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THE TOUCH

OF TWO KINGS

An Exciting eBook

Of A True Story

By: Rick Stanley

With Michael K. Haynes

Copyright Haynes and Associates Publishing © 1986

Produced in the United States

ISBN 0-914277-00-20

Library of Congress

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without permission from the publisher except by a reviewer

who may quote brief passages in a review; nor may any part of this book be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or

copied by mechanical, photocopying, recording or other means without permission from publisher.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My sincere appreciation goes to Dr. Michael K. Haynes and his efforts in the

production of this book. The title, “The Touch of Two Kings” was also conceived by Dr.

Haynes. It tells the story in one line.

There are many people responsible for the events that have taken place in my

life and they are alluded to in this book. Special attention must be drawn to family that

is in part responsible for what has transpired since Elvis‟ death and my conversation to

Christ.

It is also fitting and appropriate that at this time I thank my mother, Dee Presley

for laying a Biblical foundation and my bothers Bill and Dave for their untiring love and

support.

To all who read this book, I hope you will enjoy the sequence of events that have

happened in my life. I also hope that it may answer some of your questions and give

and new dimension to your attitude about the life of Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and

Roll. But most important, your attitude toward Jesus Christ, The Eternal King of Kings

Rick Stanley

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Contents

Introduction

1. My New Home- My New Brother

2. Who’s Using Who

3. On the Road With the King

4. A Ticket on the Downbound Train

5. Life at the Bottom

6. The Death of a Dream

7. From Darkness to Light

8. Why Me, God?

9. To God be the Glory

Conclusion

Enjoy the following sample

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CHAPTER ONE

MY NEW HOME- MY NEW BROTHER

It was August 16, 1977. The midday heat was unbearable in Memphis,

Tennessee. I was standing on a small hill overlooking the front of the famous

Graceland mansion. My mind was spinning from the events of the past days and

hours. Really, I was in a state of “numb.” I was watching a reported 100,000 people

line the streets and grounds of my home. They were there to mourn my brothers‟

death.

They place was an absolute “zoo.” People were passing out in untold numbers;

some from sheer emotional upheaval, and some strictly from the heat. The chaos was

incredible! Ambulances, para-medics, police, and sirens constantly interrupted what I

thought should be a very private time- a family time…a time when a family bids

farewell to a loved one. You see, I had lost a brother. Nevertheless, they came, and

came, and came. There was no stopping the thousands who actually made their way

inside the gates to get a closer look.

I stared aimlessly at the casket which held the only man who had really ever

genuinely shown love to me while I was growing up. I remember thinking that my life

had been touched by a “king”, the “king of rock „n‟ roll.” And now he was gone forever.

Elvis Presley was dead.

It seemed that the entire world was in mourning. We had already received letters,

cards, telegrams, and phone calls from practically every country on earth. News

reporters and various camera crews grew to swarm size and tried to make fans feel as

if they too were a part of the funeral events.

I couldn‟t believe what I was witnessing was really happening! I felt as if my

whole life had suddenly stopped-like a movie. “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” My

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brother, Elvis, was dead – the same Elvis who held me in his arms as a child, and

literally watched me grow up in his own home.

My thoughts spun out of control while standing on that hill. Even the

circumstances of the present could not keep my mind out of the past no matter how

hard I tried. I knew I had great responsibilities to the family during the next few hours,

and I was aware that my very good friend, Robyn, was standing next to me, but I

decided I would take a much deserved break. So I let myself go, entered my mental

time-machine, and traveled to the beginning of it all.

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I went as far back as being at Breezy Hills Farm, near Newport News, Virginia, at

the age of 5, with my brothers Dave who was 3, and Billy who was 6. I remembered

things that happened before that, but they were very painful and not really relevant to

“The Touch of Two Kings.”

We had been a military family, and had moved too often to even think about. My

mother and father did not get along and I learned about difficulty very early. Their

marriage came to an end and we were placed in Breezy Hills home while they were

going through divorce proceedings. It was hard for me to understand at age 5 why we

could not be with both or at least one of them, but it seemed we were only in the way.

