They were more normal than Marlene Mayle who told me about the wild party at the Days Inn the night before and talking to the crippled Hawaiian Elvis impersonator that everyone gave a standing ovation out next to the pool.
They were more normal than Travis Persuad. Travis is a tribute artist who is from Toronto who has only been singing for 3 years. His parents are originally from India. In addition to being a tribute artist, he has a detailing business on the side. He really wanted me to email Danny, the guy that runs the Elvis tent and request him as a performer next year.
They were more normal than the lady that I saw in the wheelchair being pushed away from the visitor center. I couldn’t tell if she was normally in a wheelchair or had been overcome by the heat. I saw her later at the candlelight vigil. She was slumped over in her wheelchair with a wet towel around her neck. She looked like she was barely hanging on but I think she probably always looked that way.
They were more normal that the old Jewish guy with the bushy eyebrows trying to look like Elvis but coming across more like Eugene Levy’s Sid Dither’s character from SCTV. He even had a huge star of David around his neck.
They were more normal than the girl from the Billy Graham Ministries I met in the parking lot handing out tracks that give the “Steps to Peace with God”.
They were more normal than the young man in the black jumpsuit in a wheelchair. I don’t know if he was going to perform or not but it was way to hot to be in a black jumpsuit especially if you are in a wheelchair. I don’t care if you are under the tent. It’s shaded but there is little air stirring under the tent. He and his mom sat next to me when I was trying to get a picture of flip flop Elvis’ feet.
They were definitely more normal than the guys I saw in the parking lot when I first got there. They parked next to me. I moved my water to the back of my Jeep and they got out and the older man started spraying something on his neck. At first, I thought it was bug spray. I’ve never noticed bugs at Graceland. Then I realized it was sunscreen. The older man was huge and very pale. He handed the spray to his younger companion, possibly his son who appeared to be in his late teens or early 20’s. He told him, “spray this on your neck and rub it all around you and shit”. The old man asked me how to get to the place where they sell the tickets. I told him he could follow me. Then he couldn’t get the alarm set on his car because one of the doors wasn’t closed. “Ain’t that some shit” he said. I found out these sophisticates were from Alabama.
I took them to the visitor’s center and didn’t see them after that. I immediately started looking for souvenirs for the year. I always get a tee shirt and cap. I also bought a shirt for Terry White. Terry went with me on my first trip in 2002 and had requested a shirt. I always start my trip just looking at the memorabilia and I always find something new and different. I found the Elvis Mr. Potato head that someone had told me about before. They had a limit of 2 per customer. I saw a new Elvis version of Monopoly. It looked like the middle of the board was different but most of the game pieces and properties looked the same. It was probably just enough different that a hardcore Elvis fan would feel the need to have both.
I noticed that we were short on wine glasses and I said something about getting some at Graceland. Andrea said I should get some. So my wine glass search was on. Graceland must be under the assumption that Elvis fans are not wine drinkers. You can easily find shot glasses, martini glasses, hi-ball glasses and beer mugs. The wine glasses are not so easy to find. I was able to find to styles. Both of them were small. The ones I didn’t get were blue with a bulky pewter type Graceland gates thing stuck on the side. The ones I got had a picture of Elvis on one side and “Love me Tender” on the other. They also came with charms for each glass. Later I also got a pot holder with picture of Elvis and a recipe for barbeque on it because it was cheap.
