Elvis Meets Nixon

In this episode, Cydni and Sher discuss the wild true story of when Elvis Presley showed up at the White House in a cape asking President Nixon for a badge. They talk fame, service, and what it means to truly show up—even when you feel like a “dance monkey.” This episode is quirky, patriotic, and surprisingly heartfelt. Scripture, Gandhi, and peanut butter sandwiches included.  This episode is, "Elvis Meets Nixon" and we are so glad you are here!

This Week's Challenge
Reach out to someone who brings you happiness and let them know they matter.

Sponsor:
Finley Law Firm -  Comprehensive Estate Planning
Be prepared for the expected and the unexpected.
Take the first step to peace of mind now.
Click here for a free consultation with Chris Finley.
Be sure to ask him how he behaved in Sher's 9th grade class!

Show Notes

Drip-Drip Drop, Words and  Music by  Matt Hoiland
Click here

instagram.com/cydniandsherpodcast

https://www.youtube.com/@CydniandSher

Transcript

Episode 121 - Elvis Meets Nixon

Sher: [00:00:00] to me in a teaching job, the dance monkey is I am like their little puppet filling out paperwork and doing stuff that has nothing to do with my job so that people sitting in an office get to keep theirs.

I am their dance monkey. Fill Out this form. Take this, do this, do that. You have to go to this professional development. You have to do this, you have to do this. Does it help me? No, it doesn't help me at all. But I have to be their dance monkey so they can continue to get their $200,000 a year job. 

Cydni: I've seen this song exactly the same way in my own life. When I would put my kids to bed. And then they would say, could you get me a glass of water? Could you do this? Could I do this? I did feel like a puppet. I said to myself when that song was popular, I was like, I'm a dance monkey. I'm a little puppet and I just dance for my kids and do what they want.

Sher: Yeah, that's exactly it. At least I got paid for being a dance monkey. 

Cydni: I get paid in other ways, like emotional scars. Welcome to the Cydni and Sher Podcast. We're so glad you're here. Mm-hmm. 

Sher: Today, Cydni, [00:01:00] we are going to talk about Elvis meeting President Nixon for our summer series. 

Cydni: Did you know that Elvis Presley released an album that had zero music on it?

Sher: I did not know that. 

Cydni: Yeah. It was only spoken content and people hated it. It was a flop. But I was thinking, it's kind of funny because it's really a podcast before podcast, and people were like, that's never gonna stick. I hate this. Where's the music? 

Sher: Did the album have any music at all? Like did he speak to the music? It was just literally him talking music. 

Cydni: Yes, it was clips. They collected different pieces in between. Shows or sets. So it was just when he would talk and I guess he performed a few speeches. I would love to know what his speeches were like, especially after the story. We're gonna talk about his personality. Seems to be eccentric. 

Sher: That is a good word for it. 

Cydni: Are you an Elvis fan though? I do like Elvis, What about you? Yeah. If you had to pick Elvis or The Beatles, who would you pick? Oh, Elvis. 100%. Me too. Yeah. I've actually [00:02:00] never been that big of a Beatles fan. 

Sher: Me either. Really. I mean, I like The Beatles, but I don't love The Beatles. I like some of their songs. Most of the songs I don't like. 

Cydni: Yeah. I think though overall I'd have to pick. Johnny Cash for, oh. 

Sher: Well, that wasn't in the running. Of course, Johnny Cash is gonna win. You think so? Oh, for sure. Are we the same page? Yeah. On something Uhhuh together in our life? Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Johnny Cash wins hands down. I 

Cydni: love him. Me too. This has been very healing. We've come together on a topic. Yay. And it really is because you came to the side of talking about things that have nothing to do with our topic. So if you could just. Do that more often, there could be more peace.

Sher: That's a great idea. 

Cydni: I do love about Elvis though, that he tried out for a quartet, a gospel quartet, and they did not let him in. He didn't make the cut, which is so funny to think about now since he became such a big deal. He was too sexy for the time. 

Sher: His voice was too sexy. His hips were too [00:03:00] sexy. Got that dance moves. He got kicked outta that choir. 

Cydni: I love about him also that his dance moves. They originated because he was so nervous at his shows that his legs were literally shaking and he couldn't get a grip, but the ladies loved it and so they kept it. And that's what's beautiful about him is he just like turns things into something. 

