accomplished dreams... - my visit to tupelo and memphis

ACCOMPLISHED DREAMS...
- MY VISIT TO TUPELO AND MEMPHIS -
By: Celia Carvalho (August 1997)
ACCOMPLISHED DREAMS...
- MY VISIT TO TUPELO AND MEMPHIS -
I had a dream... the dream of seeing Elvis before my eyes, talk with him, and listen to the story straight
from his mouth. Well... but that was really just a dream. I knew that would be impossible forever. So, I
began to dream if it would be possible to visit his house, the place where he had been born and all the
other places related to him. It was possible. I just needed a good spare of will and save very hard. Yes, it
would be difficult, since in the previous year I had bought an apartment completely by myself and I didn’t
know if the money would be enough. But God was on my side, I had enough money...! And I wanted to
be there during the 20th Anniversary of his death. I knew it would be something unforgettable and big.
My traveling companions were Sandra Raquel and Lu Ribeiro, two people that I’ve met through our
Portuguese fan club. When we found out we all shared the same dream and the same intentions, we
decided to do this trip together. For me, everything started from November 1994 onwards, when I started
saving for the trip in August 1997. I inscribed myself at the Arena Traveling Agency (the agency that deals
with the trips for the English fan club) in 1995 and kept on contacting them to deal with everything
necessary for my trip. In 1996, Sandra and Lu joined me and I started to take care of their trips, too. After
many joint adventures, the time went by and the day that we most looked forward to was nearer and
nearer - that day was the 8th of August.
8th of August - Friday
Lu arrives from the Algarve
This day started very early, since Lu (who had traveled from the Algarve during the previous day by train)
was coming to meet me in my house. Her husband would drop her at my house and fetch my luggage.
The reason for this were mainly two different things: to kill the time together before departing to London
and to not have to carry the luggage around Lisbon before going away. But something unexpected also
came up - this time, something pleasant.
Interview on TVI
TVI - which Lu contacted several times by phone and to whom I had sent two faxes to inform them on
our trip to Elvisland - contacted me to my job on the previous day. My workmates informed them that I
was on vacation and they called me home. It was a nice guy, Nuno Batista, who wanted to interview me
at my house before going away to England. My father would have a heart attack if that happened. Of
course Lu was ready to be interviewed, whatever the place. I called Sandra, who told me that she could
not be present, since she still had to go to the bank. I called Ana Cristina Henriques, to ask her if she could
take the morning of Friday off to stay home and be interviewed there. TVI wanted to interview us around
10 a.m., in time to appear in the news at 1.30 p.m. Ana could not be present and so could not Paulo.
Therefore, she gave me the key of her house and me and Lu went there and waited for TVI to arrive. They
got there just in time and the interview was smooth. They wanted us to sing, but without our usual gang
of boys, I didn’t feel comfortable enough...! At 11 a.m. we said goodbye to TVI and we left for Lisbon,
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where we should meet Sandra’s parents and Sandra, as well as Lu’s husband, to have lunch together in a
restaurant at Feira Popular (Popular Fair) before leaving. It was raining a bit. On that day the three of us
were with our T-Shirt on that our club had made to celebrate the anniversary and we kind of attracted
attention. After having met, we went to the restaurant, we ate a fine meal and we had the TV on on the
TVI channel to see if they put the promised news on the air. Sandra was anxious to see what they were
going to say and to see us on television...! When we finally showed up, she went running straight to the
TV set, to listen to everything they were saying, calling several peoples’ attention. They noticed that her TShirt was exactely the same as the ones on TV (mine and Lu’s) and started looking around. Of course they
were astonished to see that it were really us on TV on that moment...! Ana and Paulo had already taken
care of business to tape record everything on TV related to Elvis while we would be away, so we were
relaxed.
Departure to London
Our plane to London was at 4.55 p.m. At 3 p.m. we went to the airport, thrilled and hopeful. At the
airport, a friend of Sandra arrived to say goodbye - Lena - and I was really surprised when I turned around
and saw Ana and Paulo. Ana had told me that she had to go to the dentist on that afternoon and I
believed her. After all, they had come to say goodbye. Lena took several photos of all of us, mainly of Lu
with her magnificent bouquet of 20 red roses that she planned to put on Elvis’ grave. We stayed there for
a while, but then we said good bye and we checked-in. We entered “our” plane of British Airways with
Gatwick-London as our destination. The name of the plane was funny - Mistress Quickly. Everyone was
picking on us, since we were wearing the same T-Shirts and the same pins. Sandra’s father had done some
special and unique pins based on a drawing that I had done. So, noone had pins like ours. Many people
thought we were going to attend the big concert in Wembley. Little did they know...! The flight was a bit
shaky. Let’s say that the cups and platters jumped a little bit. We had to travel always with our seat-belts
fastened. I started wondering if it would be difficult to find Jeane at the airport. Once again she had
decided to meet me, traveling, for that purpose, from the north of England, just to see me. I missed her a
lot, since the last time we had met had been in October 1993.
Arrival at London
After all, after collecting our luggage, I spotted Jeane in a second in the middle of the crowd. She looked
the same. We caught a taxi to the hotel that I had booked in June - Gatwick Skylodge Hotel. The taxi was
very comfortable and different from all the taxis we are used to see in Portugal. Of course that it was very
strange, once again, to travel on the “wrong” side of the road and to see all the drivers sitting on the
“wrong” side of the car...! I got there very quickly, since I had picked that hotel precisely for being near
the airport - we were going to need to go back to the airport on the following day to depart to America
and it was convenient to save money in transportation. Jeane had already left her luggage in one of the
rooms that I had booked for her and me and we immediately went there to drop our luggage, too. The
hotel was unbearably hot. And they didn’t have air-conditioning, since in England, as it’s very rare to have
hot weather, they are prepared against the cold and not against the heat. I phone called my mother to
tell her everything went okay and asked her to call Lu’s daughters and Sandra’s mother. When we came
downstairs to have a cold drink, I bumped into several Elvis’ fans who were there with the same purpose
than we were - Derek, Margret, Vera, Joyce and June. We sat outside at the table until it was dark. We
talked a lot about Elvis and several other things. We also found out that this group of fans was going to
leave early than we were and that their flight was going to stop in Dallas instead of Atlanta, as we were. I
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immediately found out that we were never going to meet the the whole bunch of 950 fans that were
going to America on the following day, as I had always imagined. Through Vera I also found out that she
was going to be present at the ceremony of the 11th August in Memphis, when Elvis was going to be
given 100 gold records, for his sales abroad. I already knew that I could not be present, since at that time
- 10 a.m. - I was going to be still in Tupelo. Anyway, only a few people could be there - namely, the
presidents and vice-presidents of some Elvis Fan Clubs. Vera managed to get an invitation through a
president of a branch of the English fan club and she was quite happy to be able to go. At the same time,
I also found out that she had a ticket for sale that I’d really like to buy. We had chosen several optional
tours for the US and there was one that we could not choose for being sold out. The tickets were already
sold out in April and, ever since, we stayed in the waiting list without being able to get them. The
particular event was a cruise at the Mississippi River by night, with a concert on board given by a group
that admired Elvis’ music. Vera had a ticket, but there were 3 of us. I thought I could ask about that to
Kathy Williams - the person that I knew to be our Travel Manager in the US and with whom we had to
meet on the following day at 11 a.m. to collect our polo-shirt - a give-away by the traveling agency. Jeane
was confident that we were going to get the tickets, althought I found the time too short for that...
Already in our rooms, Jeane surprised me with something that I wasn’t really expecting. She asked me,
“Do you have enough room in your suitcase?” “Why?” I asked. “Because I have a book here that I would
like you to keep.” And then she showed me a book by Sean Shaver, one of his most famous ones, The Life
Of Elvis Presley, with hardback cover, big and full of nice photos that Sean took along the years that he
chased Elvis around. It was on the heavy side, that was why Jeane was worried. “But do you really want
me to keep it? Do you have another one?” She told me she did. I started looking through it, marveled
with the amount of photos that I had never seen before... I wasn’t really counting on that. I think that
with the surprise I even forgot to thank my friend accordingly...!
Needless to say that I haven’t slept much on that night. It wasn’t just the heat - it was also the fact of
knowing that we would be off to America on the following day. For a number of days now I was saying
that I was only going to believe it when I would be inside that plane to Atlanta. Lu’s roses were taking the
trip pretty well, considering the adventures that they had already went through and the heat. But I had a
water sprayer and they looked quite good.
9th of August - Saturday
Gatwick Airport
In the morning we had the most Portuguese breakfast we could (!) and we said good bye to Jeane who,
saddly, had to catch the train very early. Meanwhile, we had already taken several photos. We called for a
taxi and off we went to the airport, once again. I read the instructions that Arena Travel had sent me to
know how to find the check-in area and Kathy. It was quite easy. We decided to check-in immediately.
They asked us a few questions, weighted our bags, handed us our boarding passes, etc. Oh, yes. My bag
weighted 9 kg. So, I could still bring 11 kg of Elvis stuff with me...! In the meantime, we had some bad
news... Lu couldn’t take the roses to America. “Why?” was the question we asked all at once. The lady of
Delta Airlines said she was very sorry and she didn’t exactely knew why, but the United States don’t allow
the entry of several things in the country that come from abroad, namely: flowers, fruits, meat, fish and
everything that might grow. I think it’s to avoid the entry of any toxical products or diseases and insects
that may go with those products. However, it was sad... The roses were so beautiful, they were still so
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fresh, as if they had been picked on that same day. They were taking up pretty good. What was harder to
accept was to leave them at Delta Airlines counter and not having given them to Jeane, for instance.
Everybody looked kind of sad, but it was out of their reach...
Just shortly after this sad incident, we saw Kathy. She had a blue jacket on which exactely matched the
color of her eyes - gorgeous! She was distributing packets with polo-shirts and I immediately went to talk
to her. She has terribly nice and I had never seen her before. As I had already attended two festivals
organised by the English fan club in England, I was hopeful to get a guide that I already knew and
someone who belonged to the club’s staff. But I was happy with the fact that she was so nice, which was
the main thing. The polo-shirts looked quite “normal”: they were white and had the letters Elvis
embroidered in red with the symbol 20 Years After in the background in blue. Nothing very special. We
walked around killing time until it was time to board the plane. I couldn’t stop being surprised with the
kindness and patience of the airport’s staff who dealt with the transportation of handicapped people or
people with trouble to move around, in special cars for that effect or wheelchairs.
Departure to Atlanta
I knew the plane must be big. I also knew that it was going to carry around 200 people. But I thought it
was going to be a plane full of Elvis fans. I immediately found out I was wrong. But when I entered the
plane, I was gone... I had never been in such a big plane before! It had two corridors, one by each side
and the lines had 9 seats, from window to window. Wow...!, I thought to myself. I walked and I walked,
until I found my seat. I immediately found Kathy already seated and when I started looling around, I
noticed they were all Elvis’ fans, since they all had the identification card, as we had, which was
compulsory. Then I was surprised when, once we started moving, I looked to my side and saw Kathy fast
asleep...! How could she sleep at a time like that, dear God? I was going to America, I thought I was going
to believe it, but I still couldn’t. It was 2 p.m. and I knew that a trip of more than 7 hours was ahead of us,
a trip against time, since the hours kept on going back and we kept going forward. The difference of time
between the countries was 6 hours.
This trip was also a bit “shaky”. Apparentely, the air up there was a bit troubled, since the plane shook a
bit, but not as much as the British Airways plane, which was smaller. This one was from Delta Airlines, an
American company. The English were a bit apprehensive and when they asked me how our trip from
Portugal to England had been and I told them it had been worse, they felt a bit more relieved. Or was it
the other way around...? Well, I thought that I was going to feel annoyed and bored during the trip, but
it never happened. First, I could see the photos of the beautiful book Jeane had given me, as well as read
some excerpts, with Lu keeping me company. Sandra was sleeping. Meanwhile, the very nice American
hostess didn’t stop to give us goodies to eat. I’m telling you that I don’t remember staying long periods
without eating or drinking something...! Incredible. When one of the ladies who was seating behind me
asked if I would borrow her my book so they could see it, I decided to do something that I didn’t have the
time to do before leaving, for not having patience. I knew that the week of celebrations in Memphis was
going to be full of events and that we were inscribed in several of those events. So, I decided to do an
itinerary so we wouldn’t loose anything according to our possibilities. The main problem was not being
able to be in two places at the same time...! The itinerary that I’ve done, with Lu’s supervision, was the
one that guided us since the 10th August until de 21st August - the day we would leave America, arriving
at Portugal on the 22nd.
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Arrival at Atlanta
During our flight we were kept informed of the plane’s positioning over the Atlantic, of the altitude,
outside temperature, wind speed and the speed we were travelling. It was interesting to note that we
were travelling at over 11.000 meters and that the temperatures varied between the -40 and -65º...! The
speed was around 600/650 km per hour. Impressive, eh?
Suddenly, we saw in the screen that we were flying over American land. We were almost getting there
and, even so, I coulnd’t believe it. When we started to see the trees, the roads and the buildings of Atlanta,
we began to feel real emotional. Sandra, whose dream had always been to visit America - apart from Elvis
- was very moved. When the wheels touched the ground, very smoothly, me and Sandra yelled a bit with
contentment, saying, “We are here... We arrived in America!” And of course this was followed by another
“I can’t believe it!” before the bemused looks of our traveling companions. The great part of them had
already been in America before. I am positive that although we were speaking in Portuguese, they could
feel our excitement for being there. I don’t want to lie, but I think that we even clapped and everything.
We went to fetch our bags. Before that we had to go through another questionary at Atlantas’s airport:
who had packed my bag, why was I visiting America, how much time was I going to stay, what was my
job in Portugal, etc, etc... What really hit me at this airport was that everything looked SO big... The
English airport is also big compared to ours, but this one, looked even bigger. People were also very nice.
I don’t know exactely why, but my two friends were a bit confused, since they thought they didn’t need
to travel by plane anymore. “Oh, yes you are!” I told them. We still had to wait for around an hour and
half for our plane to Memphis. It was around 6 p.m. (local time) when we arrived in Atlanta. We had to
tune our watches again...! While we were still exploring the immense space of that airport, Sandra found
a magazine about Elvis from cover to cover in one of the shops and, of course, we bought it. I still haven’t
read it completely, but it has some interesting information, like Elvis and Oprah Winfrey being distant
cousins...! Sandra was almost dying for a cigarrette, since inside the Delta Airlines’ planes it is forbidden to
smoke. I saw a notice inside the toilet which read, “Fines for being caught smoking: 2.800 dollars,” which
is the nice amount of 550.000 escudos! When we finally found a smoking lounge, Sandra smoked a
cigarrette, but she got sick. She said it was because of staying without smoking for so many hours in a
row.
Departure to Memphis
There we went to check-in again and getting on board of the plane that was going to take us to the most
desired destination - Memphis! The plane had a funny name: Lucky which, incidently, was the name of
the character that Elvis portrayed in Viva Las Vegas. This flight was going to be short, around an hour, to
get to the city of the King. However, once we got out of the State of Georgia and got inside the State of
Tennessee, we had to delay our watches one hour more, for having different hours. What a mess...! With
all this, I still hadn’t realised that I didn’t sleep for over 24 hours. We boarded the plane at 9 p.m.. This
time I was sat beside Lu and Sandra, only separated by the corridor. By my side two boys were sitting, one
blond with brown eyes and another with dark hair and green eyes. They were nice and they even helped
me to put my things in the locker. I don’t remember how the conversation started, but me and my next
neighbour didn’t stop talking from the minute we sat until we arrived in Memphis. Lu was also talking
with a lady that I thought to be English and an Elvis fan, with Sandra in the middle, trying to get some
sleep and pretending that she was not listening. Later on I came to know that that lady was Scottish and
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we almost couldn’t understand a thing that she said because of her awful accent...! I’m glad I was luckier
than that.
Trevor (the dark haired boy with green eyes) and John (the blond one with brown eyes) were Elvis fans
and lived in London. John was completely tired and fell asleep a few minutes after sitting down. Trevor
explained that he hadn’t slept a thing during the previous night. I didn’t know why, but I was not going
to ask. It was so good to talk with somebody who shares so many of my own views...! It was incredible,
but it seemed that, sometimes, Trevor’s way of thinking was connected to mine. This may sound a bit
idiot to say, but it’s not. I have been meeting many Elvis fans and every one of them has different opinions
and views on Elvis. I think Trevor was the person that I’ve met so far who shares more of my own opinions.
Sometimes we even answered the same question at the same time...! Of course we always laughed about
it later. He was very straight. He asked me if I was married or single. I said I was single and he immediately
said that he was married with two kids: a boy of 11, named Aaron (guess why?) and another of 6, named
Ben. I enjoyed the fact that he was so straight, at least he was saying that he was there to enjoy himself,
but not to date with anyone. This was an attitude that John didn’t share with him...! I talked with him so
many times and I still don’t know if he’s married or single, or how old is he...! Trevor is 36 years old. The
trip was very quick.
Arrival in Memphis
We didn’t arrive very late, but we still had to catch the bus to Tupelo, the town where Elvis was born,
which was yet in another state, this time the Mississippi one. We were all kind of upset for having to leave
Memphis and sort of going back, to Tupelo. But that was our itinerary. Jeane had always told me that I
would love Tupelo, that life there was very laid back, that people were extremely nice. She had also
warned me to take the time to absorb the atmosphere and everything I saw.
There we went to pick up our bags. John woke up, a bit annoyed! He came to my side and only after
looking at his identification card I noticed what his surname was: John Wilkinson! I noticed that because
he was telling me he was going to participate in the art exhibition at Graceland Plaza (just in front of
Graceland) with one of his drawings and I wanted to see what his surname was to look for it. I was also a
bit upset for not having known about this exhibition before (I only came to know about it on board of the
plane for Atlanta), since I would for sure participate in it too with one of my drawings, or my Elvis knitted
sweater or some of my embroideries. Oh well... better luck next time. But coming back to the name
again, I laughed and said I would never forget about his name, since he had the same name as Elvis’
rhythm guitar player! And would you believe it if I told you he had never noticed that...? I think John isn’t
such a big Elvis fan. Or maybe he is just absent-minded. Both Trevor and me know all the names of every
musician and backup singer who have worked with Elvis. But... thinking about it, there are lots of fans
who don’t care much about that, isn’t it?
When we arrived at the Memphis airport, we saw the first sign that we were in the land of the King,
without counting with the name of the city, of course! We saw a sign in lights with Graceland and an
image of Elvis rocking, inviting people to go and visit his house. Sandra went up the stairs on the other
side again, just to go down once more and take a photo on that...! Meanwhile, we were already using our
second film. We got out and Kathy told us that we were going to enter our bus, which number is:
“Number 12!” we all yelled in one voice. Kathy was always testing us to see if we paid attention to what
she told us. Coach number 12 would always be our bus for the excursions throughout our stay. We put
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the luggage inside the bus, with the help of a young black lady. I took a deep breath to feel Memphis air,
to see what it felt like. It was hot and the best way to describe the humidity that I also felt was like being
inside a room filled with water steam. When I took that deep breath, it looked like my lungs were receiving
little microscopic drops of water. Which, indeed, was what was really happening. Then we took our very
first shot together in Memphis. One of our traveling companions, an elder gentleman, offered to
photograph us three. Lu and Sandra took their shoes off, to feel Memphis’ soil with their feet! I didn’t do
it, since the whole bus was waiting for us to leave and as I had tennis shoes, it was more difficult to take
them off.
Departure to Tupelo
We got inside the bus and Kathy introduced to us the young black lady who would be our driver. “Hey,
everybody, I need your attention. Our driver’s name is Gladys!” When she said that, Gladys got a big
applause and cheers from us. It was a great coincidence, to have a lady driver whose name was the same
of Elvis’ mother. And off we went on the road. The trip took more or less one hour and a half. It was really
dark and I wasn’t able to look at any of the scenery of the place. Meanwhile, it started raining cats and
dogs. I also found strange the fact that the road was so badly iluminated. But Lu explained to me that, as
it happened in South Africa (where she was born), as the open fields are so big, they cannot have
everything so well iluminated as we do have in Portugal, otherwise, they would spend a lot of electricity.
Although the heat outside was unbearable, inside the bus it was too much cold for my taste. I was
freezing...! And although I was very tired and I wanted to catch some sleep, I couldn’t do it. I thought I
was going to catch a cold and ruin my vacation, since my feet felt like two giant ice cubes. And all because
of the air-conditioning.
10th August - Sunday
Arrival in Tupelo
Once we arrived in Tupelo (it was beyond midnight) Kathy told us she was going to fetch our keys. In
order to park the bus, Gladys did a lot of manouvers, she went over every sidewalk there was, she made
the gears screech three times and she hit the brakes hard. At that moment, I didn’t know if she was doing
it on purpose to wake everybody up, or if she usually drove like that. When we were on the road I had
already noticed that the gears never seemed the correct ones and, when she changed them, it seemed
she always did it at the wrong time. Maybe it was just because I was sleepy and tired... Kathy brought us
our keys (which, actually, were three plastic cards with magnetic bands) and after getting our bags, we
checked-in in one of the comfortable and elegant rooms of Hampton Inn in Tupelo. As it was so dark, we
couldn’t see anything around us. We just entered the room, took a quick shower and went to bed.
According to my itinerary, we only had to be ready at 10 a.m. that day - to go visit all the sights of Tupelo
related to Elvis, includind his birth place.
Guided visit in Tupelo
We woke up around 8 a.m. and took off our bags just what we needed, since as we were going to stay
there for just one day and a half, there was no need to get completely settled. We went downstairs for
breakfast and found John on the way. As a coincidence, John and Trevor were our next door neighbours
again. Breakfast was delicious and enormous and it was a nice surprise to find out that the price was
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included in the stay. There were lots of goodies and the lady who was there serving people was that kind
of maternal woman, always ready to help and serve, very happy and warm. She asked us where we were
from and she was surprised to find out that we had come such a long way and for having traveled for two
whole days in order to be there.
After breakfast, we walked around to look at the beautiful scenery around us. The hotel looked great and
the pool - although small - looked deliciously inviting. The weather was cloudy, but it was hot. Of course
we took a lot of pictures of the place, before the amusing look of many of our traveling companions. I also
bumped into Jenson Bloomer (remember him? It was the same guy I have met in England in 1993 and in
1994. The same lucky guy who had performed live with Scotty and D.J. during the first time and with
James Burton during the second), I said hi and he greeted me back. I didn’t know if he remembered me
or if he was just being polite. Those people from England are always greeting everyone, several times per
day...! Jenson splashed around a bit in the pool and I was surprised with the amount of weight he put on
in just 3 years.
Then we went to get the video camera and off we went in our bus for the guided tour of the town. First
we went to the parking lot of the Ramada Inn to join the other 21 buses, since we would depart in a sort of
a “train” escorted by the police. I had always heard about that famous escort, of how the officers were so
nice, etc, but I couldn’t help feeling surprised. We were 22 buses in a single row, escorted by the police
motorcycles of Tupelo, the officers all equiped and with uniform, lights going on and, sometimes, doing
their funny noise, too. They were ahead of us, behind the last bus and beside us, along all the way. It was
such a sight to see, all the buses from the Capital company in one single line and escorted by the police...!
