The highlight of the trip is usually the line for the vigil and this year was no exception. There was a young couple in line behind us from St. Louis. He was the big Elvis fan in the family. They had been to Graceland before but never for the candlelight vigil. I really enjoyed talking to this couple. I believe the man told me that Elvis died the year before he was born. This amazes me and speaks to Elvis’ talent and the continuing marketability of his music and films. He is one of those few people that stands out as really special.
Two other people ended up between me and the rest of my party. After a while, Tina introduced me to one of the ladies and said she was a hula instructor. Tina knew that I would be fascinated with a hula instructor. She was right. It’s not every day that you run into a hula instructor from Cleveland (that’s right, Cleveland), who is a founding member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and is also into Reiki (if you don’t know what that is, I suggest you Google it right now).
Change was also in the air for the candlelight vigil ceremony. Two years ago, Priscilla and Lisa Marie made an appearance and spoke to the crowd during the ceremony. Priscilla was at Graceland last year but didn’t make an appearance during the vigil. This year, they were both back and participating in a way that was new. After the Elvis Country Fan Club usually conducts the ceremony, they start letting fans come through the gates, lighting their candles from torches lit by the eternal flame at the gravesite. This year, they played music after the readings of the ceremony while Lisa Marie, accompanied by her twin daughters, brought the torch from the gravesite. She cast an eerie, ghostly image wearing a long white dress with her daughters in similar white dresses. She wore her hair long. Lisa Marie’s husband and Priscilla join them at the podium. Priscilla spoke and then Lisa Marie stepped up to the mike. She paused before she spoke, giving someone in the crowd enough time to shout out, “We love you, Lisa!” She was tentative as she replied, “I love you too.”
I think Lisa Marie really struggles with her feelings toward her father’s fans. I think this is why she has been out of the spotlight so much during the previous years during Elvis Week. My mom passed away 10 years ago and I miss her very much but it would be odd for me if there were a group of people who held a ceremony in honor of her every year on the anniversary of her death. With the solemnness of the ceremony, it’s almost like a yearly funeral service. And you don’t really know what the relationships were like in that family when he died. Her parents were divorced and she lived with her mother. That environment is tough on a family when you aren’t in the public spotlight. Earlier in the day, we had been in the “Sincerely Elvis” exhibit hall. I had mentioned to David that the first time I took the tour, they had furniture and other items from Lisa Marie’s bedroom on display there. Your bedroom was on display for millions of your father’s fans to see. No wonder complete strangers speak to her like they know her. I’m sure that she appreciates her father’s fans. I know she has to be grateful for their love for her father and the fact that their devotion and money gave her a lifestyle she would have otherwise been without. I think the change that was in the air could be Lisa Marie embracing her father’s legacy as she prepares to turn this celebration into something that makes her more comfortable. If this is what she is doing, I wish her well.
After the vigil ceremony, we went back to visit gift shops. Tina wanted to buy her son a souvenir. In the previous years, she had bought her son the ’68 Comeback Special Mr. Potato Head and the Blue Hawaii Mr. Potato Head. She wanted to get him the Mr. Potato Head in a jumpsuit. While the jumpsuit may have been back at the Elvis tent, the Elvis Jumpsuit Mr. Potato Head was out of fashion at the gift shops. As a matter of fact, Mr. Potato Head was hard to find at all at the gift shops. The only one they were carrying was the ’68 Comeback Special model and even that was hard to find. When Tina was checking out with her alternate gift purchase, we asked the lady at the register how late the gift shops would be open. I had never shopped in them after the vigil so I had no idea. She told us probably 2 AM.
We left well before 2 AM and made a stop at Waffle House. This is an occasional Elvis Week tradition for me. It was especially desirable this year because we didn’t get much during the earlier meal. Everyone was at least a little hungry. When we were done eating, we went to the counter to pay. I was last in line. There were three black ladies in the booth next to the checkout. One of them had a rainbow colored dress that caught my eye. She also had on a light sweater. When I gave her a second look, I realized that it wasn’t a dress but just a top. A bikini top. After midnight at Waffle House. It was August but I don’t think she had been to a late night pool party. I think her friends would have been in swimwear too. I didn’t get a good look at any of the other women’s outfits to tell exactly what they were wearing. The lady sitting next to bikini woman was wearing something that exposed much cleavage but her outfit blended in better with her skin tone. I would have had to stare even more that I was to have been able to make out what she was wearing. And then it might have gotten weird. When I was telling my friends about this on the way back to the car, had not seen the bikini woman and asked why she was wearing it. I said I thought she was advertising. I was afraid that if I stared any more, she might think I was interested in buying. And I wasn’t.