Sher: that's true. , And unlike most people, especially if they're famous, they don't turn anything into something 

Cydni: He turns things into something. I feel like I turned peace into chaos. When Ben and I were dating I nannied five children and he came to surprise me and say hello and Play-Doh went through a window as he walked up to the door. Through the window. Yes. They broke it. They broke the window. Oh my gosh. I know, I know. He walked in and there was a broken window and one of the twin boys was climbing the fridge. He was all the way on the top and Ben still married me. What? So sometimes when he is like, what is happening? There's so much chaos. I say, you knew. You knew what [00:04:00] was happening. Mm-hmm. I did not hide it. I did get paid for that nannying job somehow, which I look back on. I'm like, oh, I should send them money.

Be like, I'm so sorry about the broken window and fridge and the bed. I'm sorry about that. I just parent different and other people. Anyway, back to Elvis. Thank goodness. This works too, because we were talking about Dance Monkey and we've been talking about different animals that these people have owned. He had a monkey that he taught tricks to and a donkey. They did not say he taught tricks to the donkey, but I'm assuming he did. Why not? I just feel back in these times, people had more exotic animals.

Sher: Maybe it has something to do with money. They had more money. 

Cydni: I'm trying to decide if I agree. If it was more money or just like people were more chill about what animals to own 

Sher: maybe, but I'm just saying that the people we've been talking about had a lot of cash so they can have whatever animal they want.

Oh yeah. 

Cydni: You're probably right. In my head, it was more like, who decided we could just have cats and dogs? Who's made that rule? Like why does that have to be the norm? Why can't we go back to [00:05:00] a donkey or a monkey, or a hippo or a raccoon? 

Sher: I guess we can if you want to, if you really feel passionate about it since you're such a pet lover.

Cydni: Yeah, absolutely not. I don't want any of them, but someone else might. here's something else. I don't want any of elvis had a favorite sandwich. There's four ingredients, and this was also put in his mother's recipe book. He loved a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but add bacon and banana.

Sher: Okay. The banana I can see, but bacon on it. 

Cydni: I mean, I can't do it. What isn't good with bacon on it? 

Sher: That The peanut butter jam, banana, and bacon does not sound good. 

Cydni: I don't think so. I can't think of anything that won't make life better if you add bacon. Salads, pizza, eggs, steak, peanut butter.

Sher: So my question is then you just don't like the banana on it. 

Cydni: Why add a fruit? Why do that? Just add extra bacon. That should be our challenge. Our challenge at the end, prepare yourself is to try Elvis's sandwich. ,

Sher: I challenge you to do that. I'm going to, okay. [00:06:00] I want results. I wanna know what happens. 

Cydni: I'm gonna bring one next week, and we're going to have a little snack while we record. can't wait. The only other thing I think I should really inform you about Elvis, so that it really sets the stage, is he loved TV so much. He would often watch three at one time. 

Sher: Three televisions. Yeah. So who needs the little three box screens on your TV when you can just set up three TVs? 

Cydni: It just feels like he was so ahead of his time with the podcast album. Mm-hmm. And also just like so many screens all the time. He was the king.

Sher: That's why he got the title. It has nothing to do with his singing ability. 

Cydni: Nothing at all. But it's that time to follow the outline. That was catchy. 

Sher: All right, so as I mentioned before today, we're gonna talk about the time that. Elvis met President Nixon. And the more I read about the story, the more I liked it. 'cause it's just weird and funny. I had no idea about any of it until we decided to do this summer series. So I'm glad that we found this story [00:07:00] because it has brought much humor to my life.

Cydni: I love it too because again, eccentric, he was, he was so eccentric and I didn't know this is the most requested picture. And the archives. I read that. Can you believe that? And I didn't know anything about it. 

Sher: Same. All right. So how this whole thing went down is. Elvis Presley talked his friend Jerry shilling into flying with him to Washington, dc but he never said why he wanted to do this. He just said, Hey, let's go to Washington, DC. Elvis, however, didn't have any cash. So Jerry gave him a $500 check, which he cashed. And they both flew then from Los Angeles all the way to Washington, dc But when Elvis got on the plane, he saw a soldier that was coming home from the Vietnam War. He gave him the cash, apparently this was something that Elvis did all the time. One, he would never have any cash with him, so he'd always borrow cash, and then as soon as he got the cash, he'd give it away to somebody. So that was kind of like his thing. So I think that I'm gonna start doing that with you, [00:08:00] Cydni. 

Cydni: You're Going to take my cash and give it to other people? Yes. All right. Well I'm gonna have to borrow some cash from someone else, and then I'll give it to you. Perfect. Yeah, he was really generous I love a story about he got in a limo and was talking to the limo driver and was like, so is this your business? You own this limo? And he is like, oh, no, I don't have a car. I just work for him. And so he bought that limo for that man. He was so generous. Possibly terrible with his money and his friend's money, but so generous. 