The best of it all was when the traffic lights went red and we just kept on going, since the police blocked all
the traffic in order for us to go through... And what about seeing them greeting us in a sign of respect
when we went by? And what about the other drivers on the road? Some looked bemused, while others
also waved. This is happening for years now and it mustn’t be strange anymore for the Tupeloans to look at
several buses going by with signs saying “Elvis Presley Fan Club On Tour” in every window...! Whenever we
had to make a turn and the road went on over a kind of a bridge and the other buses were still passing
under it, it was really a sight to see...! People just couldn’t stop aahhing and ooohhing. I felt really special
and I don’t doubt all the others were feeling the same way, too. Then we knew through Kathy that they are
not paid for their service. They do this for years because they volunteer with pleasure to escort the people
who come from so faraway for just admiring their most famous son of the land. They also do it as a sort of
tribute, since it was what they did when Elvis went to Tupelo (after getting famous) and also because they
want to extend that treatment to his fans. After all, Elvis lives through us. And they know that.
Lawon Elementary School
The first stop was at the elementary school where Elvis studied for the first time. It is a not very big
building, with red little bricks and white windows. It is surrounded by grass and beautiful trees. Like
everything else in Tupelo. I was astonished with the beauty of the city. I understood better and better why
Elvis had never forgotten about his birthtown and, once in a while, he went there to visit the people. We
stayed there for a few moments taking some pictures and mingling with the people. We took the chance
to take a photo with Gladys and with Kathy. We talked a little bit with Gladys and we came to know that
she lived in Memphis, just around the corner of Graceland...! She had never seen Elvis, since while he was
alive she was living in Ohio. She felt really good when we asked her to take a photo with her. After all,
Gladys’ way of driving was really like that - with stumblings, hitting the brakes hard and everything...!
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The main conversation around was: “Can you imagine? It was here that he ran with the other children
everytime he came to school and went home...!” I could imagine it so easily that it was almost eerie.
Birthplace
Off we went. This time we were going to the birthplace. I was fascinated with the little wood houses I was
seeing outside. So cute, so little, they almost looked like dolls’ houses. They also seemed very frail. Every
one of them had a front porch and almost all of them had someone sitting there, relaxing, or rocking in a
rocking chair... It seemed that life there had its very own pace, a slow rhythm, relaxed, laid-back... The
majority of people were black and they waved when we passed by. The churches were also beautiful, with
a very familiar and cosy look. The little houses stood next to each other, but always with a space around
with grass and vases with flowers and also bushes. And trees, many trees... I began to understand why
Gladys - Elvis’ mother - felt so apprehensive for leaving Tupelo. I aslo understood why she loved to live
there so much. She liked to be near people and there, noone is very faraway. But it’s not like in the
buildings. I never seen a single building, only those cute little houses that looked like taken from a movies’
set. And in Memphis people shouldn’t be that kind, in Gladys’ mind.
Suddenly, we saw a sign that said “Elvis Presley’s Birth Place” and we turned to the left. We immediately
started streching our necks and there were lots of people there. At 1 p.m. the Mayor of the town would
officially welcome all the Elvis’ fans and there were already lots of people concentrated over there neighbours, Tupeloans and fans, lots of Elvis fans. It was in the middle of all that activity, of all those colors
(bright clothes, gorgeous flowers and the green grass) that I spotted the little house that I had already
seen countless times in photographs. There it was, smaller than all the rest, but with its porch and
suspended rocking chair. It was so small it was hard to believe. We didn’t stop and we didn’t go out, since
we would continue with our visit in order to be back at 1 p.m. Even so, it was a thrill.
-9-
Tupelo Hardware Store
We moved on to Tupelo Hardware Store, the same place where Gladys bought Elvis’ first guitar, for his
eleventh birthday. He wanted a rifle or a bicycle, but she convinced him to have the guitar instead. Besides
being cheaper and he could learn how to play it, it was also lots safer. Over there, the officers had to block
the traffic on that road in order for the people to feel safe. After all, we were around 1.000 people...! And
here was the meeting place with so many people that we had met before. For instance, we found Vera,
Joyce, June, Margret and Derek. You should have seen us! It was hugs everywhere, as if we belonged to
the same big family. Which we indeed do. The officers posed for pictures with everybody. Do you think
that they got tired or bored, under that awful heat and in the middle of so many people...? No sir, they
smiled, they waved, they hugged us and posed for photos. Those were really incredible people.
Meanwhile, I was looking for someone to whom I’d really like to talk to. It was Keith Harris, the gentleman
with whom I had talked with in an almost daily basis for 15 months to take care of our trip. He had always
been so nice to me, always accepting all the requests I had done, with lots of patience and without
charging the additional fines for each alteration made. I knew how he looked like, since before departing,
I had seen all our footage done in England and I saw him there being introduced. At the time I didn’t pay
much attention, but it was useful to me, because when I found him in the middle of the crowd, I went
straight to him! The guides were easy to find, since they all wore the same t-shirt with the same colour.
The colour varied from day to day. On this day it was yellow. And I saw Keith, a man in his fifties, very tall
and dark, with glasses. I went to him and said:
- Hi there, Keith! Do you remember Celia, from Portugal?
He gave me a big smile, hugged me, kissed me on the cheek and said:
- Oh, my dear, you are even more beautiful than I had imagined!
He was also referring to Sandra, who was beside me and whom I introduced straightaway. Keith was so
nice. He wanted to know if we were enjoying ourselves, if we were having fun. And of course I couldn’t
say anything except yes. I also introduced Lu to him.
There was a man there with his back completely tatooed with dozens of Elvis’ faces. I swear I was very
surprised. He was very nice, because he stood still for us to see and take as many photos as we wanted.
Milam Junior High, Alabama-Mississippi Fair and Tupelo Shopping Mall
We boarded our bus again with Gladys driving and went to Milam Junior High, the school Elvis attended
before moving to Memphis. It wasn’t anything special and we didn’t stay there for long. Then we passed
by the same grounds where the Mississippi-Alabama Fair took place - the same where Elvis had sang at 10
years old and won the second prize with the song Old Shep and where he had given his big concert on the
26th September 1956, the day that the Mayor had declared Elvis Presley Day in Tupelo, with marchings on
the streets and everything. Unfortunately there isn’t a single thing over there anymore. Around 5 years ago
the wooden seats were still there as well as the main square, but now everything was demolished. I feel sad
every time I come to know about these things. Next stop was the Tupelo Shopping Mall, where we stopped
for a bite. During all our visits we were being followed by choppers that surely belonged to TV channels
- 10 -
that filmed the train of buses around the city. When we arrived, one of them started descending and we
waved from down there. We were lots of people, as I never get tired of mentioning...! Bernard Roughton,
the guy from the English Fan Club who always does the filmings of every trip, that then are sold in the club,
was filming everything. This time, the 3 of us went in front of his camera, with the noise of the chopper
and everything and yelled: “Hello! We are three girls from Portugal!”. I am dying to see if he’s going to use
these filmings, since it was the first time that Portuguese fans traveled with them and, just because of that,
it should be news. As I intend to buy this tape, then I’ll see!
Everything looked different in America: people were almost all black (but I already knew that, since in that
area of the South, 95% of the population is black), but much different from the majority of the black
people we are used to in Portugal. Maybe because black people here feel a discrimination, like they are not
welcome here which, to some extent, is true. Without wanting to seem racist, lots of them are here just to
do bad things. I speak of the blacks who have been arriving from Africa and not the ones who were born
here, since those have a different attitude, they are like us, so to speak. But blacks in America felt completely
at ease, comfortable, in their environment. And they are right to feel that way. They own everything: they
manage and control the hotels, restaurants, parking lots, they are officers, they do practically everything.
And they mingle with the rest of the white population. They were always so nice to all of us...! We were
always saying that we loved those black people. They were always kind, asking us how were we, if we were
having fun and they were always ready to help. I felt like a princess. They were also very, very polite and
with manners. Now I see why Elvis didn’t feel “weird” in the middle of them. In fact, he was raised in the
middle of them, he grew with them and he learned a lot with them. I only wished that people here in
Portugal (black and white) had at least one third of the manners of those people...!
Official Welcoming
Well, with the excitment and the hurry, we didn’t have lunch. We went immediately to the ceremony of
the official welcoming by the Mayor of the City of Tupelo. We arrived 10 minutes late and it had already
started. At the moment of our arrival, the Mayor was asking people to have a moment of silence while the
hymn of America was sang. And right there, beside the wooden shack where Elvis was born 62 years ago,
the American flag was raised to the sound of the hymn, with military men paying their tributes. Then, a
black lady sang Amazing Grace without instruments. It was really beautiful. Elvis sang How Great Thou
Art. Nothing more was heard except his beautiful voice singing one of his favourite songs and the birds
and insects singing. It was hard to breathe with the awful heat, although there were clouds in the sky.
Then it was Mrs. Janelle McComb turn to speak. She was a great friend of both families - the Smiths and
the Presleys - even before Elvis was born and she was also the Mayor of Tupelo during some years. The
Mayor of Tupelo decreeted that she would be Mayor for a day and called her to go and make a speech.
She went to the stage and said, “I don’t know whatelse to do except chat!” People laughed. Basically she
welcomed us all, she expressed her gratitude for the constant visit by the fans to her birthtown and said
that her life was made richer for all the people she had the chance to meet through Elvis - while he was
alive and long after he was gone.
I started to dive among the crowd, since I really liked to talk to Mrs. McComb. She said that, in order to
mark that day, they were going to offer each one of us a sheet of commemorative Elvis stamps and she
started to hand out some. I was closer and, eventually, reached near her. I had always read of how nice
she was, how warm she was with people, I had footage of her and photos of her. And, of course, she is
very famous for having written that poem (The Priceless Gift) that Elvis asked her to write to offer it to Lisa
- 11 -
Marie on her fourth birthday and he signed it and smeared it with a tear. When I finnally came near her, I
said, “Mrs. McComb, you can’t imagine the joy I’m feeling for meeting you.” She shook my hand,
thanking me, but with her attention completely focused on other things. I wasn’t even finished and she
was already talking to a friend that she spotted in the middle of the crowd. I didn’t insist, I backed away,
but, I must say, very disappointed. Of course that that type of situation must be common place for her.
Then she introduced us to a man, named Jerry Craft, who was the president of the Elvis Fan Club of
Jackson, Tennessee. He was dressed with a complete suit, with tie and everything (an Elvis tie) and I just
remember having thought, “Dear God... I would die!” He started singing and... wow, what a voice! We
could tell he was a real Elvis fan, since he knew all the words and comments Elvis said and did between
the verses of the songs. And he has a good voice by his own merit, he never tried to impersonate Elvis.
The heat was becoming really unbearable. Meanwhile, I had already found John and Trevor in the middle
of all those people. And I had also found a few Brazilian people who were also there. They had traveled by
their own, they were around 30 people. Incidently, Sandra had already belonged to one of the Brazilian
fan clubs represented there. I took the chance to ask John if, by chance, they had any electricity adaptor
in order for us to be able to recharge the video battery of Lu’s camera, which was getting really down. I
had always thought that Lu had brought an adaptor with her, but she didn’t. John said that Trevor had
two adaptors and he offered to lent us one as soon as we were back at the hotel. Fine.
Visit to the little Elvis’ shack
Meanwhile, a miracle happened - it started to rain! It was just a little rain, but it was enough to cool
things a bit and I thanked in silence for those drops. While the concert was going on, we went to Elvis’
shack (which was just nearby, so we could listen to the music just the same). We sat on the front steps, in
the rocking chair and took many photos. We also wanted to get in. We didn’t have to pay to get inside,
but it was compulsory to do a donation, the minimum was 1 dollar. We have to see that this house is now
the property of two ladies who keep it and those donations should be applied on just that. The shack is
really very small... we hadn’t gotten inside yet... and we were already out! Just after entering, it’s the main
bedroom, Elvis’ parents bedroom, although I doubt those are the original objects. When the Presleys
moved to Memphis, they took the majority of their belongings, they must have only left behind what
they couldn’t take or sell. Just immediately after the bedroom is the kitchen. The stove and the respective
firing-place look like being the sole objects as original. And so there, the shack was visited! I don’t have
the slightest idea how come four people lived in there - Vernon, Gladys, Minnie Mae and Elvis.
In the middle of all this, me and Sandra lost Lu! Sandra figured that maybe she had gone to the hotel or
maybe to the mall to eat (we had just taken breakfast), but I thought that she might be either at the
Times And Things To Remember Museum or at the souvenir shop buying Elvis’ stuff. We asked about her
to several people, but nobody had seen her. We went to the restrooms, we went to drink something
(there was a trailer giving soft drinks away, an offer by the city) and we stood in line to enter in the
souvenir shop, since it was shorter than the line for the museum, which we also wanted to visit. And it
was then that we spotted Lu - already loaded with Elvis’ stuff! Who is hungry at a time like this? We also
talked with an English lady who told us a funny story:
Around Christmas time in 1960, she received a letter from Elvis (handwritten envelope and letter) wishing
her a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. She told us that she got the letter in the morning and she
was still wearing her night gown. She left the house running after the postman, screaming, before
- 12 -
opening the letter, asking where that envelope was coming from, since she couldn’t believe it. He told her
that it was from America and she even didn’t recall that she was standing in the cold and in the middle of
the street. The postman just stood staring at her...! She says that she has that letter in a safe in the bank. I
figure it must be really valuable. When I asked how come a thing like that happened, she told me that
Elvis took her address from (just by random) from a book that Albert Hand (the original founder of the
English fan club and honorary president) had given him during the shooting of Kid Galahad, and which
contained many addresses of several English fans. Elvis decided to write to some of them, picked up by
random. Lady Luck knocked on this lady’s door...! Jeane told me once that her brother, David, also signed
this book for Elvis and, in one of her visits to Graceland, she saw that book over there, precisely opened
on the page where David had signed his name...! She said it had been a real thrill.
We visited the shop, where I bought just a few things, although there was a lot to see and buy. But I was
determined not to get trapped by the American in alluring me to spend all my money in the first shop I
visited. Sandra got upset at me a little, since when she said, “Celia, come and look at this!”, I always said,
“Ah, it doesn’t matter” and I even didn’t look that way. Outside I told her that I was even afraid to look!
And when I say it doesn’t matter, it’s things like posters, portraits, postcards, that type of thing with which
we can easily lose our minds, but we really don’t know what to do with them next, since, in reality, they
are kind of useless. What’s the point of having many portraits and posters if we possibly can’t have them
all exposed...? We left, went to drink some more water and went to the mall of Tupelo to eat something
before going home. I ate my first American hamburger and I must say I didn’t find it any different from
our burgers back home. Meanwhile Lu said we should take a photo inside, as a souvenir. But it would be
good for us to be the same photo. Sandra asked an elder lady who was cleaning the tables of the place if
she could take us a photo. She said no, that she didn’t know how to operate the camera, but she would
fix for someone to come and help us out. She went to fetch a partner, whose name was Janet. You can’t
even imagine how happy this lady was for helping us. I almost can venture to say that she felt proud for
doing it. We were posing for the photo and she said, before pressing the button, “Mary Lou, get out of
the picture!” Mary Lou was her friend. After having taken it, she said, “I think Mary Lou was on the
picture.” We laughed it off and said it was okay. Some minutes later she came to us and asked us where
were we from. She asked if she could give us her address in order to send her that photo. We couldn’t
even believe our ears. Of course we didn’t mind! Janet had lived all her life in Tupelo and was born there,
but, even so, she managed to marry a German man, to have a son in Italy, which, in turn, married an
English woman and her granny was from Checoslovakia, oh well... if it wasn’t exactely this, it was similar!
We were really astonished. While she spoke, Janet wrote her address in a kleenex to give it to us.
We hurried, since we had to be ready to leave at 19h, to be in the convention room of the Ramada Inn in
Tupelo, for the banquet that the Mayor was going to offer the fans. Sandra didn’t want to take the
cameras (they’re heavy and it’s really uncomfortable to carry them around...), but I “begged” Lu to take,
at least, the video camera, to film the speeches or whatever what might happen.
Once we got at the hotel, we had the visit of our friend John, who came with the adaptor we had
borrowed from him. He asked, by the way, if I could hand sew. I said yes and he asked if, by chance, I
would sew two stripes in his army shirt that he intended to dress for the banquet. I couldn’t say no, it
would be a pleasure. I just had lack of time...! I had to shower, put on some make-up, get dressed and
sew the stripes in less than an hour. Lu was a great help, since she kept working while I was in the shower
and then I finished the job while she was getting dressed. John came to fetch the shirt just in time. Well,
he was the last to enter the bus, still fixing his collar and everything...! But everything went okay.
- 13 -
The Banquet
Off we went, again with Gladys at the wheel. What a woman... she never missed a single sidewalk! I had
already gotten used to her driving and I wasn’t the only one. Gladys’ driving was a motive of a few good
moments and laughs. She didn’t seem to mind a bit. The weather was funny, cloudy, and it looked like it
was going to rain, in spite of the ever present heat. We entered the convention room and waited for a
while to go to our table. I heard Trevor saying, “Look how it rains!” It was raining cats and dogs again. It
was the second time it rained and I wasn’t there for two days yet. Well, I wasn’t the bit worried about that
either. Trevor and John went inside first and they kept some seats for us with the napkins over the chairs.
We saw Keith who was passing by and who told us, “Ah, how you girls look pretty tonight!” We sat and
were informed that we were going to be told when we could go and fetch our dinner - it was self-service.
As we were more than 1.000 people in the same room, it had to be something with method, otherwise,
we would never see the end of it.
While we waited, Sandra started commenting on a boy who was sitting in a table in front of us. She said
that his stare was really upsetting. I had already noticed it too and I had even removed my glasses and
everything so I could not see if he was looking at me or not! It’s funny, but Sandra hadn’t realized yet that
that strange creature was a part of our group/coach. As we didn’t know his name - and we would never
know - we nicknamed him of “Ranhoso”. Meanwhile, we went to fetch our food. There were several
things where to choose from. American food isn’t funny, although it’s different and we could tell what it
was. I liked it, and I couldn’t say the same about the English food, though. I chose roasted chicken with
corn, potatoes, salad and a delicious sauce.There was a lot of different drinks on the tables (non alcoholic
drinks, since it was Sunday and on Sundays, in Tupelo, no alcoholic drinks can be found for sale anywhere.
On the day of our Lord, noone is supposed to drink alcohol) and desserts. After finishing my meal, I’ve
decided to try some of the mousses displayed there. John was sitting beside me. When I was trying my
first mousse, everybody at the table started to laugh and I didn’t know why. When I asked, of course
nobody told me, not even Trevor wanted to tell me. But then Sandra said that while I was putting the
spoon in my mouth, John, beside me, who was really close (I even didn’t noticed that, I swear!), had his
mouth wide open...! Me, of course, put the spoon inside my mouth and not his. But then I offered to give
him some mousse, but he said he didn’t want it. Trevor laughed like crazy, that naughty bugger! It was
also at this moment that I confessed to John that, I didn’t understand exactely why, but I understood
Trevor much better than I did understand him - John’s accent was really different. And Trevor said, “But
that is logical - that’s because he isn’t English at all!” And he started to make fun of him. But of course
John was English, too.
When we finished eating, the Mayor of Tupelo started talking on the stage that had been put in the center
of the room. Once again, we welcomed us and then started to introduce all the personalities, politians
and dignataries present in the room - in the first table, in front of the stage. They stood up when they
were introduced. Even the manager of the Ramada Inn was called on the stage who, very shyly, waved us
and said just a few words. Apparently it was the first time he ever did it. At last, the Mayor introduced
Mrs.Janelle McComb, always present in all events related to Elvis, and reminded everyone that she was
the Mayor on that day, decreeted by himself near the birthplace. “And do you know what she told me
when I said that today she was the one taking all the decisions for being Mayor? She looked at me and
said, ‘Okay, you’re fired!’” Everybody laughed. Mrs. McComb was always known for her good sense of
humour. The Mayor called Keith to the stage and he did one of the most beautiful speeches on Elvis that
I’ve ever heard. I was really moved and happy for us having captured some of those moments in video.
- 14 -
Keith began by comparing what existed 20 years ago and which doesn’t exist today anymore. Only each
sentence would end with the words: “But there was Elvis.” And it’s really true. He gave us the example of
those big video cameras that, in order to be carried around, 3 people were required. They’re no longer
here, but there was always Elvis. He mentioned several performers whose names appeared and were
around for a year or two, but then fell in obscurity (so obscure that I even don’t recall any of them!), but
there was Elvis. He was also funny when he said that “The majority of us 20 years ago had much more
hair and fewer pounds”. People laughed. “Right, Bob?” he added, addressing Bob Bacon, who is already
bald and very fat (this is the same man who got us the plug in England during our first visit over there).
Bob answered with a “I’ll get you for this.” “But there was always Elvis,” Keith went on. And he still is. Our
lives change, develop, new things appear and vanish, but Elvis is always there. Have you realized that?
When he started, there were just vinyl records. Now there are CD’s, CD-Rom’s, CD-Videos, digital
televisions, celular phones, mobile phones, whatever... Elvis himself would have never believed it, that 20
years after, his music and his movies would still be sold in more and more sophisticated means. All this
proves that he is going to always be there. The silence in the room, while the only sound heard was
Keith’s strong voice recalling all these differences, proved that each one of us was delving in its own very
personal memories about what his words were evoking. I was. And I don’t have as much memories as
that, since I belong to the second generation and not to Elvis’ generation, so to speak. There were people
there in their 10’s, 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, but also in their 60’s, 70’s and even 80’s. Just imagine the list
of differences all these people can make...! We mustn’t forget that Elvis would be 62 himself if he were still
among us.
Then Keith changed his speech. He went on by saying that our group was the biggest group of fans that
the English Fan Club had brought to the United States, ever. Not even when Elvis was alive such a big
group had come to visit Tupelo and Memphis. We were 950 fans, from several countries of the world. For
a long time I was wondering on the number of countries that we represented. As if he was reading my
mind, Keith said that we represented 22 countries. I just remember having thought: “WOOW...!” “Look
at you, guys...,” he said, “you fill this room up and you are such a sight to see. Give yourself a big round
of applause...!” And we did. We deserved it. It was my first time there, but many of the present people in
there had been there before. And I clapped for all of us, for our loyalty for Elvis, for our love for him, a love
that will never end. And then, the biggest surprise of the night came. Keith said, “The Mayor would like
to honour you with something very special. We are going to start calling a few names of people present in
the room. Don’t feel surprised if you hear your name being called out. Just come to the stage, please.”
After this, there was a fuss around the tables and I started to hear something which I will never forget as
long as I live. They started to call one person of each country present in the room. My heart was beating
like crazy. It was like: “So and so from Australia, so and so from France... from Italy, New Zeland... Sri
Lanka...” and I just thought, “Oh, my God...!” And that’s when I heard, “Celia Carvalho, from Portugal”.
I could hardly believe it. I got up, surrounded by the ovation of my friends and all the people present in
the room. All the lucky chosen ones - precisely 22 people who represented the 22 countries present in the
room - stood in line near the stage and the Mayor of Tupelo and Janelle McComb. There was a lady in
front of me, she was Norwegian, who was crying and who kept saying, “I can’t believe this...!” She almost
looked like me, since I am always saying that myself. She was also pointing at her casual and simple
clothes, since she wasn’t counting that the banquet was going to be such an important event. I was
moved, but I wasn’t worried about how I looked, because I had more or less gotten ready for the occasion.
