I Try to Think About Elvis, Memphis,...

I went on a very tiring business trip this week. First I went to Raleigh, and then I flew to Atlanta, and then it ended in Memphis. 5 flights in 4 days (well, actually 5 days, I'll explain later) - frankly, it was too much for me. But my last day, being in Memphis, since my flight wasn't until almost 7pm, I went to meet the King and visit Graceland.

Is Elvis still alive? I looked in the crowds, but I didn't see him. Frankly folks, after seeing his home, I don't think the man faked his own death and is living somewhere else. But who knows?

Elvis bought Graceland when he was 22, for $100,000 - the house, the large property, the barn, the farm equipment, all sorts of stuff. Later, he added a racquetball court/facility and paid more than $200,000 for just the one building. Hmmm...

I'm not so great at visiting places alone. I kind of wish I took notes. There was stuff said on the self guided, walking tour dialogue that I really wanted to talk to someone about, but didn't have anyone to say it to. Here are some pictures (flashes are not allowed, and they don't light the rooms well - sorry the photos are dark) and some of my commentary for what it's worth..

Oh, and tours aren't allowed upstairs. They say it is out of respect to Elvis that his living quarters are off-limits. Really? What kind of kinky stuff are they trying to hide???

The main room has two of these
Peacock windows
It was not mentioned if they were original to the home?
Or if Elvis added them?
Peacocks are the males (peahens the females)
The males have the feathered tails
They are the showy ones
Did Elvis think of himself as a peacock?

Here's his billiards room in the basement
Yes, that is fabric on all the walls

But not just on the walls, look up, it's on the ceiling too

Here's the TV room also in the basement
Quite the high tech room with three TVs mounted into the wall
Apparently Elvis learned that President Johnson had three TVs
Each tuned to the major networks' (ABC, NBC, CBS) news
President Johnson didn't want to miss anything reported on the news
Elvis didn't want a US president to one up him

Using blue and yellow was apparently quite trendy
Have you noticed the reflection up top?

The repetitive theme in another room of the basement
There's a whole lot of mirrors - see the table?

And the wall around the fireplace?

And the ceiling
A really bad shot
This was actually a test shot to see if it would work
I got some weird looks, so didn't feel comfortable taking another

Who really would like to have a mirror room?
A peacock who likes to admire his feathers?

Here's the pool out back
Elvis added the pool
I thought it was kind of small
For sure it's smaller than my grandparents' pool
(Guess my grandparents are richer than Elvis)

The other buildings on the property have mostly been turned into show halls
Walls lined with gold and platinum records
I learned that Elvis one three Grammy awards
The Grammy awards were for gospel music though
Never his rock 'n' roll
I also learned that Elvis never performed outside of the US
Imagine if international superstars today did not perform internationally
I thought this suit was funny
Click on it to see the bigger image
See the name of the suit?
Ignore the accent for the appropriate pronunciation
ha ha ha

More trivia: Elvis met Priscilla when she was fourteen, he twenty-four. According to her, it wasn't all so innocent. Though they didn't marry until 8 years later. Also, I learned (or rather figured out) that Lisa Marie was born exactly, to the day, 9 months after Elvis and Priscilla married. (What do you expect - there were all these dates and numbers everywhere and my mind is quick with math.) Oh, and the divorce, because of Priscilla's unfaithfulness...

So his Grammy awards were for gospel music
He talked about being religious
I'm not sure what what this religion this statue represents?

Elvis is buried on the property
Or at least his casket is
(Isn't that what caused the hoopla
- an empty casket, so he must not be dead?)
His mother, father and grandmother's caskets were moved to the property too

And like JFK, Elvis has an eternal flame at the head of his grave site

I wasn't really impressed with what I learned about Elvis. He did do a lot of good. I did learn that. He was very generous with his money. I think people were a little too judgmental with the name-calling, like "pelvis Elvis," - and their just filming him above the waist. But honestly, I can't say I've ever seen his controversial dance moves, though I seem to recall a quick clip in Forest Gump maybe? So I found a performance on YouTube


Maybe at the time this was bad???

There were soundbites of interviews with him in the tour dialogue, and listening to him talk, I think his music was influential yes, and he opened up the doors for many musicians. But I think he tried too much to be influential with how he thought people should act and behave. He said that kids should not be held back by their parents. He said kids should be free to express themselves however they want. I agree to an extent, but I've had too many friends who's parent must have been Elvis followers and instead of being a parent and teaching their children, they allowed them to over explore. I found a really cool blog entry that discusses this if you want to read it - it's much shorter than my blog entry today. Or there are always these wise words: Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations. I don't think Elvis would agree with this statement. Too bad. I trust the writers of these words above Elvis's opinion.

Elvis obviously loved and appreciated his parents. Though instead of buying them a home as many celebrities do, he brought them to live with him at Graceland. So almost role reversal - he acted over his parents... ironic?

But back to Graceland - there was one thing that I absolutely loved about the grounds. The Meditation Garden. I wish I had one. I want my own one day. I wouldn't want to be buried there though (the eternal flame and grave markers are part of it.) I loved the wall surrounding the Garden. These are shots of the four stained glass windows in the wall.

So beautiful!

I think Elvis was a confused person. He definitely liked the limelight (which is one of the reasons why I don't think he's in hiding folks.) It was interesting listening to the comments of people around me. Many of them were comparing Elvis to Michael Jackson as both deaths resulted from their drug abuse. I was taken back by how many people were justifying Presley and Jackson's actions. "No wonder they were taking drugs. Who could handle such a busy lifestyle without some helpful stimulation?" WHAT??? Oh people. What a shame you feel that way!

Anyway, I finally found someone to take a picture of me to show I really was there. Here it is:

I'm trying to also show my wet pant cuffs
It was a really rainy day, so not a lot of people
But the parking lot, it was a pool
Soaked my pants and shoes

Parking: $10 (steep - I wasn't expecting this)
Admission: $28 for mansion tour only, and then goes up from there
Learning about an American Icon: well, I wouldn't necessarily say priceless... but it was interesting to learn so much about the King.