I’m surprised that I haven’t shared this story from my 2008 trip to the Elvis Week Candlelight Vigil. This was the last year that I went on this trip by myself. I didn’t take the tour. I didn’t take many pictures. I remember not being that enthusiastic about the trip. I was talking to interesting people, but none stand out in my mind like Howard from Georgia.
I was walking back to the main visitor’s center from the Elvis tent when I saw someone a man who was dressed like he was trying to look like Elvis. This is not uncommon, but this man was one of the ones that didn’t look much like Elvis. He had sideburns and a jet-black 1950’s hairstyle. He had polyester pants and 1970’s style shirt. He wore a big, jumpsuit-style belt. I stared at him a little too long so when we made eye contact, I knew I was going to have to talk to him.
I asked if he was performing at the Elvis tent. From his reply I could tell that he wasn’t a singer but maybe in the past he had tried to sing. He talked about how much he loved Elvis. He also talked about his mother’s love for Elvis. Then he started talking about his brother. He told me that his brother had gotten into some bad things before he died but he knew he was in heaven because his mother had prayed for him. Howard got emotional about it and started crying. This is not the type of encounter you expect at Elvis Week but isn’t unprecedented. I think some people come to Elvis Week to tell their stories. Sometimes those stories are marginally related to Elvis. I’m there to hear stories so this is right up my alley. Before we parted ways, Howard asked for my address. He told me he wanted to send me something. I told him my address and quickly forgot about it.
About a week later, I received an envelope in the mail. When I saw the return address, I didn’t recognize the name. I’m not sure if he told me who he was that day. On the outside of the envelope, he had written “Picture Enclosed Do Not Bend”. On the inside was a note and a picture. Here is what the note said:
This is the picture he sent:
It’s not exactly what I think of when I think of an Elvis jumpsuit. But this picture captures Howard’s devotion to Elvis and his personality completely. I’ve never seen Howard again.