And then the Mayor started to do something that nobody was expecting. He called the people, one by
one to the stage and offered each and every one of them, the Key of the City of Tupelo...! When my turn
came, I passed by Keith, who told me, “Oh, darling, you look so pretty tonight...!” My eyes were already
- 15 -
very wet by this time. Then the Mayor asked my name and where I was from, he introduced himself,
shook my hand and said, at the same time handing me the Key of The Town, “Celia, this key represents
the key to our hearts and to our town. I want you to take it to your country, to show it to all your friends
and to tell them that the city of Tupelo is always open to welcome you all whenever you wish to visit us.”
I thanked him, really moved, I was kissed on the cheek by Mrs. Janelle McComb and left the stage,
completely shook. I felt the weight of the key in my hand - a golden and beautiful key, which read “Special
Custom” on the outside and which was big and lying in a red velvet box. The key said: “Welcome to
Tupelo, Mississippi.” While I was going through the tables to return to my seat, all the polititians and
dignataries were greeting me and applauding me, all the fans were cheering me and smiling, some called
me by my name and asked me to take a photo of me with the key, others asked me to see the key up
close. I couldn’t believe it...! I just regretted not having taken the cameras to capture this moment, but as
I was photographed by so many people, I am still hoping that I will have a photo of that night.
Meanwhile, I must have appeared crying or with my eyes filled with tears in all the pictures, since I was so
emotional... There are no words to describe it.
After everybody was introduced, the Mayor said, “I am so sorry for not having given you 950 keys, but we
really couldn’t do it. I hope you understand these are very special and expensive keys. If you notice the
box, it says these are special, and they really are. And now I would like to give Keith something really
special, too, and which is the door to the city of Tupelo.” You won’t believe this, but the Mayor really had
a wooden door there, with a golden lock, to give to Keith...! And the symbolism was so beautiful, dear
God... because all our keys opened that door. And it’s really true that Keith was the one who opened the
door for the Elvis’ world, everything had always to involve him. At the end, they also gave him a key. It
was a very, very beautiful occasion... The ceremony ended with the offer of a birthday cake very high also an offer by the city of Tupelo - to all the fans present in the room. They sang happy birthday to us
and everything, since it was 25 years since the English Fan Club takes Elvis fans to America. We weren’t
expecting this either.
Elvis Disco
After all the emotion of the night, they started putting some tables aside to prepare the floor for the disco
of the night. I was dying to see Lu and Sandra’s reactions when they would see everybody dancing with
those funny choreographies that I had learned in England in 1993 and 1994. Sandra had already seen
some footage that I had shown her, but Lu had never seen anything like it. I also knew it was going to be
difficult to convince them to dance that night, since in England I needed several days to get used to the
idea. But the second time I went there, it was revenge time...! And I was right. Lu, amazed as she was,
wanted to film the choreographies. John went dancing and how good he is, too...! He’s great. He looked
like a G.I. who had just finished his service and was celebrating the event with all his might. Sandra didn’t
want to dance and I made her company. However, when I Can Help started, I went to dance in the middle
of everybody. Meanwhile, when I was going to my seat, there was a girl sitting in John’s place speaking
with Trevor. Lu just wanted to film her beautiful Elvis tattoo in her back. I had never seen such a beautiful
Elvis tattoo. Personally, I could never do a tattoo in my body, but that one was so discreet, so smooth... it
looked like a dream. And the funny thing was that Elvis’ face had a signal, since the signal belonged to the
owner of the back! And Elvis looks quite good with a signal on his face! In the meantime, I recognized the
girl with the tattoo. She was Julie Mundy, the new secretary of the English Fan Club, who replaced Todd
Slaughter since he abandoned the post after the heart transplant in 1994. I had written to her several
times before, sending her articles written by me to be printed in Elvis Monthly and, up until then, she had
- 16 -
printed them all. I always felt kind of close to her, mainly because we have exactely the same age - 27
years old. As Lu wasn’t being able to film the tattoo accordingly, I started a conversation with her. I said,
“You are Julie Mundy, aren’t you?” She said yes. And I said, “I am Celia, from Portugal.” She smiled and
said, “Hey, I know you! I read your articles!” I was surprised because she remembered. I took the chance
to ask her how and when did she do that gorgeous tattoo and if we could film it. She said, “Sure!” and
pushed her hair aside. Lu just took care of business.
Then, with all the music going on at the disco, they played an Elvis song that Lu had never heard before For The Heart. I was really surprised when she said it wasn’t Elvis singing. She was certain it wasn’t him
singing. She dared me to go and ask Jenson, who was on the stage more or less controlling the songs. I
went to him, with Sandra and said, “Who is singing?” He just looked at me as if I was crazy. I asked again.
He returned the same look. And only then I explained: “I have a friend who says that it isn’t Elvis singing.”
“Oh, but of course it’s Elvis!” he answered. On that night, they had already played two or three songs by
a country singer who wasn’t Elvis. Lu was still doubtful. And when Promised Land began, she said it wasn’t
Elvis either. When I am certain about something, I am very persistent and, sometimes, I admit, I also must
be very annoying. After all, the other person is also thinking she’s/he’s right and it’s always a stupid fight.
But, in the end, on the other day and inside the bus, when someone put a cassette and it was For The
Heart again, Lu said she was sorry, but she really thought it wasn’t Elvis. She didn’t need to say she was
sorry, though...!
Around 1.30m a.m., we decided to go home. The disco wasn’t over yet, but we had other plans for the
next morning - i.e., for that day! - and it was best to catch some sleep. Of course once we got home, we
would never went to sleep straightaway. We always watched a few TV or read the Elvis magazine we had
bought or, still, took some photos. We really liked our hotel bedroom. We only hoped the hotel in
Memphis would be as good as that one.
11th August - Monday
Birthplace, Chapel and Times and Things to Remember Museum
We got up around 8 a.m., took a shower and went to have the delicious breakfast downstairs. We found
out that we had missed the bus at 8.45h which would take us to the Tupelo Museum and, so I thought,
we had already paid for it. I was really upset about it, but we decided to take another bus instead to the
Birthplace and take some more photos without the confusion of the previous day. When we got there, it
was so peaceful. Everything looked so calm and so beautiful... We visited Elvis’ shack again, to say
goodbye, since we were leaving to Memphis on that afternoon. And we took our tickets to visit Times
And Things To Remember Museum. On the previous day the line had been so long that we gave up the
idea. This museum exclusively holds artifacts and items from the personal collection of Mrs. McComb - it
is more than 3.000 different objects. The first thing I saw that really caught my eye in the middle of all the
Elvis photos as a child, was a photo that I had never seen before. Elvis must be around 6 and looks like a
dream child... Then I saw another item that really pleased me - as well as Lu, who was still talking about it
at the end of our trip - a red and lace see-through shirt...! Really. I have several photos of Elvis with lacy
shirts during the 50’s. One looks like being white and the other, black. But, of course, as the photos are
black and white, we can never tell. The one that looked black to me was, indeed, that red one. It was a
shirt with such a “normal” size that it really confused me... but what was even harder to imagine was how
come a boy of 21 had the guts to wear such a thing in those days...! Even today, if a boy dresses
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something like that, he will be subject of ridicule and stares. Elvis was really a more than updated person...
I was only sorry for not being able to take photos inside the museum.
There were several poems displayed in the walls, written by Mrs. McComb and the original poem of The
Priceless Gift was hanging there, with Elvis’ signature smeared by his tears when he read it and felt moved.
There was a portrait in there, with a beautiful flower. I read the inscription and it said it was a magnolia in
full bloom that Mrs.McComb herself had photographed in one of her many visits to Graceland during the
springtime. The original portrait was in Graceland, a gift from her to Elvis. I would be looking for it when
I’d be there. There was also photos of her inside Graceland and some with Elvis. Another piece of clothing
that I really enjoyed seeing was an orange parka that Elvis had and which can be seen in one of Priscilla’s
home movies, when everybody is in front of Graceland, in the winter, building up a snowman. The parka
had a hood and we can see Elvis with the hood on his head and with the shovel gathering some snow... It
is always so strange to see the original clothes that we had only seen in films and photos before, right
there, in front of our eyes...
I saw something there that really impressed me. It was an arrangement of several religious objects which,
somehow, didn’t quite fit together. But right beside it was an inscription, which explained its existance.
Mrs. McComb wanted to surprise Elvis with something that symbolised Elvis and religion. And then she
came up with the idea of gathering those different religious objects of several and different religions, since
Elvis thought that although there were several religions, all of them served the same purpose, which was to
adore the same God - only by a different name. I remember there was a vest of the Catholic religion, a
cross and a candlestick of the Jewish religion and some ornaments that looked like connected to Budhism.
Everything was arranged over a kind of altar/pulpit. I think that Elvis must have understood and enjoyed it.
There were also photos and documents which mentioned the story and the building up of the chapel of
Tupelo, right there next to the museum and which we had to visit. There was a Bible there, already very
worn, offered by Elvis to Mrs. McComb, books that he had given her, notes written by him to her,
instruments that helped building the little shack where Elvis was born, etc... we could well spend a couple
of hours in there to look at everything with the required attention. However, I have to confess, before I
left, the last thing I had to look at again, it was that red lacy shirt.
When we left, the first thing we did was to wait for Lu, who had gone to the souvenir shop to buy some
more things. I was upset, because I wanted to buy an umbrella, but the one Lu had bought was the last
one. I was hoping to find one in Memphis. While we were waiting for Lu, I started looking around me, to
the serenity of the place. It was around 9.30 a.m. and it wasn’t very hot yet. The bugs and the birds were
singing. Only then I realised how beautiful the back of the little shack was and asked Sandra to snap a
photo. Of course that during the time Elvis and his family lived in there, the scenery mustn’t have been be
that beautiful. I know, for instance, that there weren’t any bushes, neither flowers or grass. Gladys had
chickens and they were always scratching everything, which would make impossible to have a beautiful
and taken care of lawn...!
Lu got out of the shop and we went to visit the chapel inside. The building was made of dark brown
wood, and it looked quite simple on the outside. Inside the style was pretty much the same. It was very
simple, little, but very warm. Nothing was ostensive. There were several little stained glasses of several
colours, allowing the soft morning light to enter. I began to notice the inscriptions below every stained
glass and saw that all of them had been given by someone. Just out of curiosity, the first stained glass of
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them all was offered by the English fan club. The others had been given by other fan clubs, relatives and
Elvis friends from all over the world. I must say that this chapel was built with the donations of fans,
friends and Elvis relatives. It is considered a memorial to Elvis and many fans go there to get married, in a
symbolic and simple tribute to the man they admire so much. The money to build this chapel started to
be collected while Elvis was still alive, but after he was gone, a commission was organised, of which Mrs.
McComb became the president, and the work was finished in 1979. The chapel’s altar is also so simple, as
well as the seats. There is no luxury in there. The sole object inside that seems to have belonged to Elvis,
is a Bible, inside a glass case. Elvis always had several Bibles throughout his life, that many people offered
him, for knowing he was a religious man and he liked to read the Sacred Book.
I was wondering if we still had time to visit the other museum in Tupelo, but we realised it would be
impossible. We had to be ready to leave to Memphis at 12.30h. So, we went back to the hotel, where we
were informed that we were going to have lunch in Memphis, at the mall, before checking in the hotel. I
was sad for not having visited the other museum and for having lost the bus in the morning. But after having
consulted my papers, I found out we hadn’t paid to visit that museum, so, at least, we hadn’t lost any money.
I asked to someone who visited it if it had been interesting, but the answer was, “Don’t worry, you haven’t
lost anything.” And they assured me that the Birthplace had been the best decision. So sweet of them...!
And there we went packing. It was so strange... to me, it looked like I was in Tupelo for two weeks, and
not just for two days. It seemed to me that that was my place and that was where I wanted to stay. It was
a funny, but pleasant feeling, and I had the incredible notion of being on vacation for a long time now. At
the hotel room, Sandra came up with an idea - she went looking in the phone directory which was inside
the drawer of the night-table if there was some people in Tupelo whose surname was Presley. And there
were a lot...! Needless to say that Sandra ripped all the pages of the directory where the Presley name was
mentioned. On the previous day we had been approached by a man who was a Tupeloan who had told
us that he never met Elvis, but his mother and aunt had gone to school with him and knew his parents,
too. Sandra was a bit skeptical, since I think she was still under the feeling of “he met Elvis... how can that
be?” But I believed him, why shouldn’t I? There must be lots of people in Tupelo who knew him or
remember him. And that man said he didn’t meet him, but only his mother and aunt had gone to school
with him. I think that after having seen so many Presleys in the phone directory of Tupelo, Sandra
changed her mind a little. We also told her - me and Lu - that many families could have that surname and
don’t belong to Elvis’ family. The original name wasn’t even Presley, but Pressley, with double “ss”. There
were also a few of those in the directory.
Leaving for Memphis
12.30 p.m. came too quickly. It was weird, since although I was curious and anxious to go to Memphis, I
felt sorry for leaving Tupelo behind. I had enjoyed and liked the town so much, the people were so nice, I
had seen and done so many things just in two days, that it almost seemed impossible to me... Now I
could perfectly understand what Jeane had always told me about Tupelo. People sitting at the porches,
lazily rocking in the rocking chairs and simply watching the time go by... It seems that there is time for
everything in Tupelo. I quite didn’t know why, but I felt that Memphis wouldn’t be that way. So, the
journey of one hour and a half that we did again back to Memphis was bittersweet to me. Not to think
much about what I was leaving behind or about what was ahead of me, I grabbed the magazine I had
bought at the Atlanta Airport and started reading. Sandra slept a little bit, Lu observed the scenery and
our other traveling companions did a bit of all these things. I talked to some of them and I marveled with
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the green spaces of America... the vegetation was so luxuriant, so green, almost tropical and there was so
much space. It seemed that over there there was space for everything and a bit more. The song America
that Elvis sang so many times in his concerts took a new meaning to me, where God his given His due
credit for the green spaces, the mountains and spacious skies... I was especially startled, since I was not
counting of loving America so much as I was, especially that part of America. Over there there weren’t tall
buildings, the highest I had seen were just two stories high and the roads were so wide, with security
margins both on the outside and close to the inside rail. Even for that they have enough space. I never felt
pollution anywhere either. The scent was country like, I could smell the grass, the green, the humid earth
full of life. It was hard to believe that Tupelo was indeed a city. Suddenly, it started to rain heavily. But
even that I found beautiful... beautiful and sad, as if the skies were expressing my sadness for leaving
Tupelo behind. When would I be there again...? Although it felt like I was over there for two weeks (and
only two days had gone by), it had been just a few time to feel in my skin and in my heart everything I
had seen. Even so, I felt fortunate for having had the chance of being there. Tupelo went well beyond my
expectations. Now I understood perfectly well why Elvis always came back to Tupelo, to see the people
and visit the plae where he had born, as well as the cemetery where his little twin brother was still buried
in an unmarked grave. Everything looked so beautiful over there... even the poorest parts of the city were
beautiful and the people well-mannered and kind. Elvis was proud of all of that.
Memphis Shopping Mall
During our trip we also sang and listened to some of Elvis’ music. And Kathy collected all the money we
donated for our floral arrangement to put in Graceland, in the name of our fan club. We were almost
arriving to our first stop in Memphis - the Shopping Mall - where we were going to have lunch before
checking in at the Ramada Inn. When we arrived at the parking lot of the mall, our 22 buses almost took
over the place. But there was room for everything and everyone. The mall was also completely different
from all the malls I had seen up until now. Here in Portugal the malls are irregular, almost like a labyrinth
in which we get lost. Not that one...! It had an ice skating place in the center and it was rectangular and
perfectly geometric and regular, with a first and second floor. There was no much time for visiting today,
but I seriously thought that there might be postcards and other items related to Elvis for sale. Not quite. I
didn’t see anything related to him, except at the disco, where the Platinum box was for sale. We got in a
photography shop where we saw that there were batteries for the photo cameras and the video camera,
in case we needed to buy them. And there were also video cassettes for Lu’s camera for sale at the disco.
Lu bought 3 cassettes of 20 minutes each, since one she had taken of 45 minutes was already full and the
other of the same duration was already started. The cassetes were very expensive...! We also went to have
lunch. I ate what it looked like a kind of veal pie with delicious spices and a Coke. Lu ate lasagna and
Sandra the same thing I did. After having lunch, we went to have a look. And, suddenly, we saw a real
American cowboy walking in our direction. He had a hat and boots like a cowboy, jeans and the way he
walked it seemed he was doing it at the sound of music that only existed inside his head. When he passed
us by he said, “Hello” and went on his way. We met him again shortly before leaving the mall, when we
were descending the escalator and he said, “What language are you speaking? I don’t understand a thing,
you should be speaking in English.” We answered him and he greeted us one last time and went away,
walking in his sexy way. It was the first person of Memphis who had talked to us and the accent sounded
like music to our ears...!
We boarded our bus again to go and check in the hotel. I was thinking about lots of things - first, that I
was going to Graceland and I was not psychologically ready for that. I was thinking about it for years and
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now, that I was there, already so close, I didn’t feel ready. So, I tried to think about things. As, for instance,
in my next meeting with Vera. I wanted to know about what had happened in that morning, during the
ceremony of the 100 gold and platinum records given to Elvis for his sales abroad, to which Vera had
attended, together with some fan club’s presidents. I felt sorry for not having been able to be there, but I
had also enjoyed visiting Tupelo in that morning. Thinking about it then, I wouldn’t have exchanged it for
the ceremony.
At long last we had arrived to our destination...! It was SO hot that there are no words to describe it. It
was beyond 4.00 p.m. and just to enter the hotel and having to queu next to the elevators was a living
hell... damned bags! When we finally managed to enter the elevator, me and Sandra didn’t have the
time to get out of it when we got to the fourth floor (where our bedroom was - in the last floor) and we
came down all over again! When the man who was operating the elevator saw us, he laughed and said
that this time we were going to make it. And off we went! Lu was smarter - she sat under a tree waiting
for everybody to get in and only then she went up. Our room was room number 419. The hotel was big
and we walked and walked before we managed to find our room. But there it was... And it was
wonderful to drop our luggage and take everything out of the bags and store them in their places. After
all, we were going to stay there for the next 12 days and we could perfectly unpack completely. It was
our home. It was so hot that I was quite happy for having put on a pair of shorts. At this time I still
couldn’t imagine that my legs would be completely bitten by the many mosquitos and other insects of
Memphis...!
First visit inside Graceland
Needless to say that we dropped everything in our rooms and got inside the first bus to Graceland. It was
the only thing we could think of that time and, as we decided, we weren’t going to take photos inside,
since we wanted to see everything without that worry. We had lots of days and opportunities to
photograph everything. And there we went. I still wasn’t ready for that - they looked like me. Our hotel
was quite near Graceland. After entering the main road, we would go straight ahead and turn left to the
Elvis Presley Boulevard, drive for a few more minutes and Graceland was right there. Of course that, at
that time, I didn’t know that and I even failed to see the famous Musical Gates wide open when our bus
drove by...! I was really startled, almost frightened, because it didn’t matter how many photos and footage
I had seen before, I couldn’t have the slightest clue to where the house might be. The only thing that I
managed to see was the plane Lisa Marie, so beautiful, blue, red and white, parked in its final resting
place, on the right side of the road where we were going. I was a bit distracted and incredulous looking at
the plane, still without believing I was really there. I was feeling like that also because our traveling
companions, 3 girl friends, one of which was quite enthusiastic, couldn’t stop talking about the shops and
the things they were going to see and buy in the minute they would get off the bus. And true to their
word, once the bus parked, they started running towards the main building of Graceland Plaza, and got
inside first shop they saw and one of them screamed, “Ooh, I’m gonna burn my credit card!” I swear I got
scared with that remark... Good grief, what was I going to find inside those shops? I was going to lose my
head for sure. But I couldn’t, I just couldn’t spend much money, I had promised to myself I wouldn’t do it
before leaving Portugal, since my new house was waiting to be furnished and decorated with all the
necessary stuff. And, above all, I was almost in transe like, very nervous to know that I was going to visit
Graceland for the first time.
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We saw the ticket booth and, meanwhile, we also saw that the place was packed with art exhibitors - it
was the exhibition of which I just came to know about in the plane to Atlanta and the one John was going
to enter with one of his drawings. They had real pieces of art in there, in every shape and size. There was
even an exhibitor with things made by children - they way they saw Elvis. It was interesting, but I was too
much distracted to appreciate the art as it deserved. With all that, me and Lu lost Sandra. We couldn’t
find her anywhere, but we didn’t feel much worried about it, for we knew she couldn’t be far. Lu
suggested for us to go and buy our tickets and I kept asking, “Where’s Sandra?” As she didn’t show up
and it was getting late - it was almost 5.00 p.m. and the ticket booths close at 6 - Lu said it was best for us
to buy the tickets. And I went, still worried for not finding Sandra. We went outside to wait in the line, in
the area where people get inside the little buses that take them up the drive way to Graceland. And it was
there that we saw Sandra. She was a bit upset for us not having bought her ticket, but we couldn’t tell if
she had already done it. On that day we bought the Platinum ticket - which includes entrance in
Graceland, the Car Museum, the planes and the Sincerely Elvis Museum.
The cost was 18 dollars. We were informed that we always had to use the ticket for the mansion on the
same day we bought it, but the others could be used at any day of the week. We were glad, since on that
day we wouldn’t have much more time to visit anything except the mansion. We advised Sandra to go
and buy her ticket straightaway, but even so, she didn’t stay in the same bus with us. With all this
confusion, I still hadn’t managed to see the Musical Gates. So, when I looked the other way to see what
was the way that the buses were taking and I saw them, it was a shock. They were right there, on the
other side of the road, right in front of us... If the gates were there, that meant that the house... I kept
following the drive way and I spotted Graceland beneath the magestic trees up there, on the hill that
everybody mentioned in books and documentaries and that I couldn’t ever imagine that it looked like
that... I couldn’t believe it.
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With the tickets, everybody is entitled to take an audio equipment with headphones and a recorded voice
guides us through the house. There are tapes in several languages, but I prefered English. I started
listening to the tape, as the young guides that were all over the place had instructed me, always ready to
help. I listened to the voice of a man saying, “If you are listening to me, it means everything is okay.
Please switch off the tape recording and turn it on when the driver tells you to.” That’s what I did. We got
inside the bus and it was a lady driving. There were lots of lady drivers in America. The bus went along in
front of the bars and shops in Graceland Plaza and stopped shortly before crossing Elvis Presley Boulevard
straight to the gates of the most famous house in the whole world of the Elvis’ fans. The lady asked us to
start the recording again and the voice of the man explained that we were about to enter the house of
Elvis. The feeling of going through those open gates inside that bus was very weird... The tared drive way
wasn’t very wide, only one car could go by at a time and even the gates themselves were much smaller
than I had imagined. Everything looked so different...! We kept going up and up and the house became
nearer and nearer when we drove through one of the roads of the circular drive way. We stopped in front
of the magestic white columns with the gorgeous porch of the house that Elvis was so proud of. The voice
in the tape asked to switch off the recorder again. I got off the bus and started looking at the house, then
I looked down the hill, where I had came from by bus almost without realizing it. Everything was so quiet
there... Our group was around 15 people. We waited just a little until someone told us to climb the steps
that lead to the main entrance of the house...
