WHEN I WAS A KID

When I was a kid, I'm talking ten or eleven years-old, Elvis Presley was the big thing.  I begged and begged my mother to buy me an Elvis record.  They were little 45 RPM vinyl discs at the time.  I think they cost about $1.25.  As with all mothers, she finally gave in.

We went to record store in Swifton Shopping Center which Donald Trump had just built.  I'll never forget. Elvis already had hits with Heartbreak Hotel and then I Want You, I Need You, I Love You.  His newest was Don't Be Cruel.

If you haven't seen them, the 45's have a recording on each side of the disc.  The hoped-for hit was on side A and some junk was on side B.   Well, Elvis put out Don't Be Cruel with Hound Dog on the B side.  Big mistake!  They could have sold twice as many records if they were on separate discs (but maybe whatever he recorded at that time would have been a hit).

Here's the sad part of the story.  My mom left me alone in the car for a while.  I experimented with the cigarette lighter that was included with all cars back then.  I pushed it in and it popped out.  I then pressed it against the bag I had in my lap.  Wow!  Neato!  I bet it would start a fire if I left it on there long enough.  .

When we got home, the Don't Be Cruel side of the record had a circle imprinted in it.  When it was played, it skipped 45 times every minute.  Kids!  Ugh!
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