Sher: Right. and I really did enjoy reading about that, he really was like the giving tree with his own money and everybody else's. so back on the plane. once Elvis was on the plane and gave all his friends money away, he settled in and he asked the flight attendant for some stationary, and he wrote President Nixon a letter while flying to Washington, DC. The letter was written in cursive, which is like a foreign language today.

Cydni: What is cursive 

Sher: exactly? 

Cydni: Can you define that? 

Sher: Nobody knows how to read it or write it anymore. All those youngins, they have no clue. 

Cydni: Some of them do. Some schools teach it, do they? Yeah. 

Sher: [00:09:00] Who? 

Cydni: Some charter schools around here do.

Sher: I'm glad somebody's teaching it because when I'm trying to teach history and people are looking at our founding documents, it's like they're reading a foreign language. 

Cydni: I never considered that. 

Sher: And think about this, like my mother always wrote in cursive, now you can't read it. So. Good job schools. I say that with all the love as a public school teacher. Okay, back to the letter. I actually was looking at the letter he wrote. It has the airline he was flying on and he wrote. It was like six pages. It was good. I read it, the whole thing and I kind of laughed at a few things that he did. But let's get into that letter. On the letter he gave President Nixon his phone number of the hotel he was going to be staying at, plus his secret code name he was using while he was there.

He also asked the president if he could be made a federal agent at large. in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. so this all went down in 1970, so the Vietnam War was going on. There were protests all over the place. There was a drug [00:10:00] culture going on, and communism seemed to be spreading everywhere.

And . Elvis explained how he could infiltrate communist groups using his celebrity status, he did not like the hate against the country which was super popular at the time. And Elvis said about the American culture. In the letter to Nixon, he said , I call it American and I love it. Elvis also said he was worried about the direction of the country and he ended the letter by saying, I would love to meet you just to say hello if you're not too busy. Then Elvis had his friend Jerry drop the letter off at the White House when they landed. 

Cydni: I have to tell you, the letter makes me laugh so much. I'm just gonna share with you a few things that made me laugh out loud. I love that he says, dear Mr. President, first I'd like to introduce myself. I am Elvis Presley. I love that. I think it is so funny. And at the end he says. PS I believe that you, sir, were one of the top 10 outstanding men of America. I think that's so amazing. 

Sher: And Just a few [00:11:00] years later, he got kicked outta office or he resigned. Mm-hmm. I wonder if that moved him to his bottom 10 after that. 

Cydni: I don't think so, but I'm gonna tell my kids they're my top 10 favorite kids. I wanna see how that goes. They're so generous. You're on the top 10 list guys of my favorite children. 

Sher: They're so fortunate. So, a few hours after Jerry dropped the letter off at the White House they were invited to go. So there's Elvis. Jerry, and then also they brought along one of Elvis's bodyguards, Sonny West. They're all walking through the halls of the White House, and I have to read this, Elvis was wearing a dark jumpsuit, a cape sunglasses, and a large belt buckle. One of his friends carried a box that contained Presley's gift to Nixon, a World War II era, cult 45, that the Secret Service immediately confiscated. Bud Crow, who at the time was the White House Deputy for domestic affairs, said that Elvis seemed to take that in good grace, that it was taken away by the Secret Service. So that was good. He didn't get too uptight about [00:12:00] it. That's nice. Okay, I'm gonna go back to what he was wearing though. 

Cydni: Yes, please. 'cause I love this 'cause you have to dress for who you want to become, not who you are now 

Sher: The only way that you can truly get what we're saying here is by looking it up. You gotta look at the photos because they are priceless. What did you think about it, Cydni? 

Cydni: I loved it so much. I feel like I'm gonna jump ahead if I say too much, but I just feel like he dressed the part. part. . 

Sher: He did dress the part. 

Cydni: But if you're jumping back, I have to jump back because the code name is also amazing and I know they have to do that, but it adds so much depth to this. He came up with a very clever name of John, John Burrows. But nobody would think that's Elvis. No. So it's actually pretty brilliant. When we were in Paris, Cher, there's a city there that is up on the hill and they say celebrities like a list. Celebrities live there and where the doorbell is to call each individual apartment. They're all code names. And the code [00:13:00] names are fitting for Paris. There's Von Gogh and there's Monet and Picasso, and they've been that way since the beginning of time because that city is where a famous actress and singer lived. And to this day, famous people still live there. 

Sher: that's interesting. I didn't know that there has to be somebody that's just slumming it in there. Come on. 