That’s what I did and the young lady who was standing at the door explained what I already knew.
Graceland was built in 1939 by Dr. Thomas Moore and his wife. The name of the house was in memory of
their aunt Grace. Elvis bought the mansion in 1957, when he was just 22 years old for 100.000 dollars.
The young guide advised to start our tape recordings again once we stepped inside the house and to turn
to the right. She said we had to stop the tape after visiting the living room, since the next visit would be
Elvis’ parents room - and that room wasn’t included in the tape recording. This was due to the fact that
Elvis’ parents room was opened just during the week of celebrations - i.e., from the 11th till the 17th
August. This was the first time the bedroom was opened to the public. The last warning was to not take
pictures with the flash on. I waited until I was one of the last people getting inside, on purpose. The
whole group got inside and I did, too, going through that famous glassed and wooden door, protected
by forged iron and stained glass on its top with the letter “P” in a very beautiful pattern up there... The
door was closed behind us. We were inside the house. The first thing that we see is the stairway with
white carpet that lead to the first floor - where the bedrooms of Elvis and Lisa are and the private office of
Elvis - not included in the tour. We also see the magestic chrystal chandelier and the Elvis portrait in the
stairway with the shirt that Gladys loved so much and the same one he had worn on her funeral - a white
shirt with trimming. To the right was the living-room, with the white sofa that had always seemed so long
to me in the photos and TV and which looked so normal to me now... Even the colored peackocks in the
stained glass looked tasteful to me and not extraordinarily tacky, as so many people had said... The voice
in the tape was saying that Elvis loved to meet with his friends there, especially in the music room with
the piano (right at the bottom of the room), where he played and sang to his amusement and his friends’.
And right there, in the main entrance hall where we were, Elvis had used it to train his karate, since it was
the only place in the house where he could do it for a question of space. I was astonished and thought,
“Well, if this is where he had more space, the house must be quite small then...!” And it already seemed
small to me. We went straight ahead and, right below the stairways that lead to the first floor, on the right
side, was the bedroom of Elvis’ parents. I liked the colours - the cover on the bed and the curtains were
purple, the chandelier was beautiful. The small restroom was even smaller than my two restrooms in my
house...! There were some personal objects that had belonged to Gladys in the bedroom - her combs,
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brushes, lipsticks and even her reading glasses - and, on top of the night-table, there was a beautiful Elvis
photo when he was a child that I had never seen before. It was quite a normal room and very tasteful,
too. Nothing of extraordinary. I turned the tape on again and when I turned back and visited the left side
of the house, I looked at the dinning-room. The main colors are blue and gold and the beautiful draperies.
The lovely glassed table, with 6 chairs only, is beautifully set as it used to be when Elvis was alive. Priscilla’s
voice in the tape explains how she tried to make romantic meals, with candles and everything, but how
difficult all that was, always with lots of people around her and Elvis... We were also informed that the
gorgeous chrystal chandelier above the table, was bought and brougth home by Elvis himself. The room
had a few furniture, simple and beautiful, with crockery inside and, in one of the walls, there was a black
and white photo of Lisa with Priscilla, one of the photos that it is said to be one of Elvis’ favourites. If it
was, he was right...
I was seeing everything, but it looked like it weren’t my eyes that were seeing. The fact that I was going
along with my tape running, completely undisturbed by any other sound around me, listening to Elvis
singing and his voice talking, it made feel as it I was in another dimension, as if I had gotten out of my
own self and had allowed myself to go there in dreams... It was a really funny feeling and I couldn’t even
determine if I was enjoying it or not - I still don’t know it now, as hard as I may think about it. It was quite,
quite strange. We continued straight ahead passing by the black and white photo of Lisa and Priscilla and
got inside the kitchen. I thought that the kitchen was going to be big, since the poor cooks that Elvis had
working for him had to work for all the entourage of the King who lived in Graceland and for all the
others that often visited the house. But, as with the previous rooms, the kitchen wasn’t big at all. The
furniture and cabinets were made of wood, of what it looked like being old oak wood. It had two lamps
that looked like cups turned upside down, also in stained glass, which gave a very cosy look to that corner
of the house where so much things must have happened. I saw the stove, as normal as any other stove,
the fridge, the dishes and cups kept inside the cabinets and also the three little TV sets in black and white
on top of one of the tables. These sets were already there in Elvis’ time, since he wanted to know what
was happening in other parts of the house - one of them showed the musical gates, another the basement
and yet another the grounds in the back. This was for security reasons. When I was about to leave to enter
another room, I saw a portrait that I had already seen before - it was the original portrait with the full
bloom magnolia that Mrs. McComb had photographed in Graceland and given to Elvis. The Tupelo’s
version said that the original was in Graceland and there it was, enhancing one of the kitchen walls. I
thought the carpeted kitchen floor to be very unsual... in a kitchen, that’s very weird indeed, but not to
Elvis.
I turned to the right, as the tape instructed me and descended some stairs also completely carpeted and
mirrored in the sides and above. It was strange looking up and see myself reflected there so close, going
down - it looked like I was climbing instead of going down! I turned to the left and I immediately saw
where I was going - it was the yellow and blue Elvis room, where he had a bar completely covered by a
yellow material (as well as the stools around it) and its famous three colored TV sets. It was there that Elvis
saw his favourite programmes, almost always at the same time, and where he kept the biggest part of his
enormous record collection. There was a sound system over there that was wired throughout the house,
so, whenever Elvis played a record, it was heard everywhere. This rooms is really small...! The sofas are
placed in a corner, there’s a small table in the center, a false fireplace and the wall where the TCB logo is
painted with the lightning bolt is made of wood. The pillows, blue and yellow, are so nice, made of soft
velvet (there were signs saying “Do Not Touch” everywhere, but I touched everything I could...!) and the
small little spots that we can see in the photos in those pillows that looked like spots are, in fact, small
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round pieces of mirror which reflect the colors all around. It was very cosy, this room, which in time was
also the same place where Elvis kept part of his gold records and where he also saw some of his private
movies with his friends. I kept wondering where in the world so many people could stay, live and be in
that house, but I kept going...
Right in front of the door of this room, was the Elvis’ pool room, where the famous pool table is, with its
blue top with a torned corner. It is said that one of Elvis’ friends tried a smart shot and missed, torning the
fabric with the cue. Above the table there’s a beautiful and original lamp that looks like the tin of an
English cake turned upside down and also in stained glass, which adds to the intimate and cosy
atmosphere of that room. This same lamp is broken in one of its corners, a victim of one shot that
completely lots its way...! The walls and ceiling of this room, which had always puzzled me in all the
photos I had seen, were completely covered by pleated fabric. I touched the fabric and inspected
underneath, it’s not glued or anything, it’s just pleated and nailed in the ground and ceiling. The voice in
the tape explained that it took 3 whole days to get that job done, although this room isn’t big either.
Besides, if there were people sitting in the chairs that surrounded the pool table, those who were playing
had to be careful not to step on their toes...!
Still puzzled, I moved on and turned to the left, where I was faced by some more steps completely covered
by rough green carpet, both the walls and floor. I climbed the steps, following the tape’s instructions. I
knew I was going to Elvis’ favourite room - the Jungle Room. As I was going up, the voice in the tape kept
explaining that it had been in there that Elvis had recorded some of his albums and that it also was one of
his favourite places to play and be with his friends. Some excerpts of songs are heard and of Elvis talking,
singing and laughing like crazy... How his laugh was contagious, dear God! I felt compelled to smile,
almost without realizing it. And Priscilla says his laugh was so contagious that even if we didn’t find it
funny, everybody ended laughing anyway. When I reached the top of the stairs, I looked to the left where the room was - and I was startled. I have the book on Graceland, with several photos on this room,
but it was so different...! It’s not possible to take a photo in a way to capture the complete space of this
room, you really have to be there. The bar is in one of the ends of the room, just across the fountain, it’s
carved in what it looks like to be a tree log, very rough, as well as the stools that surround it. The sofas
and chairs are all covered by fake fur. The lamps on the tables add to the intimicy of the room, which is
quite dark. Elvis didn’t like too much light and the curtains of this room are in several tones of green and
cover the windows, in a way to not allow the sun light in. The famous fountain - which this time was
working - is really beautiful...! The only sound that can be heard in this room is the soft water drops falling
in the little “pond” below. It’s easy to understand why Elvis enjoyed to go there to relax and also why Lisa
liked to take naps in there in her favourite chair. That chair is kind of round and also long, and there’s a
teddy bear there, which belonged to Lisa. The voice in the tape explained that the fountain was unveiled
by Elvis in a private ceremony and everything, for all the family to see. This room also has direct access by
the kitchen. Besides, from what I could see, in the midst of the confusion that was assaulting my brain,
the house had access to all the rooms practically from everywhere. And there were also several ways to go
upstairs. It really felt like starting running and stop you know where, but there were cameras filming
everywhere - very discreet and silent, but ever present. The Jungle Room inspired a calm and well-being
feeling and I just felt like staying there, leaning against the kind of window’s still that overlooked the
fountain, to see and try to remember moments never lived before...
The voice in the tape woke me up momentarily from my numbness. I moved on and turned to the right,
from where I got out to the backyard of Graceland. I walked by a path made of stones and a place that
- 25 -
looked like had been the original place where Elvis had kept his cars before having been put in the Car
Museum at Graceland Plaza, on the other side of the Elvis Presley Boulevard. In a future visit I asked about
it to a guide and she confirmed it to me. Now it was empty and the only thing there, was a big fan always
working to cool the visitors that were passing by. Next stop would the office, the same office where Elvis
had given his first interview after returning from Germany and having completed his military service for
two years. Right beside the office door and to the right, was a small amusement park for children, with
swings and slides. Lisa must have played there several times. I got in and was confronted by a perfectly
normal office. The only thing there that seemed out of place was the Sony TV set, where the interview
Elvis gave to the press is being continuously shown. And in one of the corners of the office was the same
desk, the same lamp and the same chair that we can see in the footage, where Elvis is talking about his
army experience. All the objects in there seem to be the original - the copy machine looks funny and the
typewriter is from the IBM brand, exactely the same model in which I worked with at IBM when I was
working there for 3 years, as an executive secretary. I also found the office very small, considering that it
was there that all the immense mail that Elvis got (an average of 10.000 letters per week) and all the bills
of the state and the house were taken care of. In the interview I saw some excerpts that I had never seen
before and stood still observing and listening with my tape switched off. When Elvis was asked which
piece of advice he would like to give to the boys that were about to go to the army, he said, “Well... I
would advise them not to try to be different or individuals, because if they do it, they will go through two
years of misery. If they do everything right, it will be better. They never lost yet.” The reporters laughed
and Elvis laughed, too. Elvis also says that he would never get rid of Graceland and, when asked, “What
did you miss most in Memphis?” he answered, “Everything.” I would understand his answer more
completely along with my stay there.
The next room, close to the office is the room known as the Smoke Room. Only now I realized why it is
called like that. Because in there, for everyone to see, is a target to train shooting and I couldn’t associate
the name of the room with its purpose. But, originally, that room was used for the people to go to smoke,
since it was forbidden to smoke in the office - that’s why it had that name. However, in the future, Elvis
decided to use it as a room to train his shooting. I couldn’t stop wondering if he would practice his activity
while the secretaries and his father were working at the office...! Because if he ever did it, poor of them...!
The same wall of the office is the same wall of this room, which is really tiny. The door to get outside is so
low that my head almost touched the door-case... Elvis had to get down to get in and out. I got out and
passed by the little amusement park. That place was indeed a beautiful one... and peaceful, too. The
horses were lazily pasturing in the surrounding grounds. The bushes, the flowers and the trees were all
very beautiful... But I must say that I’ve only dully appreciated its beauty in the future visits I did. As I’ve
said before, I was in a kind of transe during this first visit.
I kept following the instructions in my tape and headed towards the entrance what was the Trophy Room.
I knew I could well spend two to three hours in there to look at everything. Right at the entrance was an
Elvis bust made of what looked like bronze, but I didn’t like it much. There are very few sculptures of Elvis
that I find truely beautiful. The first piece of clothing that we see is the golden suit Elvis wore during the
50’s. I had heard that the suit was in very bad conditions, very dirty, but looking at it now, noone would
tell that it had been in those conditions... it shone like everything and it was lovely...! And it was so easy to
imagine Elvis inside that suit. But it was so difficult to see that he had such a “normal” size, if I could say
that... Right beside it were his first five singles released by the Sun Records. To the right was a TV set
showing his first appearances on TV during the 50’s and beside the set was a piece of clothing that I
immediately recognized before reading the inscription. It was the shirt that Elvis had worn in the movie
- 26 -
Jailhouse Rock. The funny thing was that I had never seen the colors of that shirt - short sleeves, with
irregular reddish, grey and white stripes. And there was the inscription confirming my thought. After all,
Jailhouse Rock was the movie that introduced me to Elvis for the first time...
I went through yet another door and entered a long hall with its floor, walls and ceiling covered by a
fabric/carpet in a blue like the sky. And there they were... the Elvis‘ gold and platinum records, in the
place that is now known as the hall of gold. But the gold records weren’t the only awards in exhibition his Grammy’s were also there, for his religious recordings, several awards by Cashbox and, at the end of
the hall, that famous plaque which contains the name of so many charitable organisations that got
together and decided to honour Elvis with it for his generous contributions along the years. I ketp moving
to the left. Right there was Elvis’ army uniform and his boots. Keep going to the left, was the robe that
Elvis wore in Kid Galahad, with the green clover in the back. In the next glassed case were the clothes that
Elvis wore in the movie Charro! and I was completely knocked out with it just staring at it... it was exactely
as looking at Elvis on TV with those clothes on. The suits and clothes are exhibited in a way as if a body is
inside them, but they don’t have dolls inside. It is impressive. I have also noticed other things that I really
loved to have in my collection - the several scripts for Elvis’ movies. There was the script of my favourite
movie - Wild In The Country. How I’d love to read it! Close to the clothes from Charro! was the red suit that
Elvis wore at NBC TV Special in 1968. I didn’t know why, but this suit and the white one from the same
special had always been the suits that I enjoyed less from all the suits that Elvis wore in the special, but...
when I saw that hot red suit in front of me, I changed my mind completely...! I found it beautiful, even
standing next to the black leather suit and everything. The black leather suit didn’t impress me much, but
maybe that’s due to the fact that it looks kind of tarnished, as if it needed to be polished, or something
like that. When Elvis used it in the show, it was shiny and now, it looks like it hasn’t no life, in contrast to
the other ones.
Meanwhile, the voice in the tape reminded me to look at the other wall, which was covered with offers to
Elvis from fans from all over the world. And those offers included poems, drawings, paintings, portraits,
embroideries, greeting cards and birthday cards, get well cards, little awards, etc... However, one thing
that I didn’t miss and which was the first item that I laid my eyes on when I looked at that wall, was the
Key to City of Tupelo - just like mine - in there, on that wall. It was just like mine, in size and shape, except
in the words engraved, which read Janelle McComb instead of Welcome to Tupelo, Mississippi. Probably it
was her who gave it to him when she was Mayor of Tupelo.
Walking by slowly along that room, I looked to the right again, where another exhibitor contained three
different jumpsuits of the time Elvis returned to the stages to perform live again in 1969 in Las Vegas.
They were the first and more simple ones, and the ones I loved the most, completely white. One jumpsuit
was the one with the macrame around the neck and waist, another was the one who has the fringes in V
format in the chest and also colored beads on each end and yet another one seen in TTWII, the “Concha”
suit. I couldn’t stop feeling amazed with the size of the suits, especially with the “thickness” of the legs Elvis was so slim at this stage of his life that it’s almost unbelievable... And what about his boots? Dear
God, Elvis had such big feet! All his boots and remaining shoes were specially hand-made, but in spite of
being big, they’re very tasteful. In this exhibitor it was also in display the famous gold belt that the then
International Hotel (later Hilton Hotel) offered him for having sold out every show and for adding extra
shows to the scheduled ones in order to satisfy the constant demand by the fans. The belt was made of
silver and gold platted and it weighted 15 pounds. Every display with clothes also contain Elvis’ photos
wearing those same clothes.
- 27 -
Going my way and turning to the right to keep on looking at the several objects displayed, the first thing
I saw was the famous painting Elvis had had made of himself from head to toes - the one where he’s
dressed in white over a dreaming background of white clouds and yellow tones. I could never imagine
that the portrait was so big...! As you can see, everything had completely different sizes from those I had
imagined so far...! In front of this painting and inside another glass display is the tuxedo and shirt Elvis
wore during the ceremony of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of America, as well as its respective award.
These clothes (as well as all the others, except for the black leather suit) seemed in great conditions. I
couldn’t say the same thing about the trophy...! I had always known that Elvis liked to take this trophy
with him everywhere he went, since it seems that it was the award he was most proud of. But I could
never imagine that it would be in such bad conditions... all scratched and already rusty in some spots. For
those who don’t remember, this trophy consists of a beautiful sculpture of two open hands, whose finger
tips are touching, both in a vertical position.
Keep going and surrounding that display, to the right there was another display that had one of the suits
that I enjoy the most and which, incidently, Sandra doesn’t like one bit. It is a brown suit that Elvis wore
after having performed in Houston, Texas in 1970. He looked so elegant in that suit, my God, he was so
thin...! There were more suits, but already from his concerts of the 70’s, which means that the jumpsuits
were more elaborated. In this category are included the White and Black Matador (jumpsuits that he wore
on tour and that can be seen in the Elvis On Tour documentary), a silk shirt with a crazy pattern in tones of
brown and the coat and shirt that Elvis wore during the interview in New York shortly before his shows in
Madison Square Garden in 1972. As you well remember, the suit was blue and the shirt a black and white
one with flowers. But now the color of the coat is kind of “disappearing” with the time and the light,
maybe. The blue, once very bright, is now very light and fading away... But, after all, this suit is 25 years
old...! We tend to forget about that. In the middle of the suits and clothes, there are several personal
objects, almost always jewelry, belts and guitars. One of the jumpsuits that is said to be one that Elvis
hated - the Flame suit - and which I never enjoyed to see in the photos, is quite beautiful seen “in person”.
It had always been something that I had learned from people and it’s quite true. The Aloha From Hawaii
jumpsuit is also there. I think I must have well spent around 5 minutes in front of this suit, just looking at
it, admiring the colors of the stones of its pattern... In fact, all the jumpsuits are much more impressive
seen in front of you than in the photos and footage. Now just try to imagine Elvis wearing them...! I can’t
even try to. Some of the stones are kind of transparent, others are not, but the general effect is gorgeous.
This suit was one of those that impressed me the most, as long as another one, of which I just have a few
photos, the Rainfall suit, which is just that, it looks like rain falling of drops made of little and bright and
limpid blue stones, as the water of a lake in a summer day with a very blue sky above. Of course that the
cape of the Aloha suit is also there, but this is really the original one that Elvis tossed to the audience
during the show. The man who catched it, sold it to another Elvis fan, named Andrew Kern. This
gentleman, who passed away a few years back with cancer, had left a will saying that the cape should
return to the place where it deserved to be and that place was Graceland. His will was respected. If there
were more people like him around, it would be nice. He never put his interests above the value that all
those artifacts now have for all the real Elvis fans around the world.
The voice in the tape reminded of the other wall again, which contains a great part of the guns’ and
police badges’ collection that Elvis collected throughout his life. But in the middle of all these objects,
there are still more thank you plaques from several organisations to which Elvis donated money or
valuable objects for charity. I promised to give a better look in a future visit.
- 28 -
There was also the famous white and red gi with which Elvis practiced karate, the Tiger suit (which is
gorgeous), Indian suit, and, of course, the suit that Elvis wore the most in his last year, the Sundial suit. I
never liked this suit much, but the interweaving of its work in that round map, which is a map with a
Maya design, is quite impressive. It should take ages to make a suit like that for Elvis. It was no wonder
they were so expensive. Because in spite of containing very expensive materials (many of the stones were
precious stones), the work involved was also immense. But around this time I was already very, very
emotional. The tape to which I was listening to was playing Elvis singing the songs Hurt and Unchained
Melody from his performance of In Concert and it was too much for me to bear... Suddenly, I felt like
running away from there. It was too much to be looking at the jumpsuit, in front of me, to realize that it
wasn’t much larger than the previous ones, to listen to Elvis singing with that voice that never abandoned
him and to see him performing in the TV screen that was continuously showing him... it was too much to
think about what could have been and wasn’t... The astonishment I had been feeling up until then was
now being replaced for a much different feeling - for the emotion and a mess of blues.
I went outside. It was getting dark, since it was beyond 6 o’clock. I walked by another beautiful stoned
path surrounded by grass and bushes and flowers and I went to the place where the tape was instructing
me to - to the racketebol building. I don’t remember having walked there, I was so absorbed in thoughts.
I entered the building and I saw the many objects that I had already seen in my book on Graceland. The
sofas, the slot machines, the piano in which Elvis had played and sang Unchained Melody and Blue Eyes
Crying In The Rain on the night before he died... I couldn’t stay there looking at it for long, so I kept on
moving and started to go down the steps that led to the main room of the building. It was there, half way
of those steps, that I stopped cold and exclaimed in a low voice, “WOW...!” Down there, on the wall right
in front of me, were the 111 gold records awarded to Elvis in 1992 for his sales in the US. There wasn’t a
single place for another record, all the wall was covered, from left to right, from the floor to the ceiling...
I always knew that the records were there, but, I don’t know exactely why, I wasn’t ready for that sight...
I couldn’t stop thinking, “My God, how can it be possible for a single man to conquer so much in such a
little time...?” There wasn’t any other place in the house to keep those records, so they had to put them
in the only space available, in this case, in the gymn. On the left wall, there were even more awards
conquered by Elvis. The knot I felt in my throat started to get bigger and the tears began to form in my
eyes. There was a TV set down there, in which a movie explained what those records were, why and how
they were there. The RCA responsibles explained the reason why they had offered the beautiful glass
monument displayed in there dedicated to Elvis - for having been and still be the greatest performer in
the voice recording industry in the whole world. The film ended with a beautiful close-up of Elvis wiping
his face with a scarf and a lei during the concert Aloha From Hawaii...
I left that place feeling even more dizzy than when I had gotten in. I turned the tape on which I had
switched off when I saw a sign in the garden reminding me to do it. But even before listening to the voice
of my guide, I already knew where I was going to - it was the Meditation Garden. And I still wasn’t ready
for that... How would it be like? What now? What could I do to get ready? Would it be like I had always
thought? Would I really want to see the grave of the man that I so much admired in life? Would I want to
realize forever that everything that was left of him - at least in physical terms - was there, under that
stone?
I continued to move forward very, very slowly, also very frightened and moved, with the tape switched
off... I went by a very beautiful place, a little well with a kind of round cover and surrounded by wooden
seats with a little roof of grey tiles above it, surrounded by beautiful trees with hot pink flowers. This
- 29 -
would be the place that would turn out to be one of my favourite spots in that house. But on that
moment, I hardly noticed that lovely place... I kept going and I saw the famous fountain in the middle of
that small round pool near the garden where the family graves were. The place was so quiet, so peaceful...
I went to where I knew the thing I most feared to see was, although I had seen hundreds of photographs...
the first stone that I saw was a little one in memory of Jesse Garon, Elvis’ twin brother who died at birth.
