HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A lot of us have two gigs we work. Sometimes those gigs are very different from each other, but we're not sure there's anyone quite like this 87-year-old man.
Some people like having a full day, just being on the move. Don Osaile is one of those people.
"Everywhere I go, they know me," he said. "I've been cutting grass here for 30 years."
For the day job, Osaile mows for the city of Hendersonville. In his late 80s, Osaile said staying active is key to living a productive life.
"I feel like your body's sort of like a car. You take a car, you park it. You go for months and never drive it, when you get back in it, it's not the same. There's something wrong with it. If I quit and sit down, I wouldn't last very long."
If this is the day job, that means there's a night job. It was quiet on the streets of Orlinda Thursday night. That's because everyone seemed to be at the Byrum-Porter Senior Center.
Osaile walked in front of a cheering crowd dressed in a jumpsuit and began a song set.
"I've been doing Elvis for 65 years," Osaile said. "When I get up and do my thing, they're hollerin' and carrying on. I enjoy making people happy. People enjoy it when I sing."
He recalled back in the 50s, the first time he heard Elvis. It was 'That's All Right' on the radio.
"I went down on Broadway in Nashville and bought me a $13 guitar," Osaile said. "I started pickin' a little bit."
That's what started him performing as Elvis. He now gigs around middle Tennessee, wherever he's invited.
For the people at the senior center, Osaile is undoubtedly an inspiration.
"I mean, he's 87 years old, and he's out here and rockin' and rollin'!" said Sheri Link of the Byrum-Porter Senior Center.
As for how long Osaile will balance the best of both worlds; "As long as the good Lord will let me," he said.
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
Fundraising efforts are underway in Brownsville and Nutbush, TN to build a statue for a major superstar who was raised there, Anna Mae Bullock. You probably know her by her stage name, Tina Turner. I was a huge fan of Tina and glad to see efforts are underway to showcase more of her ties to West Tennessee.
-Lelan Statom
