He Touched Her With His Love

Forty two years ago on this day America and the world

mourned the sudden and untimely passing of one of the

greatest singers and entertainers of all time, the

legendary King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley.

Elvis Aaron Presley

January 8, 1935- August 16, 1977

I've always felt that this beautiful love ballad

is Elvis Presley's signature song.

"Love Me Tender"

Elvis Presley

One of the stories that came to light not long after Elvis' passing

and which has left a deep impression on me for many years now

is the poignant memoir written by Lena Canada  called,

  "To Elvis With Love".


   

This book later became the basis for the 1980 movie,
"Touched By Love" starring Deborah Raffin and Diane Lane,
and is the true story of a young physical therapist, Lena,
(Deborah Raffin) who comes to work in a home 

 for severely handicapped children.

There she meets Karen, (Diane Lane) a withdrawn young girl 

afflicted with cerebral palsy and confined to a wheelchair.

Despite Karen's reluctance to speak or to participate in

activities with the other children, Lena is drawn to the girl,

and despite concern from the other members of the staff 

 at the home, she is determine to bring Karen out of her shell.

Actress Diane Lane in the movie,

"Touched By Love"

(1980)

 However, after repeated attempts to communicate with the girl,

an emotionally and mentally exhausted Lena finally breaks down

and cries in front of her, to which Karen seems to sense her pain

 and frustration and attempts to comfort her.

Karen hesitatingly starts to verbally communicate with Lena and soon

the two become inseparable, not just as therapist and patient, but as friends.

Although her fellow therapist and roommate reminds Lena not to

become too emotionally attached to Karen, she becomes like

a mother to the girl, who was abandoned by her own mother as an infant.

    One day while they are visiting a store in a nearby town, Karen becomes

excited after seeing the face of Elvis Presley on the cover of a record album.

She tells Lena, "He's so alive. I love him...I could never move like that."

Not long after this, with encouragement from Lena, Karen writes a

letter to the singer.  Although there is disappointment for both of them 

as the weeks pass with no response, when there finally is a letter from

Elvis one day, Karen becomes so overwhelmed with excitement

she suffers a seizure and is given oxygen to help her calm down.

She later tells a relieved Lena, "You worry too much.  I knew it

(the letter) would come."

And so, a thrilling pen-pal relationship ensues between Karen 

and the famous King of Rock n'Roll.  What makes this

story so appealing to me was that in the wake of Elvis' death,

with all the supermarket check out tabloids competing against each 
 other to reveal the alleged sordid details of his lavish celebrity and deeply

troubled personal life, broken romances and battles with addictions to drugs 

 and food which ultimately led to his death of a heart attack at age 42,

Lena Canada's memoir provides a fresh perspective, revealing a

 deeply compassionate side to the man the world knew as Elvis Presley.

Despite his busy life as a worldwide celebrity, he took time out to 

respond personally to a severely handicapped child who
  loved him, bringing a measure of happiness to her all too brief life.

Elvis not only wrote letters and postcards to Karen, but also

sent her gifts like a big pink Teddy Bear, which in the movie she

receives just before her sudden death.  Although her dying

is expected throughout the movie, the scene where Lena

wakes early one morning and goes in to check on Karen,

only to find her cold and unresponsive is heartbreaking.

I often think that the real Karen of Lena Canada's memoir

sensed perhaps that the real Elvis, beneath his fame and fortune, 

felt as lonely and forgotten as she must have felt at times.  

 I have also thought that his melancholy song,

"Are You Lonesome Tonight"?

was less about a broken love affair and more about himself,

missing the person he used to be before becoming world famous.

  I wonder too if Elvis ever thought about what his life would

have been like if he had chosen to keep driving a truck for a living, 

singing along with the radio in the cab instead of ever setting

   foot inside of  a recording studio.

"Are You Lonesome Tonight?"

Elvis Presley

Thank You Elvis For Touching Karen With Your Love

Good Night Sweet Prince