Memphis -- The Sixth Day

It's Saturday

(Left click on the pictures for a larger image.)

Today is much cooler. Clouds are building. It may rain. You can left click on the images to get a larger view.

We went to Tupelo, Elvis' birthplace. The fact that the fans have preserved The King's actual birth home, which is nothing more than a shack in a part of town referred to as "across the tracks", quite a tribute.

It's 90 plus miles from Graceland to Tupelo. It seems so ironic, he passed on only 90 miles from his birth place. Fans not only preserved his birthplace, they built a chapel and a museum, and erected a statue to the 12-year-old Elvis.

The museum is very nice. It centers in on Elvis' Tupelo years, and how the family lived. Bet you did not know that Elvis' father, Vernon, was sent to prison for forging a $4 check? That's right! The incident probably led to Elvis, his mother Gladys, and his father moving to Memphis.

We stopped by Elvis' church for a quick picture. Later we visited Tupelo Hardware Co. The story goes that Elvis wanted a hunting rifle. Gladys purchased a guitar for $7. An "X" on the floor marks the spot where Elvis received the "magical" guitar. If $7 was an investment, then what a return on investment that was!

We we arrived at the hardware store at 12:20 p.m. The sign on the door said it closed at noon. As we started to walk away, a grey-haired man stepped out and said, "Y'all come on in. We'll stay open fer ya." I'm glad he did. When we walked inside there were at least 20 people hearing the story of Gladys, Elvis, and the "magical" guitar from a store guide.

I noticed that the visitors were reverent in respect to the "X" on the floor. (See picture.)

The store guide was into telling yarns, too. "Last week Prince Albert of Monico flew in. He was standing on the "X" when I told him what it was. He immediately stepped back. I told him, 'Prince, if you step on that "X" too long, your lip will curl'. He laughed and stepped up to stand on it." The visitors laughed.

The hardware store was selling souvenirs, too. Each with an inscription, "Tupelo Hardware. Where Gladys bought her son his first guitar."

"We can't say Elvis, because it is copyrighted," the store guide said.

I purchased a harmonica (I'm practicing), a post card, and a key chain shaped like a guitar -- all with the inscription.

Sandi walked across the street and purchased a handbag with a picture of the 1957 Elvis Tupelo reunion. He returned to Tupelo and performed at the fair. That arena has since been razed. Another Elvis moment lost.

On the way back to Memphis, we ran into two rain storms. We were glad! After we returned it rained again. The heat has been broken.

We will be returning to Texas tomorrow. It looks like the water problem has gone away. The propane detector finally started working.

Memphis -- The Fifth Day

It's Friday.



First, thanks for the responses and comments. The water problem in the Casita is all but gone. Perhaps there may be some water behind the cabinets or under the seats. I will have to unload everything when we get back. Right now, the carpet is dry every where we can see. I gave up on getting the propane detector to operate. (Oh well!)

We got "home" well past midnight and got up past 8 a.m. The heat wave may be over! The forecast is for only 98 today! Hope there are no more heat related deaths.

When we got to our Casita home last night, we heard on the radio that more miners were killed in Utah! That's very disconcerting!

We've enjoyed the interviews from the old Memphis Mafia on Sirius Satellite Radio. They have been telling some great stories of the days with Elvis on tour and at Graceland. For those who don't remember, the Memphis Mafia was what the men who grew up with Elvis and work for The King during his career was called. They were and are renouned for their loyalty and devotion. They include George Klein who has a regular show on Sirius' Elvis Channel 13. Jerry Schilling who has a new book. Joe Esposito was another old Elvis friend. Dick Grobb was another. Red West was another. All grew up with Elvis in Memphis and remain loyal. Charlie Hodge was another. Hodge sang harmony with Elvis and is now passed on. Larry Geller was another.

Last night, George Klein was being interviewed. He remembered that Elvis would be cracking jokes before a show. About two minutes before the show Elvis would become very quiet, Klein said. He would be thinking about what he was going to do, he remembered. Sometimes Elvis would do something completely different, Klien said. He even put in a new song, he said.

This morning we spent the most time ever in the Casita. We are finding is more and more confortable as we get used to it. It's very quiet at night. The air conditioner is better since I learned how to operate the thermostat control. Ha Ha!

I found a nice out of the way place in a cabinet to put the radio. I want to install an outside antenna for the Sirius Satellite Radio. Incidcently, we have two Sirius receivers -- one in the car and one in the Casita.


We walked to Graceland Plaza to take the "Tour". Sandi got reservations for the 2 o'clock tour months ago. The lines were horrendous. All tours were more than one hour late. That is convenient for them perhaps. Those waiting on the tours were in the curio shops. So we went to the Elvis car museum. This museum featured the pink Cadillac that he gave his mother, who never drove it. It also contains the grape colored Caddy which Elvis drove to a shop, smashed some grapes on the hood and said, "Paint it that color!"

While waiting on the tour, we struck up a conversation with Tina and Alan from Scotland. They had been here since last Saturday and had taken the mansion tour every day! Wow!

