Elvis

I don't think you can get more on fire than the late Elvis Presley. I spent this morning reviewing youtube clips of his last few concerts. He is not just fat, he has the look of someone with Cushing's syndrome. This is a condition where there is elevated cortisol in the blood stream creating edema in the extremities and the characteristic "moon face." It is more than the look of someone who had too many pancakes and beer.

As we all know he eventually died from his massive addiction to amphetamines, opiates, and alcohol. Some estimates indicate that he spent up to a million a year on his pills. Now, I remember being amazed that Christy Brinkley's ex husband spent $3000 a month on internet pornography, but good lord...Elvis blows him out of the water!

As I look at the old clips, I am amazed at his amount of sweat, apathy, and confusion. In one clip, he walks on stage ready to sing Frank Sinatra's classic "My Way", but unabashedly needs to read it from a piece of paper. In the other, he forgets lyrics to "Lonely Tonight," and in front of a crowd of thousands he babbles nonsensically with a smile on his face. But what makes him truly 'on fire' is that he could do this shit every week, in front of large crowds and television viewers, and get away with it. Amazing!