That little stone also had little flower bouquets and teddy bears. The sobs kind of started coming up to my
throat... I walked a little more and saw Gladys Love Presley’s grave, the beloved mother... right beside her
was the grave of her husband, Vernon Elvis Presley and, immediately after, Elvis’ grave... It was there, it
was there where he was... to me, it was as if he had just died on that precise moment, it was as if I was
finally faced with the sad reality that I would never meet him in my life, that I would never see him or talk
to him... the sad reality of knowing that he wouldn’t laugh anymore, he wouldn’t sing and live anymore...
“Oh, Elvis...” I thought, with the tears streaming down my face, “Why did you die? Why didn’t you stay
for a little while longer...? You had such a beautiful house, so many people who loved you, you had so
many things to do in your life... You haven’t enjoyed almost anything of what you accomplished for you
and yours...” And I cried, I cried a lot. On the right side of Elvis, was the grave of his gramma, Minnie Mae
Presley. And there they were, the family that had started with so many difficulties in life, who had never
had anything of their own except their pride and dignity, their good manners and love for each other. A
family that didn’t have a thing and that then had eveything... and that, finally, didn’t have a thing again.
Gladys had been the first one to go, followed by Elvis 19 years later, by Vernon two years later and, at last,
by gramma, who was the one who lived longer and survived them all... At Elvis’ funeral, Minnie was
heard saying that it should be her lying in that coffin and not her grandson. She couldn’t know that she
had yet to bear the death of her own son Vernon before she left this world. It was a very sad story... A
story of blended lives who had shared so many things in common - needs, joys, sadness, love, tragedy,
pride, humbleness... I cried for all of them, not just for Elvis. I was very sorry for not being able to meet
them, to talk to them, for knowing that they had been taken away so soon... I thought about all of this
sitting in the steps right in front of Elvis’ grave, looking at all the flowers in the garden without seeing
them... so beautiful flowers, so sad flowers... I wasn’t the only one weaping. The pain was shared by all
the people who were there or passing by. Even for someone who isn’t an Elvis fan and goes by the graves,
that person can’t help feeling moved somehow, after having seen everything that that humble and simple
man from Mississippi accomplished in so little time... more, much more than many men accomplish in 10
lives twice as long. “Oh, Elvis... why did you die...?” That question was haunting me and torturing me as
it never had before. Which made me hurt the most was to know that it was an unanswerable question...
I stood up to leave. The gates of the mansion had to be closed for sure, since the guided tours had already
stopped. It was time to leave. It was dark already. Meanwhile, we had already joined Sandra. The flowers
and flower arrangements that couldn’t fit near the graves and the Meditation Garden, had been displayed
along the drive way. There was another sign in the garden, when we were leaving, reminding us to turn
on the tape. That’s what I did. If I knew I wouldn’t have done it. The voice was telling how Elvis had
always lived with the hope of dreaming, dreaming more and more and help those that hadn’t been so
lucky in life... While I was reading the messages of the many flower arrangements displayed in there, I
began listening to Elvis singing If I Can Drean and I weapt even more... “There must be lights burning
brighter somewhere, got to be birds flying higher in a sky more blue”... I knew Elvis had made his dreams
come true one hundred times, as he himself had said in his speech during the ceremony of the Ten Most
Outstanding Young Men of America, but, even so, I wondered if he had been as happy as I would have
wanted him to be. He deserved to be the happiest man in the world, since his life had been full of
accomplishments, yes, but also of many givings. Elvis always gave more that what he kept for himself.
- 30 -
The evidences were inside that house, the evidences were in the many people that had witnessed his
kindness, the evidences were in the love that was felt in the air all around, stronger than anything else...
“Elvis, are you there...?” I thought, looking up to the tree leaves so high, gently moving to the hot breeze,
“feel, Elvis, feel the love we still have for you... and there, wherever you are, I hope you have your loveliest
smile in your handsome face...” I know that Elvis’ spirit didn’t die, that it’s more alive than ever... Could
there be a better proof than me being there, 20 years after, with so many other people who felt the same
way? Could there be a better proof than all those flower arragements done with so much love and coming
from every corner of this world...?
I slowly walked until I got to the place where the buses pick up the people to take them back to Graceland
Plaza. I sat in one of those stone seats, looking at the sumptuous entrance of the house that was already
lighted, adding a more romantic and dreaming look to it... Everything had gone through that door. It was
a magestic door, but, in the end, it was a door as any other door. A door that had been witness to
everything that had happened there - everything of good and bad - as all the other doors in this world.
We boarded the bus. The driver was the same lady who had brought us up. She asked us if we had
enjoyed our tour. The unanimous answer was “Yes!” and it almost blowned her away. She kind of jumped.
After some kind words, she advised us to have the audio equipment ready to leave on the way out. The
feeling of coming down by the other side of the winding drive way was as strange as of coming up. The
gates seemed even smaller to me, the guards house was really small and the stone walls... my God, they
were so low...!
Walk A Mile In My Shoes - Failed try-out
The bus parked where it had picked us up in the first place, we left the audio equipment and we stayed
there without saying a word. What could we say...? We had just finished going by the life of a man in less
than 2 hours and a half and gone through very different and strong emotions. There was a moment when
I felt so, so sad near Elvis’ grave that I thought that the best thing to do was to not return to that place
again... But this opinion would change.
Well, it was almost seven o’clock and neither of us was hungry. How could we...? And we didn’t know
what to do next either. And I couldn’t help thinking about the cruise in the Mississippi River, to which we
hadn’t been able to get tickets to and which was on that night. But I looked ahead and I saw the Bijou
theater still open. There’s a little cinema in Graceland Plaza which is always working with the same movie,
with the title of the song that Elvis sang so often in 1970, Walk A Mile In My Shoes. The duration of the
movie is 22 minutes, it’s for free, and the sessions begin every 30 minutes. We could attend to the session
of seven o’clock, I suggested. It was best than just staying there, thinking about sad things and feeling
even more sad. They agreed and we entered the theater. Inside it was cool, on the contrary to the
constant heat felt outside. We sat in one of the rows almost to the rear of the room because the seats
were almost all taken.
When it was seven o’clock, the lights dimmed. But, instead of having a big screen with footage on the
king, it remained black and only the following words appeared: “Put the cassette in” to the sound of Walk
A Mile In My Shoes. The lights were turned on again and the young tour guides of the Graceland staff
were very busy around the projection device to try to determine what the problem was. A minute later, it
seemed they had solved the problem and the lights were dimmed once again. Yes, this time the image of
- 31 -
Elvis appeared dancing like crazy in the documentary That’s The Way It Is, but... where’s the sound? We
couldn’t hear a thing. The lights were turned on and, around this time, remarks could be heard in the
audience. It looked like we couldn’t have the sound and the footage at the same time, just one thing at a
time. So, the boys of the Graceland staff (who, by now, were 5 already) thought about putting something
else while they tried to solve the problem and they put Viva Las Vegas movie. Not bad, it was good too...
(at this moment I didn’t know that every day after 7 o’clock an Elvis movie was shown at the theater). But
we still didn’t have sound. But that was soon arranged. The people in the audience started to sing the
title-song of the movie - since we even had legends and everything. But they were so out of tune, dear
God...! Now some laughs could be heard, too... I was laughing myself too, because only Elvis’ fans could
behave that way. But I confess I was also thinking, “How can I be laughing this way if a little while ago I
was crying so much...?” Meanwhile, the guys from the Graceland staff decided to take the cassette out,
to which everybody started booing, since everybody was having so much fun. One of them - a blond guy
with brown eyes, very nice - said, “Okay, if you have any problem, you know what to do, you can talk to
me, since I am the responsible here. My name is Steve.” While he was speaking, he was covering his
identity badge in his uniform - his name was Jeff. He was trying to be funny but, actually, he was quite
annoyed for not being able to start the movie. When the sentence “Put the cassette in” showed up on the
screen again, everybody burst out laughing and suggesting that was what they should do. And that’s
what they did. Viva Las Vegas followed his normal pace and story. I mean, not that quite... we still didn’t
have sound. And then, the guys in the audience decided to start talking as the main characters, since we
had legends - in this case, to double Elvis’ voice, Ann-Margret’s and the other Italian, older and racing car
man. You had to be there to see how funny it was...! As you know, Elvis was completely blowned away
with Ann-Margret and decided to look for her in all the Las Vegas casinos, thinking that she was a
showgirl. When we watch him passing by in front of the stages, looking very closely to the faces of all the
showgirls, a smart guy in the audience remarked in loud voice, “Elvis went shopping!” General laughter.
But there was a lady behind us who was having a serious laughing case, a real laughing attack... She
couldn’t stop laughing for a second! Meanwhile, the movie kept going and the boys present in the
audience did all the sounds that should be heard in the movie - the cars going, the wind, the falls,
shooting, etc... The third song, as you know, it’s The Lady Loves Me, that Elvis sings in duet with AnnMargret near by the pool. We decided to sing it like this: the guys sang Elvis’ part and we, the girls, AnnMargret’s. But until we got it right, Ann-Margret sang with a very strong voice and Elvis with a very
feminine one...! I almost wet my pants for laughing so hard. Jeff, the guy from the Graceland staff, who
was still trying to solve the problem, together with the others who kept communicating with walkietalkies everywhere, fell on the theater floor, looking at everybody with the most astonished look I ever did
see... He couldn’t believe that that was really happening... I mean, we were there for almost an hour and
no-one was annoyed or upset for the movie that was supposed to be running, hadn’t started yet. We
could have watched two entire sessions already...! The movie story without sound kept going until we got
to my favourite movie sequence of all Elvis’ movies - C’mon Everybody. Needless to say it was another
“murdered” song by all the people singing, but it was amusing to do everything that Elvis tells us to do snap our fingers, stomp our feet, clap our hands, whistle, turn our heads to the left and to the right... And
this kept going until Elvis and Ann-Margret went out for a whole day and Elvis singing Today Tomorrow
And Forever at the piano, while she was changing in order for them to go out in the evening. When she
finally appeared, a smart guy remarked, “Turn the air-conditioning on!” She was indeed very pretty and it
was another general laughter. It was logical that on that night nothing could be done about it and, after
almost two hours, we decided to leave. My cheeks were sore for laughing so hard and, meanwhile, I don’t
know if that other lady survived her permanent laughing case... We got out to the Graceland Plaza, once
again.
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Those two so different moments - visiting Graceland for the first time and laughing like crazy at the
theater - which had taken place so near one to the other, only made me see how everything around Elvis
is so contradictory. Even our feelings for him can change from one moment to the other. Elvis was also
like that - sad in a moment, joyful in the next one, super happy in yet another one and very angry
immediately after. But in this case, I thought that no, it wasn’t wrong to having had those happy moments
inside the theater after having felt so sad... I know Elvis wouldn’t want us to feel sad... Who knows if that
wasn’t a way to make us see that it’s no use to feel sad and what it really matters is to take the most out of
life with the work and legacy he left us...?
As it was well beyond 8 o’clock, every shop at the Plaza was already closed. So, it wasn’t going to be
today yet that I was going to spend my money in Elvis’ stuff. I wasn’t in the mood for it either, I must
say... In spite of the laughs, I was still very shocked and kind of scared with the experience of visiting
Graceland. We were thinking that the best thing to do was to go home or to Graceland Crossing - a few
steps ahead, where live shows were going on for 24 hours a day - when we looked to the Musical Gates,
expecting to find them closed... but they were wide open. What in the world...! It was known that the
guided tours to the house ended at 6 o’clock. We also knew that the gates were opened every morning
between 6 and 7.30 a.m. for the people to visit the Meditation Garden before the guided tours started
again at 8. We were already planning to return to Graceland in the morning as much as we could,
according to our itinerary, when... I looked straight ahead and saw people climbing the drive-way on
their foot...! What was that? We decided to go and check it out.
Graceland at night
We crossed the Elvis Presley Boulevard and I went straight to the guard who was guarding the gates at the
door of the guard’s house. It wasn’t even necessary to say a word, he immediately asked, “Yes, honey?” in
that so beautiful accent, dear God...! I asked him if it was normal for the gates to be open. He said that
during that week of celebrations the gates would be open every night until 10, 11 o’clock. I asked him if
that had already happened before, since I had never heard of such a thing, not even from so many people
that had gone there. And he said that this was the first time it happened, to mark the 20th Anniversary. I
was so astonished that, for a moment, I didn’t realize I was in the middle of the drive way and inside the
property and that I could go up when I pleased, at my own pace. At night, Graceland is very beautiful,
since its façade has lights all around. But it’s not just the house, all those main trees - those magestic and
very old oak trees - have a light at their feet. The colors can change, it can be red, blue, green, orange or
simply white or yellow. This adds to a fantasy and surreal atmosphere to all the property. And anyone can
see that from the street, since the walls are really very low and the house is standing up on a hill.
There we went up the drive way, which wasn’t lighted anywhere by a lamp or sign. Only during Christmas
time the driveway is decorated with dozens of colored lights, which makes it look like an airport...! But on
that moment, the darkness was almost complete, since Elvis Presley Boulevard itself isn’t that lighted.
While I was going up, I kept paying attention to things that I hadn’t noticed before - as the sound of the
cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers and lots of other insects singing. It was the only sound that I could hear,
since as you’re going up, the trees in the property don’t let the sound coming from down the hill get
there. It’s a funny feeling, looking to the cars passing by down there, so close and don’t listen to the noise
they make... we can almost say it looks like watching a movie with no sound. Then I also noticed the
scent. It was easy to notice these things now, since it was so dark that my eyes couldn’t be distracted with
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the surrounding scenery... The scent was very similar to the one I had experienced in Tupelo - I could
smell the grass, the fertile and alive grounds, the humidity... It was no wonder there were so many insects
and other small “animals”, because it rained a lot and the humidity was the perfect place for them to
reproduce themselves. The same could be said about the vegetation. For what I had seen, there were lots
of trees and vegetation in the city, which made it look just a bit like a city. Yes, I was in the outskirts of
Memphis and not in downtown, but it still looked more like countryside to me and not a town... While I
was walking around there in the dark and listening to the sounds and smelling the different scents around
me, I remembered a funny story that Charlie Hodge once told. Elvis had two uncles who worked as guards
to the gates - Uncle Travis (Gladys’ brother) during the day shift, and Uncle Vester (Vernon’s brother)
during the night shift. Needless to say which was the hardest shift. The walls are so low (and always were)
that it was quite easy for anyone to climb them and start running up the hill in the grounds to the house,
without the guards realizing it. The lights were barely unexistant and Elvis also didn’t keep dogs that
might scare or hurt people. Now I could understand how easy it had been for some of his fans to get
inside and dive in his pool without noone realizing it... But I was saying that, one night, Uncle Vester was
at the gates guarding them and he was having his share of hardship with a group of girls in particular
who wanted to get inside. They knew Elvis was at home, since he was just arriving from Hollywood and
another movie. After waiting for a while, they did what was expected - they climbed the wall and started
running up the hill - maybe very near from the spot I was standing now. Of course they couldn’t help
laughing a lot for the excitement and for cheating Uncle Vester. He immediately knew what they had
done and went after them. But, in the dark, he couldn’t see where could they be. “C’mon, girls, be nice
and come with me...!” he was saying, to which they only replied with more giggles. Uncle Vester got fed
up of insisting and not seeing an end to it. Until he heard another deeper giggle, followed by the
comment, “Don’t worry, Uncle Vester, I’m out here with them!” It was Elvis! That big naughty guy...! Dear
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me, just imagining scenes like that one, made me feel so good for being there, for being able to realize
much better and clearly how things and life had been in that place...
I was almost getting to the top of the hill and near the house when I recalled that I had promised to pick
up leaves from the grounds of Graceland to offer to several people that were Elvis’ fans in Portugal and
other countries, too. On this night I only picked up some. I also wanted to take some with me for myself
and it was no harm, since the grass always had plenty of dry leaves from the trees. It was impressive to see
the façade of the house up close lighted the way it was, now that it was really dark... As Sandra had taken
a photo camera, we got bolder and took some photos just to see how did they turn out. We also visited
the gravesite again. I wanted to know if I was going to feel as I had felt moments before. It was the same.
I didn’t cry as much as I did, but the quietness and peace of the night that could be felt in there, made
me have the crazy wish of lying there in the floor and sleep close to the family... I don’t know how to
explain it, but it seemed that I felt the love among all those people - who had loved each other so much
in life - still present in that place. I felt that they would never allow that something bad would happen to
me, to us... But it was always sad. The persons who were there, never had happy faces, even if they didn’t
cry. That was a place of respect, solemn and yes, of meditation. Elvis enjoyed going to that place to clear
his head when he felt upset about something. And in reality the effect that place has over people is of
peace, in spite of everything else. That fountain, which water is always running, with its calming sound
and beautiful sight of the pool in kidney shape, give people peace of mind. Above this all, we can see the
strong branches of the old and august oak trees. And the sound of the wind going through their leaves is
also very calming. Yes... that was indeed the best spot for Elvis to be in his final resting place. His daddy
had taken the right decision when he had Gladys and Elvis moved from the Forest Hill Cemetery to the
Meditation Garden in Graceland. It is said that Elvis never expressed that wish in life, but I know he would
have approved it. It’s such a beautiful place... Lu took some photos of us standing near the grave on this
night and it can be seen that we are indeed very sad. In one photo where I am near the statue of Jesus
Christ, I have my eyes filled with tears.
We walked in the garden very slowly and observed the many flower arrangements (which were always
arriving from every corner of the world), each one of us lost in our very private and personal thoughts. A
louder voice couldn’t be heard, almost anyone was talking and, if someone did so, it was in a moderate or
low tone. I noticed that there were several flower arrangements from Bouquets Of Love, that organisation
to which our Portuguese fan club contributes every year, so Elvis’ grave never stays without flowers during
the whole year. They had already sent us some photos of some of the arrangements, but those displayed
there were even more beautiful. The funds to make these arrangements come from the whole world and
the inscription in every one of them said, “From Fans of All Over The World”. I liked to know that we were
already contributing for that cause.
When I descended the driveway again towards the Boulevard down there, I thought to myself - it was a
lot better to stay here and not having went to the cruise in the Mississippi River. Of course there would be
other nights - and we wanted to visit Graceland in every one of them, if possible - but I wouldn’t have
exchanged those moments for a cruise in the Mississippi River, even though I really wanted to go. And
then, we could always go some other time. Not in a boat with an Elvis show on board, but in a normal
one. We would see. There was another thing that caught my eye during these first two visits. Graceland
was so well taken care of, either inside and outside the house. I had heard some people say that the house
was neglected, the grounds and gardens badly kept. But no. I didn’t see that. The grounds, the grass, the
trees, flowers, the paths and the house, everything was kept in excellent conditions. In fact, it looked
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almost impossible how could they keep everything looking so good with so many people visiting the
house and the grounds.
It was late and we were tired. However, we stayed near by the gate waiting for it to close to take pictures
of it. While it was still open, we also took some photos. The gates closed around 11 pm. After being
closed, we decided to go home. We didn’t know where were we supposed to catch the bus back to the
hotel, so we went to the same spot where we had been dropped - near the parking lot close the Lisa
Marie plane. But no bus showed up and we knew they were running every 15 minutes. Maybe that wasn’t
the place. Since I am mentioning the buses, I must say that the company, Capital, which was working
around the clock to serve the English fan club, was hired by the Traveling Agency of the Club (Arena
Travel). The reason why they did it was because the town didn’t have a satisfactory service in terms of
public transports. During all my stay there I only saw a bus stopping at the bus stop right in front of
Graceland and, downtown, I only saw a few of them, almost always empty. It seems that, over there, even
the poorest person drives a car (and maybe I’m wrong!). And cabs are very expensive. So, the club
organised a transport service between the several hotels where the fans were staying and the places they
wanted to visit - downtown, interesting spots, the mall of Memphis, Libertyland and, of course,
Graceland. The schedules (time-tables) of the buses were displayed at the lobby of the hotel which, by
the way, was completely taken by Elvis fans! I think it was the only hotel in Memphis which was
completely full with Elvis fans from our group. The buses to Graceland started at 6 a.m. every day and
ended at 2 a.m., every 15 or 20 minutes. I don’t believe we could have had a better service than this one.
In the meantime, the 3 of us and other fans from our hotel, realized that, after all, the bus was parked
right alongside the wall of Graceland, with the driver motioning people to get inside. And the driver was
Larry, a black guy that we had already seen in Tupelo at the banquet and who was extremely attractive
and very nice. Do you know what? The drivers helped the ladies to get inside and out the buses and they
made us feel like royalty, as if we were delicate china dolls. This Larry was the nicest of them all. And there
we went, to Ramada Inn. Before going up to our room, I went to the supermarket nearby to buy some
milk and a pie, so I wouldn’t stay with an empty stomach. When I got inside the elevator, I noticed that
there was a place where we could buy Elvis’ stuff, right there. I decided not to lose much time on that in
that moment - I was going to have lots of other opportunities. And I had something in mind that was
worrying me: on the 10th of March I had reserved 3 tickets for the big concert that was going to take
place at the Mid-South Coliseum on the 16th of August, they were already paid and everything. But we
had to go and fetch them ourselves, since the Coliseum didn’t allow our guides to do so. And we had to
take our passport and everything...! But we had the week so full with events and activities, that I didn’t
know where were we going to find the time. When I got to the room, I checked our itinerary while I was
eating and found out that we were going to have a very busy day. To start with... we wanted to visit
Graceland at dawn. I wanted to do something very special that I had promised to a penfriend of mine
from Ireland - to put a red rose that he had sent me especially for Elvis’ grave, with a little card with a
message and everything which read, “To Elvis, Thanks for the magic, Love, Alan.” I had promised him I
would do it and I had to keep my promise. While I was lying in my bed, feeling very sleepy and listening
to Elvis singing on the TV that Sandra and Lu were watching, I remember wondering why Priscilla and
Lisa Mrie had permited the grounds to stay open at night for the week of celebrations if they had never
done it before. Would Graceland be closed to the public in 1998, when Lisa Marie would assume the
control of the estate...? It seemed almost too good to be true, to have Graceland’s grounds open during
the night. That’s why I was wondering about that possibility. And I wasn’t the only one wondering about
that.
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12th August - Tuesday
Visiting Graceland at dawn
I got up around 5.30 a.m. I had to take a shower, as well as my friends, and have breakfast before catching
the bus to Graceland. The first bus was at 6, but we concluded we wouldn’t make it to catch it. It was
6.25 and we were having breakfast at the hotel, but although it was delicious, we found it very expensive
and decided not to eat there anymore. We boarded the bus and it wasn’t 7.00 a.m. yet when we went up
the drive way by our feet. In the morning Graceland had a completely different look than the one in the
afternoon and night. The sun rises from behind the house. And as such, it is very beautiful to watch the
first sun lights going through the branches of the trees, coming from up there, from the hill, where the
mansion is. The grass, in the morning, is covered with dew and the spider weaves mingled with the green
of the grass, shine as if they’re silver. I picked up some more leaves from the ground. We took more
photos near the house. We were getting closer to the Meditation Garden and, for the first time, that place
looked familiar to me. The beautiful flower arrangement was still there, with a black and white photo
surrounded by yellow flowers, with a pink background and the sentence, “It’s not what you have that
make people look up at you, it’s what you are,” touched me deeply. It’s an Elvis quote. I had Alan’s red
rose in my hand, to put in on Elvis’ grave as promised. I had also told him that I would send him a picture
of that moment, so, Sandra was ready to photograph me. She took one photo of me with the rose in my
hands and another putting it on the grave. Alan had said, “I will be very grateful to you if you capture
that moment for me.” I was only wishing that the photos turned out okay. We sat near by the fountain in
one of the stone benches in the garden, thinking. Although I felt sad for watching the gravesite, I also felt
an indescribable peace. I think I have said this before, but the quiet that one feels in Graceland is special
and different. I could understand so well why Elvis always returned to Graceland, wherever he might be
and no matter for how long. That was his home, that was where his heart was. I strolled a bit in the
garden and got closer to a fence that kept going along the grounds until it reached the walls down there.
