Fly on the Wall
Several people that I didn’t talk to entertained me this year. It was odd to be in a restroom and hear someone in a stall singing Treat Me Mean and Cruel. At Graceland, you can expect to hear many people singing any number of Elvis songs, but that one seems inappropriate for restroom singing.
I had never seen a lady changing clothes in the back of a van in the parking lot of Graceland until this year. The door was open, and she was standing in the door of the van. A lady was standing in front of her with a large towel to cover her. But the lady with the towel had her back to the lady changing clothe making her aim imperfect. Still, I don’t see anything I shouldn’t see.
Later I overheard a conversation between a tribute artist and a lady who was recounting meeting him years earlier. I heard him reply twice, “I remember!” in a half-hearted voice while looking off disinterested.
Vigil Friends
It has been a couple of years since I have stood in line to go to the gravesite during the candlelight vigil ceremony. When I do this, I get in line early so I get done earlier in the evening. This also creates a situation where I’ve am around a group of people in the line longer than most of the others I encounter during Elvis Week so I usually get to know them a little better. For the group of Brazilians in line behind me, this was their first Elvis week but second Graceland trip. When I asked if I could take a picture with them, the lady in the picture next to me said “Elvis Makes friends”. They saw some other Brazilians at a better place in line, so they moved to join them.
There was a Lady from Louisville who was there for her first vigil. She said she had been working a job in Montana but got laid off, so she was able to come to Elvis Week. She also told us that back in January, she was working a job in New Jersey but got laid off, so she was able to come to Lisa Marie’s funeral. I’m not sure what she does for a living, but she gets laid off a lot. It was the first vigil for the couple from Alabama in front of me. The three ladies behind me from Alabama have been to the vigil every year for 23 years and they also come at Christmas.
Final Thoughts
The overall feel of the vigil ceremony was a downer. Right before the vigil, they had a memorial event that was a paid event that I didn’t attend. Observing people leaving that activity and heading directly to the vigil line, they were in a more somber mood than what you usually get at the vigil. This set the tone for the vigil. One of the featured songs during the vigil was a duet by Elvis and Lisa Marie called Where No One Stands Alone. It was during this song that I wrote in my notes that the crowd was overcome with tears, grief, and the odor of Off mosquito repellant.
This being the 20th time I’ve gone to Elvis Week, I’ve seen a lot of changes. The special paid events they hold give the hard-core Elvis fans more to do than in the past. It also gives the event more of a corporate feel than the carnival atmosphere it had during my earlier visits. Pricilla had spoken at the vigil ceremony the previous 2 years but with Lisa Marie gone and her daughter taking over, it seemed liked Pricilla wasn’t welcome. There were times when there was no one in line to take the tour, but most of the people there were either in the Music Pavilion or the paid events. You don’t stand outside at Elvis Week anymore. You are in air-conditioned buildings safe from Memphis August heat and jumpsuit wearing impersonators. But the Brazilian woman got it right when she told me that Elvis Makes Friends. I still had opportunities to hear people share their mutual admiration for Elvis. He provides a common experience that translates into a common language for this special group of people. If you go ready to talk to them and listen, you have an experience like no other.
