes, “Ah, but not unless Elvis possessed bionic knees along with his bionic hips!!”
“Thank-you, Blue Eyes, for such an unforgettable once-in-a-Lifetime evening!!” I said, “No future ‘date’ that you ever take me on will come even remotely close to topping this one!!”
“Not even dinner at some fancy restaurant, Mary Lou?” asked Bob Dylan, with a smile written on his face, as his blue eyes teased me.
Then, I laughed.
“You took me to attend an Elvis Presley concert, Blue Eyes!!” I exclaimed, “In a time machine!! Which we named ‘The King’!! So….”
I shook my head and I smiled.
“Nope!!” I said.
“Well, are you ready to go back to 2018, Mary Lou….?” asked Bob Dylan, as his blue eyes misted up.
“No….” I said, as emotion overcame me, “I kind of like 1957, Blue Eyes…. It is a much simpler time than 2018…. And—not to sound ungrateful—but I would like to attend another Elvis Presley concert someday….”
“We need to go back, Mary Lou….” said Bob Dylan, with seriousness in his blue eyes, “You don’t have a choice….”
“I know, Blue Eyes….” I said, as I wiped away wet, hot tears.
“Shall we, Mary Lou?” said Bob Dylan, as he unlocked the doors to ‘The King’.
“It feels like we are aliens in an unidentified flying machine, not time travelers, Blue Eyes!!” I exclaimed, as I looked at ‘The King’ while he was parked in the street.
“Don’t forget to say our password, Mary Lou!!” shouted Bob Dylan, with determination in his blue eyes.
“‘Thank-you, thank-you very much’!!” I said in my very best deep Elvis Presley voice.
Once again, ‘The King’ has left the building!! Just like we did before, Bob Dylan and I sat in our seats!! We revved the iron time machine’s engine!! Together, Bob Dylan and I positioned his steering wheels!! Like trained pilots—or aliens—we pushed the appropriate buttons to assure liftoff!! See, some fanatics rode in cars after they left that Elvis Presley show. We travelled in an iron time machine!! Just then, ‘The King’ moved and flew away!! Once again, he was extremely fast!! Just like before, I felt as though we were flying Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon from Star Wars!! For ‘The King’ moved and flew at one-hundred miles-per-hour!! Then, just like before, everything became a blur of psychedelic colors!! It literally felt as though we were flying through rainbows in the skies!! Then, once again, those psychedelic colors started spinning faster, faster, faster, faster, faster!!
And—in far less time than our Elvis Presley show lasted—‘The King’ landed…. It was 2018 once again….
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