The horses were pasturing in peace. There were signs explaining that the protections that they had over
their eyes was to avoid the insects stung them. The same couldn’t be said about my legs. I had put on a
dress and I was hoping I wouldn’t regret it...!
We got out of the property and went to do another thing that we had promised to ourselves to do in
Graceland. I had two permanent pens in my purse - one blue and the other red - to write our special
messages on the wall. That wall, from one side to the other, up and down, is completely covered with
love messages. And it’s not just the wall, the pavement, too. Sandra and Lu stayed writing their messages
in the red brick part of the wall, close to the gates and, for that, I gave them the blue pen. I kept going
along the wall, trying to find a spot, a stone that hadn’t been written yet. It was very difficult, but I
managed to find a spot. I also noticed that people don’t usually write over other people’s messages until
they fade away. I took the red pen to write in the white stone and began my message. In the end, the
message was “You’ll always be in my heart. Thank you, Elvis! I love you. Célia. Portugal. 1997”. Sandra
came to my side and also wrote a little sentence in the same stone, and Lu did it, too. Then we took
photos near the messages. I still managed to find a little spot to write a message in Olga Susana’s name, a
friend and Elvis’ fan who would very much love to be there with us. I simple wrote “Olga loves you” and
Lu filmed me explaining why I was doing that. That was Olga’s special moment. The day was cloudy and
it looked like it was going to rain, but the heat was unbearable.
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I wanted to go and buy some postcards to write to all the people I had promised to write to before leaving
Portugal - they were 25 people! So, I went to one of the many shops of Graceland Plaza. It was there that
I bought 26 postcards (I bought another one that I decided to send to myself to keep as a souvenir!) and
other things, namely: a china thimble with a Graceland pattern, pins (one of the Graceland gates, another
of a guitar with Elvis’ name and yet another one of the façade of the mansion), two books (Last Train To
Memphis by Peter Guralnick and Elvis Through My Eyes by Bill E. Burk), a watch with a beautiful image of
Elvis at the 1968 show and a pair of sunglasses with his personal signature in one of the lenses. Even so, I
was very happy for being able to resist the many things they had there for sale. After this, we decided to
go back to the hotel, since we had to be ready to leave at 11.00 for our first guided tour through town
and the many things and places related to Elvis. And so it was. Before going up to our room, I still found
the time to visit the shop that was right on the opposite side of the elevator, where I bought two old
magazines on Elvis, both from the 16th of August 1977.
After dropping our stuff in the room, we returned to the lobby where we waited for the guides’
instructions. While sitting there, we made comments once again on the organisation that the club had,
how everything was so easy and astonishingly well coordinated. Lu had taken with her two bottles of
O’Porto wine from 1977...! She wanted to offer them to our tour manager and people in our coach, but
then, she reconsidered and thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give them to Keith, so he and the other
guides could drink them. The guides were less than a coach full of people and they were doing an
excellent job, they well deserve them.
While I was sitting there, a lady came to me and asked, “You are Celia from Portugal, aren’t you?” I looked
at her, surprised. I had never seen her before. “Yes, I am...,” it was my reply. “I am Anne Nixon.” I don’t
know exactely what my reaction was at the time, but I was so glad for knowing who she was...! This lady
attended to several Elvis shows and it’s been years since she writes her articles regularly to the magazines
of the English fan club, articles that I absolutely adore reading. I am her fan. I told her that and that I felt
very happy for meeting her. I asked her how did she know that I was me. She said that she already had
her suspicions, since she was in my coach (I had never noticed her!) and had heard people calling me by
my name - it wasn’t only Sandra and Lu who knew my name, but also Kathy, John and Trevor. And she
had also seen me when I had gotten up the stage in Tupelo to receive the Key of the City by the Mayor.
She told me that she enjoyed my articles very much, too. I was flabbergasted with the way she looked
and told her so. I never thought that she was so young and pretty...! She blushed a little and I asked her
age. She is 57, but she looks like a kid. I took the chance to ask her some questions on Elvis live. She also
mentioned Ana to me, since there was a time when Ana had written her a letter and she had replied
saying that she had 3 Elvis’ scarfs, that he had given her in the many concerts she had attended. Ana had
asked her if she gave her one of the scarfs. And Anne was kind of shocked saying that and I could
understand. “Well, he gave the scarfs to me, I don’t understand what value could they have for her,” she
said. I’ve added that even if she had 20 scarfs, all of them would evoke different memories and it would
be the same thing. I told her it had been very nice of her to send some of Graceland grass to Ana. She
didn’t remember that anymore, but then she confirmed that she had sent it. Ana had asked me to take
her some more grass, since she had grass from the 10th Anniversary (that Anne had given her) and she
also wanted to have grass from the 20th Anniversary - which I did. “But tell me, how was it like to attend
to an Elvis show? I know that you’ve been very lucky, since you managed to have 4 kisses from Elvis...!” Lu
sighed listening to this. Anne laughed and blushed again. She explained that his skin was very, very soft.
“And his hair... have you ever touched lots of silk loose strands...? His hair was even softer than that.” She
told that she had touched his hair once when she ran to the stage with a friend of her. While Elvis was
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kissing her friend, Anne touched his hair and couldn’t believe how soft and strong it was. Her eyes filled
with tears when she said, “I can only say that he had much more expressions and energy than those that
were ever captured in film or photographs. Seeing him in person was always an unique and touching
experience.” I mentioned her articles again and remarked the work they should involve, since they were
research and regular articles for the club. She smiled and said, “It’s a labour of love, it’s a pleasure for me.
What’s very hard sometimes is not receiving even a thank you.” I found that very weird. And then she
began to tell about the book that came out this year and which was written and compiled by Julie Mundy,
the new secretary of the club. She had a voice kind of shaky and I immediately sensed that there was
something else involved in that story. She told me that she kept doing researches for three years for a
book that would be released on the 20th Anniversary, more or less like the book she wrote for the 10th
Anniversary, Ten Years After. “Oh, yes, I know you were preparing that book. It was together with Kevin
Barker, wasn’t it?” She was surprised for me remembering the name of the guy cooperating. “Yes, do you
remember?” “Of course. I saw an article by him in Elvis Monthly, where he was explaining that this book
would be completely filled with opinions of several people from all over the world on Elvis - friends,
relatives, performers, fellow musicians and fans. He was collecting the personal perspectives of each
person to include them in the book and he was asking everybody’s help. I had written him and he had
replied with a postcard of Jailhouse Rock (I’ll never forget it) saying that he had loved my views and that
he would include them in the book. “After all, when is the book coming out? I already looked for it, but I
didn’t see it anywhere,” I said. Anne was sad and said, “It won’t.” I asked her why and she explained that
once Julie was in control, she put an alt to her project and started herself her own project. “And what will
be done with all the info you guys collected over these last 3 years?” I asked. She just shrugged. I could
tell she was hurt. She commented that, “Julie earns 80.000 pounds per year just for being the club’s
secretary.” My mouth dropped open with surprise. I always knew they should earn something, but I could
never imagine that it was that much. I also felt that Anne missed the time when Todd was the secretary of
the club. Could that be a generation conflict or would it be something else...? Whatever the reason, it was
sad. And I was very sorry for not seeing that book released. I had been waiting for it to come out to buy it.
Oh, well, better luck next time...
I had never earned any money with the work I had done for Elvis in my life, too. It had always been done
with love. If I earned any money, I would feel as if I was taking advantage of him, as many others do and
with whom I don’t agree in any way. When interests are put above feelings, everything crumbles. It was
also because of that that I was, to a certain extent, against all the exploitation surrounding Elvis and his
fans. But people just bought the things if they wanted, right...? What sickens me the most is not having to
pay in order to have Elvis’ stuff (that’s obvious, the contrary would be impossible). What makes me real
mad is to see fans taking advantage of other fans for personal interest. To me, those are not the real fans.
The word that best describes an Elvis fan, whatever the country he/she is from is - “Share”. And when
something is shared, it’s always done with no interest. It’s done with pleasure. Elvis was like that and it’s
for that reason that we also try to be like that - to perpetuate his way of being.
“Okay, gang, time to leave now!”
Forest Hill Cemetery
It was the warning we were waiting for. There we went with Kathy for our guided tour through town. It
was 11.00 o’clock sharp. Everything was always under control there. I found Vera once again, who told
me about the ceremony of the award of 100 more gold records to Elvis. But, in the end, it hadn’t been
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anything like I had expected. For what it seemed, I hadn’t lost much. The first thing we saw related to
Elvis a few miles after leaving the hotel, was the Forest Hill Cemetery. As you know, it was to this cemetery
that Elvis was taken on the 18th of August of 1977, put in a mausoleum and sealed. His mother, Gladys,
had been there since the 16th of August of 1958 (she had died on the 14th of August), but they were
located faraway from each other. The cemetary didn’t look like the cemeteries we have here in Portugal it’s exactely as we see in films. They look more like gardens than anything else, with its immense grounds
with grass and some flowers and bushes and just a few stones and crosses marking the presence of
somebody’s beloved ones... Although this was the first thing we saw related to Elvis and we just drove a
few miles, I was surprised how people left Graceland in procession on Elvis’ funeral day and walked all the
way to the cemetery. It’s quite a distance, to walk. And under the unmerciful heat that must have been at
the time, it must have been really awful. The emotion and the heart made many victims on that day people were fainting and been taken to the hospital. Just three months after Elvis’ burial, Vernon felt the
need of transladating his son’s body to Graceland. The main reason was because people couldn’t have
any peace while visiting their dead with Elvis’ fans entering and leaving the cemetery. But there was also
another reason: when 3 men were caught surrounding Elvis’ mausoleum one night, with the intention of
kidnaping the body and then ask for a ransom... The world was crazy. So, Vernon decided to take his son
home and, during the process, he took Gladys, too. He put them in the Meditation Garden, where they
are still today.
Overton Park Shell
Then we went to one of the biggest parks in Memphis, the Overton Park Shell. I knew it had been there
that Elvis had performed his first real live show, with a big audience, in 1955, as a part of a variety show
with Slim Whitman. It wasn’t a bar, a joint or a school gymn. Since he was 10 years old, Elvis didn’t
perform to such a big crowd. The park was beautiful. What suprised me the most in that town were the
green spaces, big grounds always with green grass. We couldn’t see a piece of land without grass, there
was green everywhere. And the trees, there were lots of trees everywhere. The houses and buildings
weren’t that tall, some looked like real mansions, all with porches and backyards, they kind of “spread”
sideways... and the surrounding area was always enough to ensure peoples’ privacy. After entering the
park, we drove for a while and stopped. It was then that I looked and saw the Overton Park Shell. Now I
understand why it had that name. The stage had the shape of a shell turned with its interior side to face a
big number of seats made of wood and stone that climbed the hill. The stage was down there. And down
there, where it was so hard for me to imagine Elvis performing live, the “shell” had the colours of the
rainbow. The place was so little... I was constantly feeling surprised with the size and dimensions of
everything in Memphis. Lu went down there, but we remained sitting and watching her from up there,
trying to imagine a concert by Elvis. Before coming up again, Lu did the famous Elvis pose standing on his
toes and the arms outstretched in the air... she looked so cute, I only regretted not having filmed it or
taken a photo! Even so, me and Sandra couldn’t imagine him performing live in there. It was also here
that Elvis performed again in 1956 after having been filmed singing to a dog at the Steve Allen Show in
New York dressed in a tuxedo with tails and everything. Steve Allen didn’t want him to move and Elvis
looks strained during the show. The evidence that he really felt like that, was the first thing he said when
he stepped that same stage in front of me almost 40 years ago, “That people from up there (meaning
New York) ain’t gonna change me none. Tonight I’m gonna show you the real Elvis Presley!” And he
danced, he shook and jumped as much as he wanted. The clothes he chose - a black suit, black silk shirt
and a red tie. His parents were there, his gramma was there, his cousins, too. His mother almost burst
with pride that night. These were some of the things I had read in some books I had back home.
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Audubon Drive
We boarded the bus again. On that day, the driver was a man named Ira. Kathy told us that next visit
would be Audubon Drive, the place where Elvis had bought his first house before buying Graceland and
moving there. I was curious to see how the surroundings were on this side of town, since Elvis had had
many problems with his neighbours while he lived there. The neighbours were all rich or near of being
rich and they didn’t like that nouveau-riche family who was coming to disturb their up until now serene
life. Because Elvis brought with him all the madness that always followed him everywhere, the fans and
the photographers and reporters. Neighbours complained about the noise and lack of privacy. They even
took him to court. Elvis threatened buying all their houses around in order to shut them up. But in the
end he won, since the judge said it wasn’t Elvis’ fault at all if he was followed everywhere and the
neighbours had to live with it, either they liked it, or not. Actually, when we started to get closer to
Audubon Drive, all the neighbourhood had a very pleasant look. The houses in ranch style, with one floor
and with porches, lawns in front and behind, trees everywhere. Do you know that I never saw such a
thing as walls around the houses in Memphis? Only Graceland and Elvis’ father house around the corner
have walls and, even so, they’re low and easy to climb. Over there, what usually separates houses from
one another are the lawns, the trees and the flowers and bushes. The house that in time belonged to Elvis
was pretty similar to the rest. We weren’t going to stop and Kathy said that was because the present
owners didn’t like to be disturbed. It seems that the same mania continues...! I can understand that, but
it’s a pity when other people don’t try to make a little effort to try to understand us, too.
Libertyland and the Mid-South Coliseum
We drove around through town, always without stopping, in straight roads without any turns. We never
found long traffic jams as we find here either. Keith had told us in Tupelo that Memphis was completely
different, that it was a big town. “You take an hour to cross it,” he had said. “Big deal!” was Sandra’s
remark, “In Lisbon it’s the same thing.” But, we take an hour to cross Memphis always driving without a
halt and with speed. It’s a very, very big town. It seemed to last an eternity, until we arrived at the Elvis’
favourite amusement park - the same that he rented during the night just to ride in his favourite rides, as
the roller-coaster, better known as the Zippin-Pippin. It is said that Elvis traveled in the first car standing
up! Even without entering Libertyland park, we could see the roller-coasters of the Zippin-Pippin on the
outside, as well as other rides that never appealed me much, since I get sick in the stomach for riding in
them. I wanted to go inside, mainly to see everything up close, to ride in the less tough rides and to
attend the 3 shows included in the price of the ticket that were constantly being held in there. By what I
had heard saying, they were excellent. Only for the shows, it was worth it to go there. I also knew that
our ticket for the concert at the Mid-South Coliseum gave a discount of 3 dollars at the entrance. I didn’t
know exactely why until I found out that the Coliseum was right beside it. For a change, neither the
coliseum or Libertyland seemed very big to me. The coliseum looked like a giant pancake or a flying
saucer that had just landed. Of course Elvis had performed several times in that coliseum, his most famous
performance there maybe being the one that was released in a live album, Elvis Recorded Live On Stage in
Memphis, in 1974. I thought it was a good chance to go and fetch our tickets, but we hadn’t taken our
passports. Then our friends who went outside (there wasn’t much time to stay around) found out that the
tickets’ booths were closed. Each day that went by I worried more about the tickets for the concert. As for
Libertyland, the organised trips were only starting from the 15th onwards and we already had the days
completely full with other activities. When we would have more time, Libertyland was going to close, on
the 17th August and I never understood why. We decided to hit the road again.
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Lauderdale Courts
Now were going more towards the center of the town, where the buildings were taller and with a
different look. Our next stop would be Lauderdale Courts, the place where Elvis and his family went to
live after leaving Tupelo. As you know, Lauderdale was a government housing project for families with a
low annual income. It was, in a word, the Memphis ghetto. I had always wondered how that place must
look like. Elvis had spent a big part of his adolescence in there, from 14 to 18 years old. It had been in
there that many things had happened, even related to his future singing career. The buildings were like
square blocks with two floors, made of red little bricks. We could tell it was a poor area, where, still today,
the lower classes of the town still live. But, even so, they don’t look like one bit with the ghettos we can
see in Lisbon. Although each floor only has a toilet which has to be shared by all the families, they still
have a toilet. And as at the time Elvis lived there, the authorities from the government made regular visits
to control the good conditions of the houses, everything was always clean and well taken care of. Gladys
made sure that it was that way. I had read in a magazine of the English fan club that this housing project
had already been demolished. However, while I was watching the television one day and listening to the
news related to Elvis (in Memphis), I heard the reporter saying that the demolition hadn’t finished yet,
because Elvis’ fans felt it was horrible to demolish a part of the city that in time was so connected to the
performer. The block where the Presleys lived hasn’t been demolished yet and the controversy goes on. In
Elvis’ time, it wasn’t very dangerous to walk in Lauderdale, but Kathy advised us not to venture to that
area alone, since it was very dangerous.
Sun Studios and Poplar Tunes
We kept going and passed by the famous Sun Studios on Union Avenue. It was so strange for me to see
the names of the streets, roads and avenues and knowing that I was actually there. For years I had been
reading in books about the roads where Elvis had passed so many times. And now... I was there. We
weren’t going to stop at the studios, since we would visit it on the inside two days from there. But I was
really surprised with its dimensions...! It was REALLY small on the outside. The Sun stands in a corner of
two streets, it’s a triangular building, with brown bricks and tilts over the windows. It has such a
picturesque and different look. I could well understand why Sam Phillips had decided to buy it instantly
on the minute he saw it for the first time to establish a studio that would be directed to all the performers
that couldn’t record their music any place else, for being discriminated. Sam was a dreamer. But he had
the greatest luck of seeing his dream come true. And all because of a 18 year old kid that decided to go
there one day and record two songs to offer to his mother.
We went to Poplar Tunes shop, the place that sells records and CD’s. The same shop that Elvis visited as a
teenager and where he bought his records when he could gather enough money. It was also the same
shop where his records had started to be sold for the first time. It stands in Poplar Avenue, an avenue
where Elvis and his family also lived once for a while. How many times had Elvis passed by those streets,
just walking and, later on, driving the Crown Electric’s truck and his father’s car...? We weren’t going to
stop either, since the shop was included in our next visit to the Sun.
Kang Rhee Institute
Meanwhile, the gang was starting to feel hungry. We went to visit the karate institute owned by Elvis’
instructor, Kang Rhee. And we were warned that we would do an hour stop in order to have lunch. I
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didn’t enjoy visiting this place at all. Once we stopped at the parking lot in front of the institute (which
was small, too), our coach was immediately “invaded” by a lady who was bringing Elvis’ leaflets on Elvis
and Kang Rhee, that she started to distribute in a flash. So far, so good. Then, she invited everybody to
attend to a demo by the students, who always felt very honoured with the Elvis’ fans visits. And then the
bad part started. She began to say that they had original photos for sale, how much did they cost, and
that Mr. Rhee would be delighted to autograph them personally for the fans who bought them. I didn’t
like it. She passed by me and said I had a very beautiful dress, but I remained silent. We got out the bus
and entered the institute. Inside we came to know that that place wasn’t even the same place where Elvis
had had classes, since Kang Rhee moved to new premises. However, the walls were decorated with Elvis’
photos everywhere and, right there, inside the room where the classes were held, there was a stand
where Elvis’ stuff could be bought. I felt truly angry, as if someone was making fun of me and everybody
else. Sandra was furious. Once she heard the woman selling her stuff, she got up in a second to leave, but
sat down again when she saw that she was the only one to have that reaction. She even remarked, “And
don’t you have by chance his hair for sale...? And what about sweat in little bottles, don’t you have it,
too...?” She was mad and was expressing perfectly my own feelings. When the karate demo finished, we
both went outside immediately. Lu remained inside for a while and we waited for her outside. While we
waited, we commented: “What a stupid thing to do... just because there was a time when the owner of
this institute was Elvis’ instructor, now they can sell him as if he was an object. And he even didn’t have
classes in this building...!” It was too much. When Lu got out, we went looking for a place to eat and
found a McDonald’s, where we bought our food and went inside the bus to eat it. The clouds that had
gathered in the sky since that morning, were even deeper and darker, and thunders could be heard very
often. It looked like it was going to rain at any moment. It seemed that even the weather itself didn’t
agree with what was happening down here. We didn’t buy a thing in that place. I wanted to stay away
from there. When the others arrived, we saw the beautiful photo that John bought and that Kang Rhee
autographed for him. I asked him how was he and of course I already knew the answer. I always liked Mr.
Rhee and I knew Elvis respected him very much. John said, “He’s very, very nice,” as I knew he was going
to say. But, even so, I couldn’t help feeling furious with the exploitation.
On the leaflet that the lady had given us, there were some remarks by Mr. Rhee:
“Training with Elvis...
was an incredible experience. Elvis had received his Black Belt while in Europe serving in the military. He
had also studied with Ed Parker and his talent and skills were amazing. I was most impressed, however,
with his spirit.
Elvis gave 100%...
each time we worked out together. Because I admired him, on Sept. 9, 1974, I presented Elvis with a
“Disciple of Discipline” certificate. To me Elvis was a master of music, a master of acting, a master of
costume design and a master of good will. I believe that his spirit will remain with me forever.
Elvis inspired me...
and I will always remember how his positive attitude, his professionalism, his sincerity and his generosity
motivated me.
Elvis taught me...
more than I taught him. His passing away forced me to accept my own mortality.
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Elvis was one of the best...
as a student of the martial arts. He was physically strong and his technique was excellent. He
demonstrated love and respect with sincerity and humility. I am still amazed that as powerful a person as
Elvis was, that each person was important to him. This is what I respected and admired most about Elvis.”
Beautiful words, I had to admit.
Downtown Memphis
We left with a new destination. We were going to see all the places connected to Elvis downtown. We saw
the Baptist Memorial Hospital, the same hospital where Lisa Marie was born on the 1st of February
1968 and where Elvis was hospitalized during the 70’s. He always stayed at the 16th floor, on the left side
of the building. It was also here that Elvis was taken to on that awful day - 16th August 1977. This hospital
looked exactely the same as I had seen in the documentary This Is Elvis and its dimensions corresponded
to those I was expecting (it was the first time I got it right!). Not faraway from this hospital is the Peabody
Hotel, the hotel where Elvis also stayed for a number of times, after fame coming. Those photos where
Elvis shows up with his bare chest sat against a bed, were taken in a room of this hotel. This building with
Victorian characteristcs was even taller than the hospital. We passed by its main entrance, all decorated
with ducks motifs. This hotel is very famous for its ducks. They have a bunch of ducks in there that live in
the hotel and go up and down the elevator and everything. Everything stops in order for the excelencies
go by...! It’s very funny. Near the Peabody Hotel is the photograph studio Speers - the same studio where
Elvis was photographed without his shirt (and it was from this session that his first publicity still came
from) and also where Elvis took Priscilla, when she was 16, to take her photo with that high hairdo. In the
windown of the studio, some of these photos were displayed.