So, we had been told that if we would go to this place peacefully that we would have

great boat rides, week-end outings, field trips, and all around good kid times. We soon

discovered that those promises were really a joke! Our supposed “fun” week-ends

consisted of watching Zorro, and Mickey Mouse. Everybody‟s family would come and

get their kids, but, we were stuck there…and usually, it was only us. Needless to say, I

began to lose trust in adults and became very leery of promises of any kind.

I remember sitting by my brother David‟s bed during the night. He would

frequently cry for Mom. “It‟s going to be OK,” I‟d say over and over. I did not fully

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understand all of the details, but I seem to be growing up extremely fast. This often

happened as David would try to sleep, and I would as often try to be there for him to

say “it‟s going to be alright.” All too many times the attendants would catch me, take

me back to my bed, and pour hot sauce in my mouth to punish me. I hate hot sauce to

this day!

You see, David and I were separated because of our age. He was in a huge

room full of cribs and I was in another big room with a bunch of bunks. I was lonely, so

I knew he was. I remember thinking, it‟s a real drag for a three-year old to be without

his mamma. To be truthful, it was the ultimate drag for all three of us at the time.

Everyday I awoke with mixed emotions and a gnawing, empty feeling. All the

days were the same. Routines, rules, orders, and all that goes with housing unwanted

or unruly kids. I had to begun to believe that I fit into the unwanted category;

consequently I was acting a bit unruly. I guess that‟s normal.

One morning all three of us were summoned to the administration office. I knew

something was up because we had not yet finished the regular chores. When we came

in, there was Mom. We freaked! We literally went berserk! David and Billy were blindly

excited, but I remember my feelings were much like that of an eighty year-old skeptic.

We all saw a large Mark II Lincoln Continental parked in front. Also, there was a new

figure standing silently by. I thought, “Is this for real?” Mom said, “We‟ve come to pick

all of you up and to take you to your new home.” I wasn‟t sure what was happening!

She said that she and this man had just gotten married. Were they kidding? Would the

carpet be jerked out from under my feet again? Would they take us, put us in the car

then throw us out somewhere down the road? I know these thoughts were a little far-

fetched, but I was only five years old and had been promised many great things that

had later turned out to be lies.

Our departure was all cut and dried. They were actually taking us to a new home.

David was still a bundle of excitement because of Mom‟s return. Billy and I were

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excited too, but I remained a little “gun-shy.” We‟d gotten the short end of the stick

most of our lives and I had no reason to think that this time would be any different.

Nevertheless, the idea of being with Mom made the confusion seem small. After all,

when you‟ve got nothing, you‟ve got nothing to lose. We all got in the car and drove

away from the unfulfilled promises.

After we had been driving for a short time, Mom began to explain what happened

to Daddy. “Now, boys,” she said, “Your Daddy and I have gotten a divorce. Isn‟t that

wonderful?”

I remember thinking to myself, “I know what divorce means! No more Daddy! Our

Daddy is gone!”

Mom went on with her speech by introducing us to her new husband. “Boys, this

is Vernon Presley,” She said with a note of pride. “This is his car, and he lives in a big

house in Memphis, Tennessee.”

“Are we going to live at Mr. Pressley‟s house?” I asked.

“Now Rickey, you and the boys should call him „Daddy‟, honey. He‟s your new

Daddy,” she said.

He was new all right! We didn‟t know this guy from beans, and Mom wanted us to

call him “Daddy.” I began to stare at this man Vernon Presley and wondered just what

kind of joke we were in for.

Finally, he spoke. “I‟m really glad you boys are my new step-children. But I don‟t

want to call you „step children‟ so from now on, you are just my children. I want to tell

you that everything‟s going to be fine from now on. I‟m taking you to your new home.”

He spoke with assurance, but he was very cool. I could tell that he wasn‟t just

bubbling over at the thought of having three and rather small children. However, what I

didn‟t know at the time was that he was not an emotionally expressive man. He just

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wasn‟t that type. In fact, as I think back, I never really saw him display his feelings

toward the three of us very much at all. He shared some with my Mom, and some with

his own son, but he was not an emotional man.

The main thing that Vernon Presley stressed from that day on was that I was no

longer Rick Stanley; I was Elvis Presley‟s little brother.

