You'll Like It Here (Everybody Does) by Ruth White Read Free Book Online Page A

red, and wet with sweat, but he is smiling. “We proudly proclaim ourselves the safest city on the planet.”
    â€œOn the
whole
planet?” I speak up, hoping he will say which planet we’re on.
    â€œYes, the safest city on the whole planet. No violent crime, no poverty, no disease.”
    Then he turns to Mom and Gramps and says, “Go on now, both of you. If you’re concerned, I’ll stay close by until you’re through in there.”
    â€œWell, all right,” Mom agrees reluctantly, with a bit of worry in her eyes. Then to me and David she says, “Stay where I can see you when I look out the window, okay?”
    Mom and Gramps disappear into the building, and David and I sit down on the top step to wait.
    â€œI’ll be walking up and down this sidewalk,” Officer Brent tells us, and strolls away.
    We watch people passing. Many of them smile or speak to us. A young couple alternately talk and pant as they jog. Several people ride by on bicycles. I have to say it’s a right pleasant and peaceful scene.
    â€œNo crime, no poverty, no disease,” David says as we watch the people.
    â€œThat doesn’t seem likely, does it?” I say.
    â€œNo crime and no poverty I suppose is possible,” he says. “But no disease?”
    We puzzle on that one until our thoughts are interrupted by a big white bus lumbering down the street. There are purple letters stenciled on the side, proudly proclaiming that this is
    VACATION 65!
    The gray heads tell us that old people occupy this bus. They are waving and calling out as they move down the street. It’s nice to see old people happy and excited about going on vacation.
    Many passersby stop to wave at the people on the bus. So we wave too.
    â€œGoodbye! Goodbye!”
    Vacation 65 halts at a bus stop where a man with a shiny bald head is waiting. It appears that his children and grandchildren have come to see him off. All of them laugh and cry as they hug him.
    â€œHave a wonderful time!”
    â€œPraise the Fathers!”
    â€œFarewell, Grandpapa. Farewell!”
    But suddenly the man clutches a young woman, probably his daughter, clings to her, and cries like I did on my first day of school. It looks like this grandpapa does not want to go on vacation without his family. The woman reassures him, and eventually he settles down, steps onto the bus, and doesn’t turn back. We can see the otherseniors greeting him. As the bus moves on, the family members wipe their eyes and drift away.
    â€œWill you look at that!” David cries suddenly.
    My eyes follow David’s, and there walking toward us on the sidewalk is this guy who looks for all the world like a young Elvis Presley. He’s wearing a silky blue shirt and tight pants of the same material. He stops, takes his guitar out of its case, and then smiles and hums as he tunes up.
    Officer Brent is nowhere in sight, and we leave the stoop, totally forgetting Mom’s orders. When we come up close to Elvis, we can see a few coins already in his guitar case, which is lying open before him on the pavement.
    I’m only vaguely aware of other people gathering around as Elvis starts picking and singing “Blue Suede Shoes.” I notice he is actually
wearing
blue suede shoes. Suddenly it seems like he’s singing just to me, and his mellow voice and curled lip make me weak.
    â€œIt
is
Elvis,” David whispers to me.
    It certainly is, and the up-close-and-personal Elvis is more gorgeous than any picture of him I’ve ever seen. I can dig how teens in the fifties lost their minds over him.
    Other fans gather. Some people start clapping in time to the music. One young couple starts dancing. Elvis begins his famous hip rolls, which I have seen on old television shows a few times. I am so blown away that it takes me several minutes to realize that some of the people have started looking over their shoulders nervously. Then they begin to edge