We moved on, always snapping photos of everything that mattered and filming as much as we could. We
saw the Methodist Hospital, where Gladys Presley died on the 14th of August, victim of an acute
hepathitis. We passed by the Memphis Funeral Home, where both Elvis and Gladys’ bodies were
prepared for the funeral. We also saw the St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital, an organisation to
which Elvis gave thousand of dollars for charity. He performed more than one concert, which profits went
to help the children. We passed by Beale Street, and caught a glimpse of the famous restaurant Priscilla
had opened just a few days ago - the Elvis Presley’s Memphis. It was red on the outside. Our driver
would drop us in a place where we could get out to see it up close. In front of the restaurant just on the
other side of the street is the new statue that had been unveiled that same morning, around 10.30h. It
was enough to see that it was on Elvis of the 50’s. The traffic over there was more intense and Ira had to
leave us at the end of Beale Street, go away and come to fetch us up one hour later. It was hot as hell.
We got out of the bus in one end of Beale Street and began to enjoy the colors, the movement and the
sounds of that street. There were black people sitting in the benches under trees in the main square,
leaning against the doors of some entertainment houses where we could listen to the blues. We could
also listen to the music outside, since there were speakers outside. The atmosphere was different to
anyplace else where I had been before. It was... different. And it was there that Elvis enjoyed to hang
around when he was a teenager - capturing the colors, the sounds and the habits. It could also be
dangerous and we were advised to always go there in groups. We entered in some shops, hoping to find
something interesting. I kept looking for an umbrella, but when I found out one in one window and went
in to buy it, I found it was the last one and that it had already been sold...! Bad luck. We kept going up to
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the restaurant. It had a gorgeous symbol in the corner, with Elvis singing in the 50’s, over a gold record
and the name of the restaurant below. In time that place had been the Lansky’s Brothers shop, where
flashy and different clothes were sold. It was there that Elvis bought all his clothes. The walls were red, the
tilts were dark blue and the “railings” down here and at the terrace were made of musical notes, in black
and gold. It added a cute effect. Today there was no time to get inside, but we were going to have lunch
there one of those days. On the other side of the street, was the brand new statue of Elvis rocking in the
50’s. In that same place another statue had been before this one (that we would see shortly after this)
which had been removed to be restaured. With the passing of time, the inclemencies and vandalism, it
was in a very bad shape. Therefore, it was removed, restaured and placed where it could not be damaged
anymore. Okay, that was fine. But what about this one? Would it have the same fate? I thought to myself.
When I got closer, I saw the sign in the low metal railing around it saying “Anti-vandalism”. It seems that
that railing has a kind of special device that makes an alarm go off if the statue is being victim of any
vandalism attack. Can you believe this...? Even an Elvis statue has more protection than many people...! It
made me think about it.
We strolled, we took some pictures and went down the road (we visited it from one end to the other). As
it was so hot, it looked like we were dragging. Ira was already waiting for us in the bus and, when we
entered, it looked like we had died and gone to heaven...! The air-conditioning was so good. After all our
traveling companions had arrived, there we went again. We passed by the Memphian Theater, or Loew’s
State - the famous theater where Elvis had worked as an usher while he was still a kid and that he would
rent later on during the night to see his favourite movies together with his friends and relatives after
getting famous. Kathy went to see if we could get inside, but it was working and it wasn’t possible.
However, by the outside (which looked small), it shouldn’t be very big. We kept moving down there
towards the Mississippi River, and passed by something that I was really curious to see - the famous and
new Pyramid. My God... it’s SO big...! Kathy explained to us that the sides of the pyramid aren’t exactely
the same size, since there was an error of calculation when the engineers conceived it... How weird. This
pyramid is the same place where the tribute show to Elvis in 1995 took place, the show organised by
Michael Jackson (when Lisa was still married to him) and where many performers paid their homage to
the king of rock.
And we got to the Mississippi River, with its bridge that Elvis mentions in his song Memphis Tennessee.
The bridge has a wavy design and, by night, it’s quite beautiful. We stopped near the river, but I didn’t
exactely knew why. And then we entered a glassed place and I saw the famous statue of Elvis with the
guitar in his hand - the same one that had been in the Beale Street square. It was enormous... and SO
beautiful...! It was in a terrific shape, very well treated and shiny. It looked like as if it had just been made.
As it had happened with the previous statue, I asked Sandra to snap it from behind...! I don’t know why,
but it looks like that the sculptures always capture better this side of Elvis. And as I love Elvis rear end, I
can’t resist each time I see another statue...!
After walking by a while and observing the mighty Mississippi River - which is the biggest river in the
United States - and some of the boats at the marina, we boarded our bus again. It was almost 5.00h p.m.,
the estimated time of arrival at our hotel, so I was counting to go straight home. But they did something
we weren’t expecting. Ira tooks us to the other side of the Mississippi Bridge, and on the other side we
aren’t on the Tennessee State anymore, but on the Arkansas State. The view of the city of Memphis over
the bridge is quite good and the Pyramid is magnificent. We still traveled for a while on the Arkansas.
Kathy told us, “Sheer up, lads, you are in the State of Arkansas. Welcome!” The space, there, looked even
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bigger and larger. We could only see land and more land, all covered with grass and vegetation. Those
open spaces, so big... I remembered the song America again. When Ira found a way to turn back, we just
did. It was nice to see Memphis again, from the other side of the bridge and over the bridge. Lu filmed a
bit with the video camera.
“Meet The Brits” Party Night
When we arrived at the hotel, we didn’t have much time left besides taking a shower and put on some
clean clothes to go to the party organised by the English fan club - “Meet The Brits”. I had drank lots of
milk and wasn’t hungry. I wrote the postcards for everybody and swore to mail them the next day and it
didn’t matter if the line was long or not...! The party started at 8.00 p.m. and ended at 1.00 a.m. The bus
was at 7.30. I put on some trousers in black, white and grey and a very red t-shirt and my high-heel black
sandals and there I went, with Sandra and Lu. The party was at the Four Points Hotel, where the bus left
us. We got in and it looked nice. We just didn’t know where the party was. As it was still early, we decided
to have a sit. And once we sat down in the comfortable sofas, we felt the ground trembling underneath.
Lu looked at me with a scared look on her face and said, “Gee, I’m not enjoying this at all... let’s go
outside!” She thought that it was an earthquake. That was just what we needed...! Outside, she kept the
same feeling, saying that the ground was trembling, but I couldn’t feel a thing. Then it occured to me
that maybe were the planes landing, since we were so close to the Memphis’ airport.
We got in again and asked where the Elvis’ party was. We followed the instructions and caught the
elevator to the basement. I didn’t like the look of the hotel on that part much, since the center was kind
of open, the floors circled around that space with the different rooms - it looked like some jails that I had
seen in movies. When we got there, we didn’t know where to go next. We approached a black boy who
was standing behind a counter with lots of food and asked for instructions. He told us where it was and it
didn’t seem complicated. But, even so, he changed his mind and said, “No, I will make you company
there, so you won’t get lost.” He made us company and he was very nice. It wouldn’t have been
necessary, since it was nearby and quite easy to find. We saw Keith standing at the entrance and he asked
us if we were going to dance that night. We got in and sat at one table. We went to buy something to
drink. I think I never drank so many liquids as I did while in America. I was capable of drinking gallons of
water, juice, milk, coke or Gatorade in a few minutes. While we were sitting at the table chatting, John
and Trevor came by to say hello. Always nice...! Sandra was always blown away with Trevor’s voice... And
she was right. He must have been one of the guys with the sexiest voice I’ve ever heard. And his laugh
was mind blowing, too. Another person who came by to say hello was Vera.
When the music started, I managed to “drag” Sandra to the dancing floor to dance I Can Help. We
returned to our table at the end of the song, since Lu wasn’t feeling okay. After a few more songs, a group
started to perform - Andy Childs Band - which had been the same performing live on the Mississippi River
boat cruise on the previous day and to which we hadn’t gone to. I wasn’t enjoying that group at all. And
when Sandra told me that she saw Jerry among the people (the same that had sang so well in Tupelo), I
couldn’t help wishing that he’d take the stage instead of the others. I always thought that, maybe, I
hadn’t lost much, if the group was like that. The guy had a motive, we could tell that he was an Elvis fan
and everything, but he didn’t sing very well. Jenson was around too, and I kept thinking “Damn, so many
people who do know how to sing - better than you - why don’t they sing?” Janelle McComb was also
there, mingling with the people. Sandra saw her when she went to the restrooms. Then Lu said that she
was going home because she wasn’t feeling well. But she insisted for us to stay. Meanwhile, the DJ played
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a song that I had never listened to in an Elvis disco before - White Christmas. And do you know what the
guys in the dancing floor did? They sat on the floor, just as they do to dance You Asked Me To, and did
the same choreography. But they also sang very well, at one voice, together with Elvis. It was so beautiful
that I went over there to film a bit. I only hoped it turned out okay. John was being impressive, right in
front...!
We watched the group performing until we got hungry and went outside to see where we could eat. We
approached the black boy again who had helped us before. After all, he was standing behind a counter
with lots of food...! I chose a hot dog and was it delicious or what...! Sandra wasn’t in the mood for any of
the stuff being sold there. She wanted something much simpler, as a cheese and ham sandwich - i.e.,
something they didn’t have for sale! The boy said he was sorry, but they didn’t have anything like it. “Wait
a minute...” he said, getting serious. “I think I know where I can get what you want. Stay right there and
have a sit and I will come back in a minute.” He was gone. I sat eating my hot dog and Sandra kept me
company.
Around 15 minutes later he came back with a very nice plate with simple sandwiches and salad. Sandra
was very pleased, said that that was exactely what she wanted. She asked how much was it and he said it
was nothing. “It can’t be,” she said. And he explained that it didn’t matter, since that was his snack, that
the hotel gave him, only he didn’t like it and he wasn’t going to eat it anyway. Sandra insisted not to keep
his snack, but he assured her that he wasn’t going to eat it and that he did not want any money. He went
away, all smiles, and we said “thank you” a number of times and Sandra, for a change everytime
something like this happened, was really surprised and said, “I can’t believe it.” Yes, he could well have
taken advantage of the situation and earn some bucks, but he didn’t do it.
We came back to the party. But, at the entrance we asked them to keep our purses and Sandra’s coat in
order for not getting in with stuff. We wanted to dance a little. At the entrance was another black boy, not
looking so bad, who started to talk with us. He asked us if we were stars. I started laughing. “Are you
going to sing?” he insisted. I told him I didn’t know how to sing. We got inside and went to the dance
floor. I’m glad we did, since Jerry sang a song, A Mess Of Blues. How good he sang, too...! Everybody
cheered for him to keep on singing, but he left the stage and came to the dance floor, with us, to dance,
too. Then a blond middle-aged lady got to the stage and sang Lawdy Miss Clawdy with knowledge and
power. The other guy could well pack and leave...! I loved to listen to her singing. We danced about 10
songs, but then I felt like going home. It was just a few minutes after midnight when we left the party. On
the way out, the same guy that had started a conversation with me, started it again. He asked me,
imagine that, if I wanted to take him home with me! I pretended not to understand. Then he said I was
going to be sorry if I wouldn’t do it, since “I’ll be your sla’e...” he said, on his dragged southern accent. At
first I didn’t understand him. Only then I saw that he was “eating” the last part of the word “slave”. He
was saying that he wanted to be my slave. I turned to him and said that no-one would ever be my slave.
The other security guy at the door was laughing with the situation. Meanwhile, this one guy didn’t give
up. He asked if we minded to take a photo with him. We said of course not, but that we didn’t have a
camera. “Wait here for a while and I’ll get one.” And he disappeared inside the disco. Ten minutes later he
was back with a Polaroid camera. We took two photos, one with each one of them. We waited a while
and saw how did they come out, since it was a Polaroid.
Sandra asked if she could keep one as a souvenir. He said, “Sure.” And that was the only thing from us
that he kept...!
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We were standing in front of the elevator’s door to go to the first floor and catch the bus, when we saw a
guy passing by. As a matter of fact, he was quite attractive, he looked a bit like Elvis, but he was wearing a
white sleeveless t-shirt, which enhanced his virile and muscled chest. He kept looking at us and, as many
other people had done before him, he asked us if we were having fun. Of course we said yes, as we always
did. “And are you leaving already...?” Sandra made me a face, since she wanted to stay longer. He came
to us, asking where were we from. Me, of course, said Portugal again. Each time I did, Sandra was furious,
because she didn’t want to tell anyone where she was from...! She said that she was ashamed for being
Portuguese. Well, this was something I couldn’t understand, because I don’t feel ashamed and I never
had. I like my country. It’s not the country’s fault if the people who rule it don’t do it properly and if some
are not one third as nice as they were over there in Memphis. “Portugal, ahn? Isn’t that place near Spain?
I know how to speak Spanish!” and he asked me “Como es tu nombre?” (what’s your name?). I answered
in Spanish and he laughed. A minute later, a friend of his showed up, also attractive, but not as much as
this one. He explained he knew Spanish because he had lived a few years in Mexico. Both of them asked
where we were going. I said, “To our hotel.” And they said, “We are going down to Beale Street. Do you
wanna come along?” I said of course not...! Okay, they were very attractive and nice, but I didn’t know
them from anywhere really...! I was giving a damn if they were American or not... men are men
everywhere. Sandra looked at me with an upset look on her face, but ended up agreeing with me.
Outside, near the bus, with Sandra still complaining for me wanting to go to the hotel so soon, we saw
our “friends” passing by in a gorgeous white sports car. They stopped and Sandra went to talk with them.
I remained behind. She said that they renewed their invitation. But I wanted to go to bed, have some
sleep because I wanted to get up early once again in the following morning to visit Graceland again, go
to the post office and try to visit some of the museums and, possibly, do some shopping. On the
afternoon we were going to visit Elvis’ High School, where we were going to attend to some conversations
with special guests connected to the king. And I wanted to have some rest. You can bet that that was just
what I did when I got home.
13th of August - Wednesday
I got early again, around 6.00 a.m. It was also very difficult to have some peace and quiet after that hour.
The buses started to work from that hour onwards and they parked on the parking lot, which was on the
side of our bedroom. And these buses are very noisy. It didn’t matter, I wanted to try to visit Graceland in
the morning before the guided tours started. I wanted to get inside the house again, but I was saving my
visits for after the week of celebrations, when things would certainly calm down a bit. Sandra went with
me too, but Lu stayed in the room because she still wasn’t feeling very well. After having a shower, there
we went. My God, three showers per day weren’t enough, since the heat was always there and we kept
sweating all the liquids we kept drinking...! I put on another dress on this day, but I immediately saw it
had been a bad decision, because my legs and feet were completely bitten by insects and mosquitos. As
for the legs, I could always protect them with a pair of slacks, but the feet, poor feet.. I was always wearing
sandals.
Lisa Marie and Hound Dog II
I don’t quite recall where we had breakfast this day, but I do know that once we arrived at Graceland
Plaza, we visited Graceland’s grounds and, then, we waited until 8.00h a.m. for the shops and the other
museums to open. We visited the shops, more looking than buying. Then we decided to visit the planes.
After all, we had our tickets and, as on Friday (on the 16th), the fan club was going to give us another
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platinum ticket with entrance in Graceland and all the other museums (included in the price of the trip),
in a while we wouldn’t have the time to see everything...! Lu wasn’t there, but we would go with her
some other time.
It was quite funny. Once we got inside this museum, we could see a movie on the plane, some footage of
the plane taking off and landing, people telling their stories, etc... like that one that Captain Elwood David
told, of Elvis going to Denver once, in Colorado, just to eat some gelly and peanut butter sandwiches...!
He spent a fortune on that day. But Elvis couldn’t care less, as long as he was happy and his friends, too.
After that, and before entering the plane, we were given a Boarding Pass to be able to get inside the
plane, where we can see a photo of the Lisa Marie and the sentence, “The Pride of Elvis Presley Airways”...!
Nice. This document had some information on the Lisa Marie. We are informed, for instance, that it was
built in 1958 by General Dynamics, in San Diego and that it was a Convair 880. Elvis bought it on the
18th April 1975 for 250.000 dollars. Only he spent 800.000 dollars more to transform it according to his
very personal specifications...! This same plane was being prepared on the 16th August 1977 to take off
from Memphis on the next Elvis tour. After Elvis passed away, the plane was sold by the Estate to the
International Airmotive, Inc. The last flight the plane did was from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Memphis,
on the 6th February 1984, to be put in exhibition in Graceland. More curiosities on the Lisa Marie:
A crew of four people was always required (Elvis always used the same crew).
The seating capacity of the plane before being customized was for 96 persons and after being customized was for
28 persons.
Name for which the plane was known - tower call name: “880 Echo Papa”
Nickname: “Hound Dog I”
Elvis called the plane “The Pride of Elvis Presley Airways”. He also jokingly referred to it as his “Flying Graceland.”
Range: 3,000 miles
Engines: Four General Electric CJ-805-3 Pod Mount Jets
Length: 129’4”
Windspan: 120’
Tail height from ground: 36’3”
Lisa Marie
Weight: 87,000 lbs.
Maximum weight: 184,000 lbs.
Crusing speed: 615 M.P.H.
Maximum altitude: 41,000 feet
Fuel capacity: 10,770 gallons
Fuel consumption: 1,700 gallons per hour, take off: 2,200 gallons
Operation cost for 1976: $404,000
I found all this data very interesting. To enter the Lisa Marie, we have to pass through what it seems a real
airport, which was recreated, of course. We go by the metal detector and everything. Only in this case,
it’s an Elvis Fan Detector...! I thought it to be real neat to pass by that thing and listen to the device
making its funny noise... It was supposed to, I was a real fan...! We strolled by a small hall and went
outside to the park where the Lisa Marie is parked. From the outside of the wood fenced park, the Lisa
Marie had seemed small to me. But now, seeing it up close, it wasn’t small at all. I was also expecting to
find it in terrible conditions, but not quite. Its white, blue and red painting is shinny and even the tires of
the wheels and rubbers look okay. I don’t know how the poor plane can take all that heat day after day
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after day... To enter the plane, some stairways were put in there, to go up and down, but a kind of red
“tent” was put over it. This is to prevent people from being standing in the sun while they’re waiting,
since only two people are allowed at a time. I asked Sandra to take a photo of me boarding the plane,
carrying the bags of the cameras and that’s what she did, but not on this day. We had already decided to
take photos only on the last days of our stay, when it wouldn’t be so crowded. I also wanted to take a
photo from her under one of the wings, so we could have a better perception of the real dimensions of
the plane. Sandra would look like a small ant under it...!
Already inside, the first thing I saw was a wardrobe at the entrance filled with clothing that seemed to me
to have belonged to the crew. The cockpit looks impressive. We kept walking, I looked to the right and
saw the famous golden sink. Well, it’s not just golden, it’s real gold, and so are the taps, of 24 K...! Then
we enter the conference room, which has a table for six people with leather recliner chairs, sofas, game
tables, sitting areas and other luxuries, such as: sky phones, intercom phones, three television sets,
videotape player, a quadraphonic stereo system and gold plated seat-belt buckles. The plane was also
equiped with a stove, a refrigerator and a built-in coffee maker. The restrooms were equiped with brass
fixtures imported from Spain (just imagine! so close from here). At the rear of the plane is Elvis’ bedroom,
with its bed and the blue covers and the already expected seat belt crossing it from side to side. This seat
belt was subject to all sort of jokes on board, but the aviation security rules demand that all seats have
seat belts and a bed is considered a seat. I was there looking at that and all I could think of was of Sean
Shaver - the Elvis photographer with whom I corresponded with (and to whom I was owing a letter at
that moment) - who used to go and meet Elvis over there, to leave with him the photos he thought he
would like best. This was also the same bedroom Elvis had shared so many times with Linda Thompson.
This was the plane that Vernon had sent to go and pick Linda up when Elvis passed away and whom
Priscilla forbid him to do it, thinking that Elvis had left her all his fortune and that now the plane belonged
to her... As usual, I felt angry with that thought. As Ed Parker had said in his book, that plane hadn’t even
been used by Priscilla, since Elvis got it after he was divorced. And now, Priscilla didn’t want Linda inside
the plane - the woman who had traveled the most in that plane with Elvis. Thoughts coming by... Another
thougth was when Elvis took his daughter to see the plane being customized, to impress her. After all, it
had her name and everything...! “And Lisa just yawned!” Elvis said, laughing about it. To the 7 year old
child, maybe that wasn’t much exciting.
Close to Elvis’ bed, is his mirror. But it’s a mirror Hollywood style, with several lights around it. To the right
is Elvis’ private restroom. I can only say that was a luxury...! The way out is right next to the restroom,
where we descend other stairways. Already out, we promised to take another photo to the plane’s tail,
with the famous Elvis logo - Taking Care of Busines with the lightening bolt. And also photograph one of
the four engines of the Lisa Marie, which had been taken out in order for people to see how they looked
like.
We visited Hound Do II plane - used by Elvis’ musicians and parked near the Lisa Marie. It was quite small
and only one person was allowed at a time to visit it. We took a photo of the cockpit, which also looked
impressive.
Graceland Crossing
The exit was through another Elvis’ shop. Oh, yes... everything that you can visit at Graceland Plaza has
an exit to a shop, the goal being of tempting us the most to spend our money. But I had already bought
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what I wanted on that shop, so, I immediately went outside. We were wandering and wondering where
Lu might be, when we saw her getting out of one of our buses. We greeted her like we hadn’t see her for
ages! She was feeling better. This was near Graceland Crossing, just a few steps away from Graceland
Plaza and a bit far from the mansion’s gates. We decided to visit some of those shops, which seemed
bigger and more impressive than those at Graceland Plaza. And boy, I tell you.... right on the first shop I
was in, I saw so many, but so many Elvis’ stuff...! I had to get out running to the nearest restroom, since I
was under a nervous attack that got me in a few seconds. I had already seen many stuff being sold in
England and also at Graceland Plaza, but over there everything was bigger. Oh, boy... they were really
trying to blow our minds. After getting myself together, I found that they had umbrellas there...! Needless
to say that I bought mine instantly. It was much cheaper there, than to have to order it from the English
fan club. I saw many books and I was dizzy. I thought it would be better to buy some later on and not on
that moment. I remember having thought, “I’m glad I’m not going to buy any CD’s and that the video
cassettes cannot be used in our vcr’s!”At least it would be two things that would prevent me from
spending money. I got out of there determined to mail my postcards on that day and nothing would stop
me. Sandra and Lu didn’t want to get in line at the post offices in Graceland Plaza and waited for me
outside (I couldn’t know then that the American post offices would go on strike and I would be arriving in
Portugal before the postcards were!). Then they thought about going to eat something for lunch before
returning to the hotel. But I was almost having a nervous breakdown...! We had to catch the 12.30h bus
to Humes High School - the school where Elvis graduated, to attend to the conversations with several
special guests. And it wasn’t exactely early for that. I told them there wouldn’t be time for that, since the
lines to have lunch were mind boggling... I entered the Elvis shop that sells icecreams and milkshakes and
bought an icecream, while they went to have luch at the Heartbreak Hotel restaurant. Don’t think that I
didn’t have a good lunch...! It was a big icecream. After lunch, we went running to catch the bus. There
was only time to put the stuff we had bought in our room and come down again.
