One of my favorite memories of our time together involves her love for Elvis. I host my annual Blue Christmas Party, but my Grandmother had everyone of Elvis' records on vinyl. We were in her living room in St. Louis, when (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear came on. I was about 4 years old, but my favorite thing in this moment was to dance to this song. I made my Grandmother play it over and over again. What really got me Grandma rolling though was my Elvis lip. I can do a perfect impersonation of Elvis giving his "Uh Huh" gyrating lip. I think that went on for at least 20 minutes or until my 4 year old self got tired of the attention. I will never forget that even though it is a fleeting memory.
She goes on to talk about her Yeoman 2nd class testing, and I finally understand where she is coming from. It's that uncertainty of what your life is going to be like. Is she going to move upward in the Navy? Where is she going to end up? These are very practical questions in the WWII world. These questions are also very relevant today. Our economy is improving but our job market is still recovering. People are more educated, but they are still working minimum wage jobs or don't have a job at all. I won't question her anxiety over this testing again. My current state of mind and the uncertainty of this world mirrors the worries my Grandmother had in this letter. I can only hope that my life leads me to a place where my future Granddaughter can perfectly demonstrate Elvis' gyrating lip for me. I think then my life will have come full circle.
On this day in WWII history
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