Cydni: Oh, I think so. I tried to sneak in when they opened it up for the gardener and our tour guide said, if I have to tell you to stop again, you'll be asked to leave our tour. And so I didn't. That's a different story, 

Sher: which I can't wait to hear about at some point. Okay, back to Elvis. So according to Bud, remember he was the White House deputy for a domestic affairs. Bud said this Presley indicated to the president in a very emotional manner that he was on your side. Presley kept repeating that he wanted to be helpful, that he wanted to restore some respect for the flag which was being lost. He mentioned that he was just a poor boy from Tennessee who had gotten a lot from his [00:14:00] country, which in some ways he wanted to repay. 

Cydni: Sounds pretty sus to me. Okay. Here's the deal. With the stories that you have found, they just make these famous figures feel so human. That then I make them too human in my mind. And I'm like, I think he was lying. I think that George Washington was a little bit too close to those girls when he danced. I think Theodore Roosevelt did wanna kill that bear. I think that Elvis had maybe suspicious intentions behind those letter. So this conspiracy side of me has now been put on these people. So when I meet them in the next life. I think we'll not be friends because of this. They'll be like, you really made a lot of assumptions about someone you didn't know. And I'll just have to be like, well, I read your letter. I saw the pictures 

Sher: and I wish I could say that Cydni is kidding, but she's not, because she's been talking about all these conspiracy theories to me the entire month. Everything she just said is true. you have no idea how many conspiracy theories I had to edit out because I was like, people are gonna believe this

Cydni: but here's the thing. [00:15:00] One, I would like everyone to know. I'm coming up with the conspiracies on my own. They're not just like recycled from Instagram, they're my own. And two, they might be true. That's it. 

Sher: Okay. Anyway, so this is the other part that Cydni and I both found funny is that they also discuss the Beatles Elvis had a love hate relationship with them. You're adding love. I don't think it was there. I do because you do. Yeah. Listen to this quote. He invited him over to his house. 

Cydni: Yeah, because you gotta keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. 

Sher: This is true, but maybe it's just he was still trying to stay relevant. And popular. Mm-hmm. Hard. So invited the beat over. It's hard 

Cydni: fall from fame, I've heard. 

Sher: Anyway, this is what he said. I liked those guys. I like 'em, but what the hell's wrong with their teeth, man. And he also liked some of their songs, especially yesterday and Hey Jude, so I think that he liked them, but some people believe that Elvis was jealous of the Beatles because they stole his [00:16:00] thunder and he did not appreciate that. 

Cydni: I think those feelings are real, and I feel like it's okay to have that kind of feeling if you're Elvis against the Beatles. Because you've been shaking your hips you were the king of rock and roll The king. Mm-hmm. You switched things up. You dyed your hair with shoe polish. Did you know that he did that? I did not know that he dyed his hair with shoe polish cause he is a blondie.

Sher: That's commitment. 

Cydni: And his eyebrows 

Sher: Really? I didn't know that. Yeah, 

Cydni: he did. Also he wore crop tops a lot. And some say that he got his inspiration for fashion through Captain America Junior. From a comic book and he had a collection of comic books. 

Sher: I don't even know if you're being serious or if it's a conspiracy theory. No, that's all true. 

Cydni: I did look up this comic book character, and there's not a single crop top. So I was like, I'm not seeing the connection on that. But 

Sher: maybe it was in a crop top, maybe it was a cape. ' cause he wore a lot of cakes. 

Cydni: That makes more sense. Mm-hmm. It said crop top in a very trustworthy YouTube video that I watched

Sher: all right, so at the meeting with Nixon, this is what Elvis said about the Beatles. the Beatles, came to this [00:17:00] country, made their money, and then returned to England, where they promoted an anti-American theme.

So some people think that he was just mad at him. Because this was his perception of them, or he was jealous? Or maybe it was a little bit of both. 

Cydni: What do you decide?

Sher: I don't know. I think it was a little bit of both. That's my guess. 

Cydni: Okay. A hundred percent jealousy 

Sher: Elvis at this meeting asked Nixon for a badge from the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, Nixon asked Bud to go find him one, and Elvis was so happy about getting a badge that he hugged him. Then Elvis asked Nixon if his bodyguards could come into the room to meet President Nixon. Nixon agreed. So Jerry and Sonny got to walk in and meet the president. Bud said this. Nixon walked behind his desk and opened the bottom drawer , to give each of them a gift. Sensing there was a lot of stuff in the desk. Presley started rummaging through it. This was a man that was used to getting what he wanted. You could tell. And he didn't have a lot of boundaries. 