When it is as hot as it was, you can only spend so much time outside. You have to plan when to get something to drink, when to go in and cool off and when you are going to eat. In the past, I have picked between a Chinese buffet and KFC. The buffet was horrible and I have discouraged many people from going there. I guess it got really bad because this year the building wasn’t even there. The KFC was one of the many places where I noticed shorter lines. When I was purchasing shirts and caps, the lines were relatively long but as the day wore on, I noticed fewer people actually buying things than in years past. There was a line for the tour of the house when I first got there, but most of the time there was no line at all. Why would you pay $69 for the VIP package of the tour to move to the front of the line when there is no line? Sure you get access to exhibits that you don’t get to see with the $34 premium package but I think that’s just stuff that they have removed from the regular tour. Trish from Australia had the VIP package, but she is old and her money won’t do anything for her after she is dead. When Trish and people like her gone, I still think people will want to come and see Graceland, but they won’t come in large numbers. Elvis week won’t have the same buzz that it has now. It’s already scaling down because of fewer fans. The people who run Graceland know this and are scaling back too. They no longer have the big screen out on the lawn with video going. They have even scaled back on the Candlelight vigil. In the past few years, they would give you a candle when you got there for the ceremony and another one when you went through the gates to go to the memorial garden. They would encourage you to keep your candle lit throughout the ceremony. This year, they only gave out candles at the visitor center. They encouraged you to light your candle for the photo-op and then extinguish it until you actually went through the gates. I guess it’s harder to buy candles for everyone when you don’t have as many people spending money in the gift shops.
The candlelight vigil is always a highlight of the trip. Because you spend more time with the people next to you in line, you get to know them better than anyone else. First, I met an old lady and her son standing behind me. The son is working in Memphis but they are from Northern California. Behind them was a family from New York. In front of me was a family from France. Their English was horrible. A husband, wife and two daughters. One of the daughters spoke better English than the rest. Soon, a camera crew and two couples from France broke line behind me. I’ll probably show up in some French Elvis documentary. So now I had French in front of me and behind me. I introduced them to each other and they talked to each other for a long time. In French. The documentary couples behind me were rude and I thought they were going to break in front of me. Then they suddenly disappeared. I think their crew got them moved up in the line. We had lost California granny and her son a long time ago. So now I’m standing next to the New York family. The dad was Dean. He was my age and looked a little bit like a flat faced Ernie Kovacs. He was a big Elvis fan and the reason they were there. The mom was Lauren. She was not an Elvis fan. She realized how big this trip was for her husband. She was patient but the heat and the wait was pushing her about as far as she could take it. She showed a huge amount of restraint for a New Yorker. Jordan was there 12 year old daughter and she would be best described as slow. She introduced herself several times. She told me several times what time she gets home from school in the afternoon. She was obsessed with Elvis horses and told me more than once that the black one with the white lightening bolt mark on its nose is named Candy. She didn’t like it when the hot wax dripped on her hands and leg. Dean was fascinated by Southern hospitality and the whole Graceland experience. He told me that in a strange way, he was happy that it was as hot as it was because that was how it was when Elvis died. Lauren said she couldn’t understand that. I told Dean about my friend Sally and her Elvis story. It’s one of my favorites. She lived in Memphis when Elvis died. When her mother heard the news, she made Sally and her brother dress in their 70’s Sunday finest and go to Graceland. This meant a dress with hose for Sally and a suit and tie for her brother. They joined a crowd of people in tee shirts, cutoff shorts and halter tops. They waited for a long time to get into Graceland in the hot August weather of Memphis with really nothing happening. A short time after they left, they started letting people in.
I also found out that Dean had accidentally wiped out 250 pictures on the memory card of his camera late in the afternoon. It included all of the pictures of their trip to Tupelo and their tour of Graceland. He planned to get up the next morning while the rest of the family was still at their hotel and take the tour again just to get another set of pictures. He got out of line during the vigil to go over to the horses and get more pictures of Jordan and Candy. While they were there, that was when I found out about how Lauren really felt about the whole trip. She knew how important it was to Dean but thought it was all a bit much. When Dean and Jordan returned, we made our way to the gravesite. Jordan continued to talk about the horses and told me at least one more time when she gets home from school. We parted ways after we came out of the gates.
It’s people like Dean and his family that are the reason that return to Graceland every year. They are a bit obsessed and crazy, but they are genuine too. We all have our things that we are obsessed and crazy about. Most of us don’t have a place where we can go to share those obsessions. I think I’ll continue to go to this thing as long as it still happens to meet people line Dean.