Meeting the king

My Aunt Pam passed away this past Tuesday, she was 64. She and my mother were best friends in high school, had the same first and middle name, they had the same birthday month, married brothers, each had 2 daughters. Their life each also filled with pain from dyfunctional families, divorce and addiction. They shared the good and the bad times of life and one of the most told stories of their life was when they met Elvis Presley. They were 17 years old and Elvis had come to Miami to film a TV show at the Fountainbleu hotel. They were given tickets from a local radio station and were able to sit in the audience and watch the taping of the show. That wasn't enough for these fanatic followers of Elvis. During a break in the taping, they decided to try and find him or his hotel room. They found out he was staying in the penthouse and proceeded to take the elevator to his room. When the elevator reached the top floor, they got out but soon realized that it was not the penthouse. The elevator they got on did not go to the penthouse. My aunt Pam soon created a plan to climb the fire escape of the hotel to get to the penthouse. Whenever my mom would tell this story, she always mentioned how the fire escape ladder was on the outside of the building, so as you climbed up you could look down and see the street and cars drive by. She said she hung on for dear life. Once they were safely on the carpeted hotel floor, they proceeded to go around the corner to find his room, and there he was sitting in a chair in the hallway. He heard their giggles and motioned for them to come over and talk to him. My mom always said that made her an even greater fan because he was so kind to them. He asked them where they went to school and took pictures with them and gave them each autographs. To this day, I still have the photo and autograph as a promise to my mom that I wouldn't sell it.
Losing your mom is probably one of the hardest people in your life to lose. It has been 13 years and I still wish my mom was just a phone call away, I have so much to tell her about how proud she would be of my life and her grandchildren's lives. I know that I will see her again. I encouraged Renee over the past couple of years to make sure she spoke to her mom about salvation. Renee was able to have that gift and knows that her mom did accept Christ. We could not change the choices that our parents made with their lives that ultimately caused probably sooner than need be. But we can take the good that they have given us, make better choices, stop the cycle of addiction and live each day as a fanatic of the real King, Jesus Christ.
Rest in Peace, Aunt Pam, I know my mom was there to meet you!