So as the president is taking out the cuff links and the [00:18:00] paperweights and the golf balls, Elvis is reaching in towards the back of the drawer and taking out the real gold stuff, the valuable presence.

Bud. Further said that Elvis then said, Mr. President, they have wives. So out came more presence with that Elvis, his bodyguards and his brand new shiny badge left the White House and he apparently carried that badge with him everywhere he went.

Cydni: I know that I have some conspiracies, but his wife did too. She wrote that she believed that he just wanted the badge so he could carry guns and drugs into other countries with no problem. So she thinks it was a little bit more suss like I do. I could see that. And then also, I love so much that somewhere it talks that he was really familiar with the drugs and well acquainted with drugs. So he was a good candidate to, take care of problems with it because he was so well acquainted with drugs. But that's a conspiracy that I may not be able to prove If he did drugs or not, 

Sher: he did 

Cydni: use drugs. I was just trying to take [00:19:00] something that was actually real in my head it was really funny. My humor's just, it's, it's such a high level. It just goes over my head. 

Sher: Okay. Let me tell you the reason why I like this story about Elvis it shows that he was willing to show up for something that he truly believed in 

Cydni: and turned something into something 

Sher: Right. And we've learned this last year that one of the secret ingredients to being happy and finding joy is just showing up. Wynona judd said, we're showing the world what a dysfunctional family does. We show up for each other. In our families, communities, and country, we are like a dysfunctional family, so let's just show up for each other. The apostle Paul taught us in Galatians chapter five, verse 13, he said, for brethren, he had been called unto liberty . Only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another and this month celebrating our liberty. Let's not waste that freedom that we have been blessed to have on just ourselves, but choose to show up for [00:20:00] others. Gandhi said, the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Serving and showing up is the secret ingredient to happiness and lasting joy.

Cydni: You know Cher, our theme is happiness. And I don't know if you know, but his first song that he wrote is called My Happiness. 

Sher: I did not know that. 

Cydni: I thought, What are the chances? it is about his mother 'cause she passed and it was really difficult for him the whole song just talks about wanting to be with her again. And he called her my happiness. I know this doesn't have a ton to do with what we talked about, but when has that stopped me? Cher and I today were making jokes about why we would choose to come and face the challenges of this Earth and all that comes with it. We're like, the prize better be amazing.

And I was mostly being ridiculous. But Sher said something so beautiful that connected this to me. I was like, what are the chances? But I said, why are we even doing all this? And then you said. You get what I'm saying? But you would do anything to be with your [00:21:00] parents again.

And when I read through the words of a song and knowing that it was about his mom and how much he loved her and it was soul crushing to lose her and that he called her my happiness, I did reflect a lot on what we've talked about and how relationships are so important to us, and we need to take better care and better thought and a better appreciation for those that we love because that is where happiness comes from.

simply this week. We challenge you to love your family better, we challenge you to reach out to someone and let them know that they bring you happiness. And even if they're absolutely eccentric, we just challenge you to show up for them.

Sher: This brings us to our final thoughts. Elvis may have been a global superstar, but at his core, he was just a man who cared deeply about his country and wanted to help. He didn't let doubt or fear hold him back. Instead, he showed up Cape Andal ready to serve. Happiness and joy often come from doing exactly that, showing up for something or [00:22:00] someone beyond ourselves. Our communities and country might feel like a dysfunctional family sometimes, but showing up is what keeps us strong and true. Joy is found when we use our freedom to serve, love and show up for others. This is our prayer 

Cydni: from Cydni and Sher. I thought I had an idea, but then I didn't. ' it doesn't matter what I say right now. I 

Sher: had a dream that someday, I can't remember the rest of this. Is that an Elvis song? No, 

Cydni: Welcome to the show. Oops. Welcome to the Cydni. What is our show called? What are we doing? What is my purpose? I don't know. I don't even know mine. I can't figure out yours. Hey, Siri, help us. Welcome to the Cydni and Sher [00:23:00] Podcast. That's not what we say. Yeah. Is it? Okay. I think that was a great way to start. I think it like illustrated what our purpose was today. Thank you. And it told the listeners what to expect. Thank you. I think it was really solid. Shut up. And so hopefully you follow the outline, Sher, because it's that time we should have a sound effect. That's like, it's that time to follow the outline. That was catchy. I thought, what did I think? Hold on. Lemme tie it together. He needs soda. It'll help. Okay. And a cheeseburger. We're kind of like showing the world what a dysfunctional podcast is like. We keep showing up. Good point. Yeah. Look at US Rock and roll and hip thrust. Mm-hmm. 

Sher: Have a good week. Bye.