Once inside Graceland, I tried to get those little shots with my Nikon D200 that no one else ever gets. I was looking for the little things. So we went through the living room, the dining room, the kitchen, dowstairs to the TV room and the pool room, up stairs to the Jungle Room, out into the Elvis Museum, and outside to the garage, Vernon's office, Elvis' firing range, the back of Graceland, and the Trophy room. Then we saw the racquet ball court where a most magnificent display of gold, platinum, and double platinum records are displayed along with some of his jump suits. The awards in the Racquet Ball Court were what he had received since he died. Then we toured the Meditation Garden for the second time in three days.

While in the garden we met up with four people from Canada who we met two days before at the Alfred Wertheimer book signing. They were Christina, Jenn, Nicole, and Jim. I got photos of Sandi explaining all the details of the Meditation Garden to Jenn.

After boarding the bus and returning to the Plaza, we toured the Elvis Jumpsuit Museum, which was new this year. I remember a Elvis quote on the wall: "If they don't like the songs I'm singing, we can always do a medley of costumes." Ha Ha!

We stopped for ice cream and met two Britishers from Essex. They were Londoners who had moved to Essex, Sandi corrected me. They had wonderful stories about first hearing of Elvis.

In Britain, once the only independent pop music radio was only available from an entreprener who purchased a sea-going vessel and set up a radio station in international waters between England and Denmark. That station was the first experience with Elvis music for many British fans. Another source for the pop-starved Brits was Radio Luxembourg or American Armed Forces Radio.

After touring the mansion, we went up town Memphis again. This time we stopped in at The Pig. This Beale Street restaurant serves barbecue with an attitude. Actually, it is Memphis' famous pulled pork barbecue. Afterward, we walked up and down a very crowded Beale Street and visited all the curio shops.

When on Beale Street we always visit Swabs. I'm not sure what to call Swabs. It's a relic out of the past. It is the old-time store that sells everything and nothing in particular. I'm not sure how it stays in business, but it is fun to see.

It was after midnight when we got back to the Casita.

Memphis -- The Elvis Concert

It's Thursday.

It continues to be hot in Memphis. On Wednesday, we stepped out of our Casita to find the police in the RV park. We thought someone had been overcome by the heat. But today we heard someone died. This is what the Memphis Commercial-Appeal newspaper said:

.

The searing summer temperatures contributed to the deaths of seven other people, including a New Jersey woman in Memphis for Elvis Week who died Wednesday in a tent behind the Heartbreak Hotel.

.

So someone did die! Perhaps it was an Elvis fan who ironically died on The Kings death day. The forecast is for milder temperatures on Friday.

.

We got up late after coming in a 5 a.m. from the vigil. We ate breakfast/lunch and sat around listening to Sirius Satellite radio. At 5 p.m. we dressed and drove downtown for the Elvis Concert.

.

We paid $93 for tickets and were seated on the ground floor. Not bad seats except for the lady in front of me who held her camera up over her head. I watched much of the concert through her viewfiender! Finally, a man got up and told her to put it down! She did for a short while. Another example of the entitlement generation and their self centered attitudes!

.

The concert is at the FedExForum. It's a nice arena. The concert was a conbination of a large screen video of Elvis singing with live performers. The live performers for the most part of Elvis' old TCB Band or the combo that accompanied him in the early days.

.

The show was a mix of 1970's, 1960's, and 1950's Elvis music. I enjoyed the 1950's music with old scenes from the Milton Berle Show and the Ed Sullivan Show.

.

The best part of the concert (my opinion -- not Sandi's) was a section on Elvis' Gospel music. Four of Elvis' Gospel groups who sang mostly backup were on stage. They sang gospels by the Jordanaires, the Stamps Quartet, The Sweet Inspirations, and The Imperials. Then there as a wrap up song with all four groups.

.

Sadly, some of the old gospel performers had passed on. One of the "missing" was J.D. Sumner, a Texas-born gospel singer who died a few years ago. They played his beautiful gospel song, Why Me Lord. This is a gospel song that brings tears to your eyes and won a Grammy Award for Elvis. The video screen featured Sumner and that deep, deep distinctive voice.

.

Priscilla Presley opened the second half with a walk through the crowd shaking hands. I thought that was 30 years too late. She kept repeating, "Don't I know you?" It made her sound like she was in a senile, drug-induced haze. Wow! Someone tell that lady to just SHUT UP!

.

Then little, thrice-divorced Lisa Marie sang a video "duet" with Elvis to the song, In the Ghetto. To refresh your memory, this is the theme song of the entitlement generation. It's a Mac Davis written tune about a Chicago-born youth who grows up, buys a gun, robs a store and gets shot in the head. (It's like we are susposed to care?) It's been written that Elvis did not want to record this song. He thought it was too political. Not so for Little Lisa Marie!

.

I like Paul Shanklin's version re-titled In a Yugo about a liberal guy and a liberal girl who wants to save the environment. They buy a Yugo, and get squished by a 18-wheeler hauling chickens on a LA freeway. That's a song with a REAL message!