The ride from Breezy Hills Farm to Memphis, Tennessee was long and tiring. If I

heard the name „Elvis Presley‟ once I must have heard it a million times. After the

introductions were over, the entire cover station revolved around Elvis. We heard all

about everything he had done, and was doing. Mom and Vernon tried to explain the

details of his very successful career, but my five-year-old mind couldn‟t stay tuned. I

didn‟t even know who Elvis Presley was. I didn‟t know much, if anything about rock „n

roll entertainers. There were rules about radios at the farm and had never heard of

him. But, they talked and talked as if all of us were supposed to know who he was.

Well, I didn‟t know. And furthermore, I really didn‟t care. The only thing I could

think of was that Billy, David and I were leaving that dump we‟d been living in. No more

hot sauce! No more David crying for Mom! No more week-ends alone! Man, I would

have rejoiced in anything… even if Perry Como had been my new brother!

It seemed as if the ride would never end. Then, we drove through the gates of

the Graceland mansion in Memphis. Vernon drove very slowly up the long drive to the

house. Everything was all lit up at the top of the hill. It was an awesome sight, and that

moment‟s impression lasts until this day. In fact, that sight totally blew my mind! David

and Billy were still pretty impressed at being with Mom, but I had gotten over that a few

hundred miles back. Man, I was tired and wanted something new. Did I ever get it!

“This is your new home,” Vernon said calmly.

I flipped! My heard was about to pound out of my chest.

“Wow! This is pretty neat,” I yelled as we pulled around the drive to the back.

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There were cars everywhere! I thought we were going to a party with tons of

people to greet us.

“Who are all these people?” I asked. “Where did all of these cars come from?”

Vernon smiled and said, “These are Elvis‟ cars.”

“All of them??”

“Yep. All of them,” he said softly as we walked toward the mansion.

Man! I thought. “A person who owns more than one car! This has got to be the

„big one‟! We‟ve finally arrived!”

We walked past the pink Cadillac which would later be the care the maid would

drive me to school in. Then, we stepped though the doors and into the house. Vernon

and Mom began the grand tour by showing us where we would be staying… or should

I say, living. The place almost cratered my small brain.

I‟ll never forget my first glimpse of Aunt Cleatis, Vernon‟s sister-in-law. She was

sitting in a chair near the hall. Her hair was dyed jet black. Please try to walk a mile in a

small guy‟s sandals. The sight of her scared me to death. She looked like a vampire!

This is the joke, I thought. We‟re going to be living in this giant castle with a bunch of

vampires. I was frozen with my saucer-sized eyes fixed on Aunt Cleatis.

“Come on upstairs, Rickey,” Mom interrupted my thoughts. My response was

instant. I ran!

We went though most of the rest of the house and finally wound up at the music

room. Vernon took us in to meet Elvis, this person who was my new brother.

He was sitting over by the record player as usual listening to gospel music. When

he saw us, he carefully removed the record and began to walk slowly toward us. He

was cool…real cool. He was as sharp as a guy I had ever seen. His presence brought

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paralysis to all of us. He stopped, stooped down, and picked all three of us up in his

arms. Nothing was said for a moment. He held us and then looked at his dad.

“These are MY little brothers, now, Dad and that‟s just way I‟m going to treat

them,” he said with calm authority.

Friends, that rang in my ear like nothing ever had. I knew he really meant it. For

the first time in my life I deeply felt, “This guy really means this. This guy is serious, and

I don‟t even know him. This is the Elvis everybody keeps talking about, and now he‟s

my brother!” There are no words to describe what that moment meant to me. It

changed the course of my entire life. From that time forward I would never be the

same.

I‟m sure he felt sorry for us because of our background. As we talked for a while;

it seemed that he wanted to make up for all that we had been through. But I kept

hearing his words, “…my little brothers… my little brothers…my little brothers.”

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Have you enjoyed reading the sample of this exciting new eBook about what it must have

been like to grow up at Graceland with the King of Rock and Roll?

Rick was the last family member to see Elvis alive. Do not miss what Elvis said to him that

fateful night. Would you like to know what really happened?

The rest of the story is fascinating! Rick Stanley’s life is with his big brother, Elvis, was an

adventure in the truest sense of the word! You will laugh and you will cry, but above all you

will be deeply blessed when you continue reading this amazing story!