kATHY WESTMORELAND:

Charlie
"Behind every great man is a GREAT man"
My precious friend Charlie Hodge passed today. A couple of days ago he called me, left a message on my answering machine. "Bye,Bye,"...then his wife Jennifer,"That was Charlie. Call us back at this number ". I became hysterical, frantically called the number of the hospital and room they had left on the machine. (I had been told days ago not to call, Jennifer asked all to hold their calls as she was swamped, and to wait until she sent word. I couldn't sleep, and called anyway, left a message to tell Charlie I loved him, not to worry about calling me back, That I was "seeing" him every moment....just wait to call when things calmed down.
He called from his hospital room in Knoxville, Tennessee.
I returned the call immediately, and spoke with Jennifer first, who immediately handed the phone to him. He sounded terrific. He assured me that he would "beat this", that he just got exhausted from the treatments. He then went on to tell me all of the wonderful things he thought about me! How typical of Charlie. He saw and brought out the best in everyone who was fortunate enough to share his friendship. It was Charlie who was THE ONLY PERSON WHO LIVED WITH ELVIS DAY-IN-DAY-OUT, MOMENT BY MOMENT. HE WAS THE ONLY PERSON IN THE ENTIRE GROUP OF PEOPLE AROUND ELVIS WHO UNDERSTOOD ELVIS. How ugly it is to me that their misunderstanding of Elvis, their capitalization-motivated stories told to each other, repeated over and over, revised, then repeated again....have become the so-called 'history' of the most beloved person on planet earth.
HE TAUGHT ELVIS TO BE HIMSELF, LET HIS ANGER OUT AS ANY GREAT ARTIST WOULD, AND DIRECT IT TO A PERFORMANCE. ANGER WAS ENERGY...AND IT MADE A BETTER PERFORMANCE. (I had the good fortune of having been born to a most temperamental singer...my father...so Elvis was completely "Normal" to me. I told him when I first met him how much he reminded me of my father. (Freudian, I suppose) IT WAS CHARLIE WHO EXERCISED ELVIS' VOICE 'ROUND THE CLOCK...PLAYING THE PIANO AS ELVIS SANG. He was Elvis' Teacher. Elvis Trusted him more than any person in his circle of associates, who though friends, were of a different "ilk"...just NOT artists, nor had they any understanding or experience with that type of personality. Plus, they had much more limited conversational exchanges with Elvis...CHARLIE WAS AN EXTENSION OF ELVIS...and without Charlie, Elvis would not have achieved the greatness he did. The talent was there...Charlie Brought it out of him, not only with Understanding, but by adding his great talents to Elvis'. His vocal, instrumental,and vast knowledge of every aspect of "show business", and knowledge of multiple genres/feels and styles of music.
IT WAS CHARLIE WHO (having had his own group and tv/radio show in the fifties ---the Foggy River Boys) UNDERSTOOD THE ARTIST IN ELVIS, WHO TAUGHT ELVIS HOW TO PACE A SHOW. When he recorded duets with Elvis, one could not tell the voices apart. He matched Elvis so perfectly. He taught Elvis just what song would work where in order to raise the excitement of an audience, then to control the audience by doing a number that would calm things down. CHARLIE WAS THE ONLY PERSON WHO KNEW,...YES...REALLY KNEW ELVIS, UNDERSTOOD HIM, ALLOWED HIM TO "BE" HIMSELF; "Go into a rage if you want...use me as your kicking board, just let the artistic emotions in you out, Elvis!" I can still hear him. HE WAS THE ONLY PERSON WHO LAUGHED, RATHER THAN GETTING THEIR FEELINGS HURT WHEN ELVIS LET HIS EMOTIONS SHOW. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE OTHERS THOUGHT ELVIS WAS INSANE,...BUT THEY HAD NO UNDERSTANDING OF ARTISTS, NOR OF THEIR TEMPERAMENT. ..THEIR NEED TO SCREAM, LAUGH, CRY...NOT TO FEAR EMOTION. Charlie taught me to "remember not to think , just BE...Let your desires be your inspirations, and 'IT BE-COMES YOU'. If there had been no Charlie, who never, never let Elvis down...not once, there would not have been the Elvis who touched all of our lives. Elvis probably would have been heard, but certainly not developed his gifts to such extraordinary heights had Charlie not been his best friend. Charlie and I recalled a time when someone called him offstage for a minute, and Elvis said, "Charlie, when I glanced back there and you weren't there,...I panicked. I don't EVER want to do a show without you right with me EVER AGAIN." I am laughing now. If there is a "dimension" up or out there where people meet when they leave this physical body, I'll bet Elvis is finally happy at this moment. Perhaps someday they'll share this day's conversations with me? I am so envious to think they perhaps have the answers to all of the questions we pondered, attempted to puzzle out, only to realize that as Charlie said, "It's time to stop now...rest our minds...", and then he'd quote a Scripture,..."All knowledge is vain". Elvis and I and Charlie knew the answers must be there, or we wouldn't have the questions. We almost drove ourselves into total exhaustion while "thinking", then refreshed ourselves by just practicing quieting our minds, and just going blank, just "feeling".
He (Charlie) said, "Kathy, don't worry about me! Worry just saps your energy. Let's "see in our mind's eye...you and I performing together all over the world, and it shall be so". Jennifer positive in her attitude, said, "Don't worry about Charlie! He's doing so much better. We'll be going home."We made a deal near the end of our conversation. I can't see how that's possible now, but somehow....I know we ARE together.
When I got the message this afternoon that he passed away, I went into a rage, cried, fell on my knees, assumed the "meditation position" he and Elvis and I practiced, then REAL-"EYES-ED"...Charlie did not want me to cry for long. He wants me to BE STILL...AND KNOW...
When he became tired and weaker after talking, laughing, and we said our last "bye-bye"...I just told him, "REST...We'll talk soon, and keep visualizing ourselves together....and it WILL BE-COME US."
I love you, CHARLES,
Minnie Mouse

ForJennifer, Mrs. Charles Hodge,
Please know that I am thinking now of you, keeping you in the light, as you journey through this difficult time.I look so forward to seeing you face to face, in person. You are loved by me, because Charlie loved you, and you loved him so.
Love,
Kathy