.

Lisa was really terrible! When I see the over-weight Lisa Marie I think "Jacko's woman". She's so, shallow, transparent, and superficial it's ridiculious! She came on stage after the video performance and announced the tune was available for downloading on iTunes. Gag me with a spoon!

.

The remainder of the performance was very nice. Priscilla said that is the last performance of the show that has run worldwide for 10 years.

The audience stood up for the most memoriable American Trilogy. It's still one of Elvis' best songs.

.

Beale Street this year was a BIG disappointment! We tried to get in at the Kings Palace Restaurant, but found that it had turned into a smoking restaurant. Apparently, the smoking laws in Memphis has changed. We walked out. No way am I going to "smoke" someone else's smoke. We tried several other restaurants and found the same situation.

.

We walked to the west end and found Elvis Presley's Memphis Restaurant had re-opened as EP Delta Kitchen. Five years ago it was really nice. This time, it was a big, big, big disappointment. Not only had renovations not been completed, but the service was slow. They promised but served no bread with the meal. After we dined, they handed us a bill that attempted to over charge us by $18! We had to get them to correct the bill. If you are in Memphis, don't go to that restaurant.

.

We didn't bother to walk around Beale Street after that bad experience.

.

Sorry for the "dots" between paragraphs. That's the only way I could get elevation between paragraphs.

Memphis -- The Third Day

It's Wednesday.

We had planned get up early for the 7:30 a.m. Flat Elvis Ceremony. What happened? It was 8 a.m. before we got up. Sandi had a spitting headache.

The air conditioner was nice and cool after yesterday's beating sun. It was 62 degrees this morning inside the Casita.

We were still in the disaster recovery mode. I pulled up the plastic carpet runner and put it outside. Sandi purchased a fan, and we pointed it toward the wet carpet. Hope it works.

Meanwhile, it's hot. So we had lunch. It was microwaved! Just too hot to cook. I noticed that the temperature has been creeping up all day. It's 2 p.m., the air conditionser is straining. The inside temperture shows 83 degrees. At least we have a fan!

It's too hot for shorts and short sleeves. I'm changing into jeans. I have my wide-brimmed Indiana Jones hat. It's 100 Plus! I'm going out. (Mike Goode said that people have died in Memphis. I believe it!) Someone in this RV park was taken to the hospital.

On the way up to the Plaza, we stopped in at the Heart Break Hotel. The shops in the lobby were so full of fans I could not get in. I walked to the dining room. Everyone was seated watching an Elvis Las Vega$ performance. No one was talking! The hotel's menu still has the famous peanut butter and banana sandwiches. They are grilled in butter on Texas toast. Wow! Heart attack!

We walked up the hill and found the world famous Budweiser Clydesdales were also Elvis fans! These horses are celebrities. Their handlers had fans on their shaded stables. Armed guards were standing nearby. Sandi got to pet one. They had just sprayed them with water to keep them cool.

We walked on up to the Plaza Annex. While I got some fake "Elvis" shots, Sandi ducked into a shop. In a moment, she ran out and asked me to step inside. Famous Elvis Photographer Albert Wertheimer was about to start signing autographs. First some history: All of those old Elvis photos you are familiar with were shot by Wertheimer. He was a snot-nosed photog when the RCA publicity department gave him the assignment to follow the the "unknown" Elivs around for a while. Wertheimer rode with Elvis on a train back to Memphis. He caught images of Elvis in a concert, interacting with fans, sitting around on a train. He shot the famous kissing shot of Elvis with an unknown fan just before he went on stage.

We had to purchase a $71 Wertheimer photo book to get his signature. He was very nice and even got Sandi's picture.

Then we went to the ice cream store. While eating two ladies from British Columbia, Canada, asked to sit down. We spent the entire time talking about Elvis. What a hoot!

As we walked back to the Casita at 4:30 p.m. we noticed that fans had begun to line up for the Candlelight Vigil -- in 100-plus heat. Police and medical personal were everywhere. About 7 p.m. police will block off Elvis Presley Boulevard. After sunset, a ceremony will occur at the Meditation Garden. Then a flame which was lit from the Eternal Flame at Elvis' grave will come down the hill. Then fans will be given a candle. A long line of fans with candles will march up the hill and around the graves and come back. The lines should last well into the night.

We are waiting in the Casita for night.

We were please when we got back to the trailer. The temperature had fallen to 73 degrees. We think it was because we turned off the exhaust fan in the bathroom. With the door close, the bathroom heated up. We thought the exhaust fan would alleviate that. It did. We think the fan pulled in outside air also. Right now, we are pleased to just have the inside air being recirculated. Also the carpet is getting dry! The fan seems to be working.

We're going to listen to Sirius Satellite Radio's Elvis Channel until after dark. One thing that is working great! It's the solar panel. The battery is fully charged!

I've decided to post the blog now and then make updates later.

More coming .....