from my page-a-day calendar (Uncle John's Bathroom Reader):
Every Fourth of July at Graceland, Elvis and his entourage celebrated Independence day by shooting fireworks at each other. Wearing gloves and football helmets, "they would level arsenals of rockets and Roman candles at each other and blast away at point-blank range for hours," says Steve Dunleavy in Elvis: What Happened? According to Presley's aide Red West: "I've seen Elvis bend over a giant rocket and watch the thing go off, nearly blowing off his head. My brother has a scar on his chest where one of us tried to blow a rocket through him. The house caught fire twice."
happy birthday, america.
