Modern Screen (Jan-Dec 1960)

Yet. he remembered, it wasn t Ions after They'd all sat down inside the church and die minister had come out to deliver his sermon — "Jesus Christ, on this day." the minister had begun. "He rose, this holiest of men. and He went from the tomb in which He lay. straight up to Heaven, glorious Heaven, so's He could look down on and take care of you, sir. and you, na'am" — that something had begun to happen to these people. He'd looked around, midway during the sermon. Elvis remembered, and he'd no:iced that the faces of these people were different-looking suddenly. That they were oecoming transformed by the words they were hearing — transformed from the faces of poor and sad and weary people to the faces of people who were rich and happy, -ike the richest and the happiest people on this here earth. And Elvis remembered how. after the service was all over and they were walking back up the road again, him and his folks, he'd said. "That was sure nice ... I wish it was-next Easter comin' soon so we could come back here again." And how his Ma had said, "From now on. Elvis, we're all goin' to come to church meetin' every Sunday. Been bein' lazy about it long enough, we have. But from now on. we're comin". every Sunday. And we're goin' to pray and sing and hear God's word, jest like today. "After all." she'd added, "how is God goin' to know we love Him ifn we don't show up at His house for a little while, jest the way we expect Him to keep showin' up at ours?" Elvis remembered this. And what happened after. The years in Mississippi, then up in Memphis, where the family eventually moved — the years of going to church, faithfully, every Sunday, as if their whole true lives depended on it. And then how the church-going ended, suddenly, a few years ago, when he — Elvis Presley — became a singer, and a success. There was that other Sunday morning, back in early 1956. He would never forget it. How he and the folks had walked into their church and how that group of kids, standing just inside the big doors, actually inside the church, had begun to shout, and scream, and squeal. How he and the folks hadn't even been able to get beyond where they stood. How they'd turned, eventually, and walked back outside, and away, afraid they were going to make a mockery of their church, their love for God. That had been the first time he'd gone to church after his big success. Elvis remembered. And, aside from his hitch in the Army — when he had been able to go uninterrupted, it had been his last. "And I guess." he thought now, lying on his bed in the big Hollywood hotel, four years later, "that's the way it's got to be. "Just the way it's — " A cold shiver, gigantic, heavy, rushed through his body. He opened his eyes. The sun that had been lingering outside this late afternoon had gone down by now. And the room was pitch black. "Lord — " Elvis cried out. suddenly. The talking in the living room stopped, for a moment. "Lord — " Elvis said, whispering this time. "O Lord . . . Bring me back to Your house. "If only they understood, the other people in Your house," he said, "if only they realized how much I want to come to You . . have wanted to ... all these years. ''If only they realized that I am one of them, just like them . . . Nothing more than one of Your children. "Just like them. . . ." It was a few minutes after ten o'clock the following morning when Elvis, alone, pulled up to the church, an Assembly Church of God. in downtown Los Angeles. From his car. he looked at the entranceway, watching as a few persons, late comers, walked inside, hurrying, in order that they wouldn't be too late. He waited a few minutes — till everyone, it seemed, was inside. And then, slowly, he got out of the car. walked towards the entranceway and went inside, too. From the rear of the church he could see that the service had already begun: the minister was in his pulpit, delivering his preliminary announcements. Elvis looked around the rear section, where he still stood, for a pew with an empty space. There was none. He had just begun to turn to his right, with the intention of walking to the side of the church and standing there, throughout the rest of the service, when, from the corner of his eye. he saw someone signaling him. He turned again and he saw that it was an usher, up in the front of the church, pointing to a pew there, an empty place. Somehow, during the signaling, a few members of the congregation turned to the rear, to see, out of curiosity, who had arrived so late. And. suddenly, it began — the murmuring, the turning of more heads, and more, and more. Until, finally, the entire congregation was facing Elvis, and the minister, aheming at first, then realizing what was going on. stopped what he was saying and called out instead: "Young man." Elvis looked up at him. "Would you." the minister asked, "prefer to continue standing there? Or — " He smiled. " — would you like to take advantage of this free space up here?" The murmuring, which had continued through all this, quieted now. Until there was absolute silence. Until Elvis, realizing what he had to do. nodded, and began to walk down the aisle. It was a long walk — the longest walk of his entire life. And it was nearly over ... he had no more than ten steps to take . . . when he saw the girl, and he slowed his pace. The girl was seated in the end seat of the third pew. She was a young girl, no more than fourteen or fifteen, redhaired and pretty. Her head was turned. She was facing Elvis, her blue eyes glued on his. And in those blue eyes Elvis could see everything that had been responsible for his fantastic success in show business these past four years, everything responsible for his terror here in church, this morning. He didn't take his eves awav from the girl's. He couldn't. Instead, he found himself continuing to stare back into them. And. as he did, he found himself, begging, silently: "Please. Lord, please . . . Make her turn to You. . . ." Suddenly, he noticed, very suddenly, the girl lowered her eyes, and looked away, back towards the front of the church. While Elvis, taking a deep breath, walked on to his seat. And once there he, too. lowered his eyes. As, humbly, he thanked God for making this morning possible. As he thanked, then, just as humbly, a strange little old man who'd stood in that crowd outside the hotel only the day before, and who had handed him that piece of paper . . . and whom he knew he would never see again. end Elvis will be seen soon in GJ. Blues. Paramount; later in Live Wire, 20th-Fo.v. PERIODIC PAIN Don't let the calendar make a slave of you, Betty! Just take a Midol tablet with a glass of water . . . that's all. Midol brings faster and more complete relief from menstrual pain— it relieves cramps, eases headache and