30/12/2024
Elvis Presley's Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning 1970.
This story was actually told by more than one policeman, and deputies at the sheriff's department in Memphis at different times.
Christmas Eve was the night that Elvis chose to go make all his annual donations to the many charities he supported. But here is the story that runs chills up my spine and makes me tear up even as I type this.
On Christmas Eves when most of us spend that entire special evening with our families, anticipating the exchange of gifts, Elvis left the house for a while and went to the jail.
He visited every prisoner no matter their race, gender, creed and no matter the severity of the alleged crime just human being to human being, and talked with every single one.
I was told by the officers he would ask each one why they were there and how he could help them. And help them he did in any way he could. He took notes, planned what he would do for each and every one he could possibly do something for.
He assisted them in any way possible. From contacting their families to see if they needed "anything" (Financial assistance while their loved one was in jail? Were their children alright? Their husbands or wives?), and making certain they would be assisted in every way once they served their time, made certain they had proper representation in the court by a decent attorney and so forth.