Conversations at Humes High School
I boarded the bus just in time and asked the driver to wait a little bit for my friends. Fortunately, off we
went. The conversations would start at two o’clock. It looked like we were going with lots of time in
advance, but not quite. The school where Elvis graduated at 18 was still a bit faraway and we could enjoy
the scenery that must have been so common to him when we were almost arriving and we could imagine
him walking in those sidewalks. At the corner we saw a very American scenery: a brown and little wooden
house, with a small porch, a black man was sitting there. Beside him was a Coca-Cola machine, one of
those that you have to insert the money to get one and, right at the small gate of the area surrounded by
a very low fence, was a telephone, one that looked like being a public phone to me. Lu thought it to be so
funny that she even filmed a bit.
I was a bit anxious for the start of these conversations. The people present - friends, working partners and
Elvis’ employees - would accept questions by the audience and that’s something usually very interesting.
According to the list that was given to us at the entrance of the people that would be present, I was
immediately interested. This was an optional tour that I had booked in advance. We entered in the school,
we climbed some stairs and went immediately to the Elvis Aaron Presley Auditiorium, named after the
most famous student of that school. That should be the same auditiorium where Elvis had performed,
when he had been the most cheered student by the other students and had to sing again, winning the
contest. We got our seats, next to two good looking guys that seemed to be brothers. They asked us
where we were from and Lu took the chance to film a bit...! However, when we found out that we didn’t
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have a good view from the stage, we decided to go to the balcony, up there. The guys had already gone
and we followed. Oh, yes... the view from up there was quite better and we also had a better perspective
of the people present there. There was only a negative aspect: we were near the ceiling and, as you know,
the hot air is lighter and has a tendency to go up. As such, the cool air from the air-conditioning couldn’t
reach us up there that easily. I had to use the programme paper as a fan and I wasn’t the only one...!
The Jordanaires and Millie Kirkham
The first people entering the stage were The Jordanaires and Millie Kirkham. Of course that The
Jordanaires were the backing vocal group that first started working with Elvis in the 50’s and Millie did the
backing vocal support in many of the songs, like Good Luck Charm. They were given a nice round of
applause and they deserved it. Elvis loved their talent and, we have to admit it, his songs sounded much
better with all those aahs, oohs, bop-bop’s, etc... Before accepting questions from the audience, Gordon
Stoker started by telling some stories that I already knew so well, for having read them in magazines and
books, but which felt so good to hear live. Such as the one of that time when Elvis was sticking a finger in
his mouth while they were recording All Shook Up and he wasn’t able to sing so well...! “But Elvis was a
natural joker. And back in those days, as you know, we had to record together, singing and playing at the
same time, it wasn’t like today. Me and Elvis shared the same microphone, face to face, knees to knees,
from head to toe...!” General laughter. There was a member of The Jordanainres that entered the group
after one of its members left the quartet. I’m not exactely sure, but I think it was Hoyt Hawkins. This
gentleman, when someone from the audience asked what was the aspect that he enjoyed more about
Elvis, he said, “What I liked the best in him was the fact that he could sing every song as it should be sang,
whether he liked it or not. As you know, Elvis recorded many songs that he didn’t particularly like. But,
even so, he did his best to take the most out of that song. If it was funny, he sang it in a funny way, if it
was sexy, he sang it in a sexy way... and so on. That was his biggest talent.” Gordon Stoker agreed and
said that Elvis, if someone goofed while they were recording, never reprehended anyone or pointed out
accusing fingers. Sometimes he even said it had been his fault, doing something crazy immediately after,
so the person that had goofed didn’t feel bad about it. Hoyt Hawkins went on by saying: “The first time I
worked with The Jordanaires in a recording session, it was in an Elvis session. As you can imagine, I was
nervous as everything. But he called me to his side, started singing with me and, suddenly he is sticking
his fingers in my cheeks and in my ribs, trying his best to make me break...!” Hoyt added, “I think I got
dimples because of that!”
Gordon Stoker tells yet another story. He told that he took his 12 year old sister to meet Elvis backstage
one day. His mother was waiting outside, in the car. The girl went, Elvis was introduced to her and he
spent well over 10 minutes talking to her. When she went back inside the car, her mother asked her what
Elvis said to her and her answer was, “I don’t know... I can’t remember a thing!” Gordon went on, “This is
one of the many stories that prove what I am always saying: there wasn’t a person in the world with the
presence that Elvis Presley had. When he entered a room, there was a hush and everybody turned to see
him walk, move and talk. He had a very strong presence that cast a kind of influence over everybody.”
There’s no doubt that Elvis was really incredible. Millie tells that when she first went to work with Elvis, she
was 6 months pregnant. Apparently, noone had told a thing to Elvis about that, since when he first saw
her entering the studio, he looked quite surprised and said, “Will someone get this woman a chair!”
It was as if the time went by flying, but these gents left the stage. Millie said a joke at the microphone
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before leaving the stage, “Millie has left the building,” as it was always said at the Elvis concerts in the 70’s
when the shows ended. I must say at this stage that there were two deaf fans present in the audience
and, for that reason, a lady was translating everything that was being said to them. Although I’m a part of
it all, I always felt very confused by the fact how Elvis manages to conquer so many people just by the
power of his voice... But I’m really baffled when I see people that never heard him sing feeling the same
way about him...
The next guests would be: Wink Martindale and his wife, Sandy; Joe Esposito; Larry Geller; Ronnie
McDowell; Sue Ann Langdon; Cynthia Pepper; Bill Taylor; Dick Grob and Mike McGregor. I am going to
tell you a bit of every one of them to brighten your memory.
Wink Martindale, Sandy Martindale and Joe Esposito
Wink Martindale must be the television host from the 50’s that I most like from all the hosts that had Elvis
in their shows. And simply because he always respected him, never teased him or tried to transform him
in something that he was not. Who doesn’t remember those beautiful images of Elvis, feeling so relaxed
(almost too relaxed...!), leaning over a jukebox and very distracted, while talking to Wink in his
programme...? It looks like Elvis is in another world, roving his eyes, chewing his gum and stuttering a lot
when Wink asks him what was the goal of the auction of one of his rings. “I wanted to say... uh... uh...
uh... what did I want to say?” says Elvis, before the laughter of the audience. Wink was welcomed with a
warm round of applause and, although older, he looks exactely the same. His wife, Sandy, I had never
heard about her. But, on this day, she was introduced as the girl who dated Elvis from when she was 14
till 21. She told us a funny story about Elvis: “There was a time when a girl saw Elvis without expecting it,
she went to him, with her eyes wide open and all she could say was, ‘Elvis, Elvis, it’s really you... I can’t
believe it!’ And Elvis looked her in the eye and said, ‘Never mind, honey, sometimes I can’t believe it’s me
either!’” Everybody laughed, of course! It was Elvis who introduced Wink to her, her future husband, with
whom she is married for 30 years now. She explained that she had always been crazy from Memphis,
Tennessee. And when Elvis told her that Wink was from Tenneessee, “Well, he was already ahead of
everybody else in that regard. I was crazy just for seeing driving’s plates from that state...!” Then she told
that on the first dates with Elvis, her mother went together with them. “My mother told him, ‘Not even if
you were King Farouk, this is my daughter!’ But then we started to date alone. And I can only tell you one
thing. The reason why I liked men from the South so much and from the Tennessee in particular, was
because they were gentlemen, with such good manners... Elvis was like that and I assure you that any
mother wouldn’t have to worry if her daughter had Elvis as a boyfriend, since he was the perfect
boyfriend.”
Wink just laughed with the stories that Sandy was telling. She went on by saying that on the last time that
they saw Elvis in September 1976, he was in the mood to remember and turned to Wink and said, “Wink,
I am very proud of you.” Sandy laughed and said, “I just remember having thought... wait a minute, he’s
proud of Wink? Something isn’t right here!” But Elvis went on by telling that he felt very happy for having
been him introducing them, for them still being together and so happy.
Joe Esposito, as you know, was the road manager. I always felt that Joe was a very good professional, and
he really should be one, otherwise Elvis wouldn’t have kept him right till the end. And I had always
thought that Joe was a real friend. Until I read his book, Good Rockin’ Tonight. Joe disappointed me a lot
with this book. And it was also because of that that I didn’t particularly liked when he criticized the writers
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in general that say bad things about Elvis in their books. I mean... right in the first paragraph of his book
he says three bad things on Elvis. And it wasn’t the fact that they were bad that shocked me. It was the
way as he told them that made me think, “Why in the world are you doing this now?” So I listened to his
words and his speech with a light hearted attitude, without knowing if I could believe in him or not. The
things he said weren’t new to me. He mainly said that Elvis was crazy and he was constantly doing
practical jokes on people. “It never was anything dangerous, but he set the house on fire once!”
Everybody laughed.
There was a boy in the audience who said that he thought Aloha From Hawaii to be the highest moment
in Elvis’ career and it was also his favourite show. He asked Joe how did Elvis felt for knowing that he was
going to be viewed in the whole wide world. Joe explained that Elvis always felt very nervous before any
live performance but, strangely, for this one performance, Joe said that he had never seen him looking so
relaxed. He had been getting ready for the event, dieting, jogging and even had gone to Hawaii to get
that beautiful sun tan... but he wasn’t nervous. It was Joe who said this. It’s very hard for me to believe it.
Maybe Elvis looked relaxed on the outside, but I know he must have felt nervous for sure...! There was
also someone who asked why Elvis In Concert 1977 footage was never officially released, since there are
only incomplete and bootleg versions around. Joe explained that that is due to a very simple reason: Elvis
saw the footage and he didn’t like what he saw, he didn’t enjoy seeing himself in those conditions. And
he said he didn’t want that footage to be released, he said that he would take care of himself and look
better and, then they would see if they could shoot another film to release it. This is quite a logical
explanation. I know that Elvis mustn’t have liked to see himself in those footages, although I started to
love him even more after seeing them (I have one of the bootleg versions). However, I don’t know if the
explanation can be as simple as that. Would they respect that wish that Elvis had expressed and putting
aside another chance of earning more money...? I have been witness to so many things over the years
that nothing surprises me anymore.
Ronnie McDowell
When this man entered the stage before the applause of everyone present, Sandra asked me who he was.
I told her it was an Elvis fan who had recorded a tribute song to the King in 1977 and who is also famous
for doubling Elvis’ voice in some movies and documentaries. She remembered seeing his name written in
some places. The song he wrote and sang in 1977 is The King Is Gone. There was someone in the
audience who said that was his favourite tribute song to Elvis (by chance, I also have it in my collection,
but it’s not my favourite) and asked him how it had been the day when he recorded it.
“Well,” Ronnie says, “I’m an Elvis fan since 1954...” he was interrupted by the applause. “I was 9 at the
time and I didn’t stop loving him ever since. When I heard the news saying that he had died, the first
thing I wanted to do was to go to Memphis and try to see him for the last time. But, when I finally got
there, the gates are already been closed and I wasn’t able to get inside... Then I thought that I wanted to
record a tribute song. I went to Nashville, got in the studio and immediately started working with some of
my friends. One of them turned to me and asked, ‘Are you going to pay for the time in the studio?’ I said
I had no money. He didn’t have money either. And we had already recorded the song. I had 80 dollars in
my bank account, but I wrote a check for the whole amount just the same...!” Ronnie was quite
applauded at this moment. I must say that Ronnie has an absolutely delicious Southern accent and,
sometimes, his voice reminds me of Elvis’ voice.
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Sue Ann Langdon and Cynthia Pepper
The first of the above-mentioned ladies is the same that worked with Elvis in the movie Frankie and Johnny
(the one who played the part of the very funny Mitzi, who was always complaining that “Nobody loves
me...!”) and also in the movie Roustabout (she played the part of Madame Mijanou, the fortune teller).
She is really funny and has a quite young attitude and spirit. She also told us some things about Elvis:
“People just don’t realize how shy Elvis was, how well-mannered and such a gentleman. I’m telling you,
the South is full of gentlemen, but Elvis was the King of Gentlemen in that regard... I’m going to tell you
a story... when we had to rehearse the scenes, Elvis was always ready, but when the kissing scenes came...”
She stopped, to add more effect to her words and sighed. The audience applauded and whistled, “... Elvis
was SO shy...! People can’t even imagine how much.”
Cynthia Pepper worked with Elvis in Kissin’ Cousins (she played the part of Midge). She says that he was a
very simple person. She told that once, in a break, he turned to her and said, “I can’t believe this is really
happening.” “What, Elvis?” He looked around him, “This... I mean, I should be driving a truck.” And that
made Cynthia realize how he still was surprised with all the fame and fortune that knocked on his door, as
if he was afraid that everything would be gone in a second.
Then she told a funny story. She is married to a man who has children from his first marriage. One of
them is a little girl who remarked at school one day to her teacher and the other students that her mother
had kissed Elvis Presley. “There was stirr in the room, mainly among the girls. And one of them asked her,
‘And how did he kiss like?’” General laughter. Cynthia explained that she only wanted to stress how,
several generations after his death, Elvis still manages to excite people that were born much, much later.
This always surprises people. There was another round of applause.
Mike McGregor, Bill Taylor and Dick Grob
Many people don’t know who these persons are. I had heard a lot about Mike and Dick, but I didn’t know
Bill Taylor. It was the first person showing up that I didn’t recognize. Mike McGregor worked for Elvis
taking care of the horses. Let’s say that he was Graceland’s and Circle G’s cowboy, the ranch that Elvis
bought shortly before getting married. McGregor family always loved Elvis. Mike didn’t talk much, he
only said that Elvis wasn’t fat, but he puffed up quite easily.
Dick Grob was the person who took care of all the aspects connected to security around Elvis. Elvis
admired this man very much, who was a detective and police officer, and to whom he trusted his life.
Dick didn’t talk much either. And this was because the questions that people asked weren’t addressed to
them, but to others, as Joe and Larry Geller.
Bill Taylor is colonel and was Elvis sargeant in the army. I didn’t exactely caught if it was in Germany or still
in Texas, before Elvis went away. He asked how many of us knew Ira Jones and there was a warm response
from the audience. I knew who Ira Jones was - he had been Elvis’ sergeant in Germany and Elvis was his
jeep driver to take him wherever he was needed. Colonel Taylor told us that Elvis was an excellent soldier,
he did everything that the other boys did and sometimes, even better. And he told a story that got
everybody laughing.
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“One day we were all lined up in the field when this completely naked and crazy guy appears running...”
everybody present laughed. “No, no, wait... it was Elvis!” General cheers. “But do you know what
happened...? He was running away from another guy who was chasing him with a bucket full of cold
water...!” I admit that I would love to have been a witness to that...! “He was the best.” He stopped for a
moment, “Damn... he was special.” His voice was different saying this and everybody clapped.
Larry Geller
But the person who I loved to hear talking the most, from all of these people, was without a doubt, Larry
Geller. Larry is known by many people as the personal Elvis guru, since he introduced him to several
philosophical books and other themes. Elvis was always reading that kind of books and Larry helped him
a lot in that regard. But they met when Larry was hired as a hairdresser to Elvis in Hollywood. Larry said
that he was hyper nervous in the first time he had to do Elvis’ hair.
“And as if that wasn’t enough, it was very difficult to do his hair because he never sat still!”
I think that lots of people misunderstood Larry’s presence around Elvis. The Colonel and Priscilla were two
of those people who didn’t like Larry to be with Elvis. To start with, he took a lot of his time and it is well
known that Priscilla was quite jealous of anyone that spent more time with Elvis than she did, be it women
or men. I can understand her, to a certain extent. After all, Elvis spent so little time at home and, when he
did, there was always lots of people around him. But Elvis loved Larry. And listening to his voice on that
day, speaking about Elvis, I realized why Elvis loved him so much. His voice is soft, kind, it carries you
away... a voice that make us forget about our problems, that eases the spirit. And during the 60’s, mainly
between 1965 and 1967 (the worst phase of Elvis’ movie career), I believe that Larry contributed a lot for
Elvis to remain sound and prevented him to go crazy. Elvis himself said that the movies were so bad that
they got him physically ill, sometimes he had to go running to the toilett to puke... I get angry every time
I think about how his talent was wasted.
Someone asked Larry if he thought things would be different if he was around Elvis more often during the
final years of his life. Larry grabbed the mike with a thoughtful look on his face and said, “I wouldn’t have
made any difference, since Elvis was the person who was different, not me.” The applause was deafening.
After fading away, Larry proceeded, “I think things happened they way they did because they were meant
to be. For instance, on the day Elvis died, I was on my way to Graceland and there was lots of people
there. Joe was there, too. Many people think that Elvis was on hard drugs, like marijuana, cocaine, heroin,
that kind of stuff. It was nothing like that! Elvis took medicine for a lot of health problems that he had: he
had glaucoma, he had an enlarged colon, high pressure, colestrol, liver problems. All of us ask ourselves
how could that have happened, if we couldn’t have done better... If you ask me how many of us told Elvis
that he had to stop to rest and take care of himself, I answer that not many told him that. Joe did.” A
round of applause for Joe. “But Elvis had always been a person who firmly believed in what the doctors
said and advised. He thought that if his mother had had the special medical treatment, may she was still
alive. He felt that even his twin brother could be alive if they had all been taken care of as they should.
And besides, Elvis was always saying that everything was okay. On the day before he died, I had been
talking to him on the phone. He was going on tour on the 17th.
I was worried with his health, but, on that moment, when I talked to him, he seemed so well, his voice so
young... that I thought, ‘Oh well, Elvis is fine. He sounds really good.’ But I honestly think that his time
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had come. I had given him a book to read about Jesus Christ and it was that book that he had close to his
chest when he was found lying on the floor of his bathroom. I think this also says a lot about the man.”
At this moment, there was a fan who was sitting on the first row near the stage who wanted to say
something. A mike was given to him and he said, “I’d like to thank you, guys, for being up there talking
about Elvis... I’m an Elvis fan for a long time now and believe me when I say that I feel closer to him just
for listening to you talking about him...” His voice cracked and was actually crying. “I’m sorry for getting
emotional, but I always do when I talk about Elvis, because I love Elvis Presley. I have my son here, who
belongs to a new generation of fans...” There was a round of applause, the child must be around 8 years
old. “I would like to say that I am also a big Beatles fan. A lot of things had been heard and told about the
famous meeting of the Beatles with Elvis, so... c’mon, guys, you were there, tell us... What happened...?”
Larry was still with the mike on his hand. He looked to the man, he nodded approvingly and said, “It was
beautiful... showing your feelings that way in public, I mean. Thank you.” I loved to hear him saying that.
Because listening to other man talking and crying for Elvis, made me cry, too. I could understand him
quite well. And I also loved Larry’s words. Let’s see what he had to say:
“On that day, on the house at Perugia Way, Elvis was visited by the Beatles. They went there because they
wanted to meet Elvis. That’s just what they wanted, since they admired him too much. Outside there
were thousands of fans screaming, ‘Elvis! Elvis!’ and ‘The Beatles! The Beatles!’...” Larry stopped talking
and then added, “Elvis won.” We clapped. “They got inside. Elvis was sitting in one chair near that sofa in
the corner... remember, Joe? And do you know what they did...? They went to him and sat on the floor at
his feet, just staring at him. And Elvis stood there, staring at them. Suddenly, Elvis said, ‘Well, if you’re
going to stay there all night just looking, I might as well go to bed!’ Of course this broke the ice and they
all laughed. On that night, Elvis was playing with a bass, Paul immediately took one guitar and they
played some songs together, no singing, just playing for fun. Then Elvis wanted to show The Beatles his
new car, which was parked outside. When he opened the door, the noise of the fans shouting almost
threw us down on our backs...! We got inside again and, at a certain spot in the house, inside a kind of a
big jar, a girl was hiding... When Elvis was going by, she jumped outside and clung to him, screaming his
name...! We were all dumbfounded, imagining how could that have happened. How in the world that
girl had managed to get in there...?” Larry was interrupted in his story by Sue-Ann, who just remarked, “I
can well imagine!” Everybody laughed, once again. Women always found a way to do everything they
could to get to Elvis.
But Larry’s story, although interesting, didn’t reveal many news to me. Except, maybe, that The Beatles
sat on the floor at Elvis’ feet. I didn’t know they had done that. Elvis must have felt quite weird...! They
idolized him. But the big question mark remains. Some people say that on that night John, Paul and Elvis
played and sang, too. And some say that a recording was done of that informal jam session. I read
somewhere once that Paul McCartney even hired a detective to get that single recording, which is in his
hands to this day. But these are just stories, which we’ll never see proved as real, it seems. Maybe nothing
was recorded, but it’s hard for me to believe that Elvis just played and didn’t sing a thing. Elvis was a
person who loved to sing and was always singing wherever he was. It seems strange he wouldn’t do it
with The Beatles. Why not...? If he did and Larry didn’t want to say, this only added to the mystery.
Meanwhile, the estimated hour to end the conversations (17.00h) was well surpassed by now. I didn’t
know how would they be able to introduce the other persons who were supposed to appear too - Scotty
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Moore, D.J. Fontana, Marian Cocke (Elvis’ nurse) and Janelle McComb. But when people start talking,
that’s what usually happens. And people kept asking questions. Someone asked how was the relationship
between Elvis and his mother. I don’t know why there’s always someone who brings this subject up. We
are all sick and tired to know that it was a special relationship, that they were the biggest friends... But
Larry decided to tell us a story.
“Well, as you know, I met Elvis when his mother had already passed away. One day, when I went to
Graceland, I went upstairs to Elvis’ room and knocked on the door. This was in the mid-70’s. ‘Elvis, are you
in there?’ He told me to get in. I did and saw him sitting on the edge of his bed reading a magazine. He
looked extremely upset. The magazine was of the National Enquirer (sensacionalist) type and I asked him
what was the matter. ‘Take it,’ he said, ‘read this.’ The article was saying that Elvis was secluded in
Graceland, deeply grieving over the loss of his mother, his friends were even afraid that he would commit
suicide. ‘Can you believe this?’ he said. ‘How can they write such a thing? Will someone believe in this
story? That was years ago...!’ Elvis went on by saying that commiting suicide had never gone through his
head, since that was something that the weak did and was against all his views on life. ‘The people who
are writing this now don’t have a slightest idea of what I went through back then... My mother had died,
then they put me in a ship and sent me to Germany... I mean, I thought I wouldn’t take it. I cried and
asked God why... why, there were times that even Him I questioned... Pain? Grief? Hurt? I went through
all that at that time, no one, absolutely no one has a slight idea of what I went through... But now, after
so many years, I don’t cry for my mother anymore. Of course I miss her, but I also feel her presence in me
and around me all the time. Of course I wouldn’t commit suicide.’” Larry stopped talking for a moment
and looked to the person who had questioned about the relationship between Elvis and his mother. “This
is more or less my answer to your question.” He was applauded, once again.
Meanwhile, several people present on stage were getting quite restless. They needed to leave, as Joe, for
instance. On that night there was going to be a Carl Perkins concert and lots of people were already late,
be it on stage or in the audience. Sandra asked me, a bit annoyed, why weren’t we going to that concert.
I explained to her that the fan club didn’t organise the trips to that show, neither bought the tickets. The
fans had to do all that by themselves. But that was only due to the fact that in previous years, people had
gone to his concert and hadn’t enjoyed it much. And, besides, Sandra had been the one always saying
that she wouldn’t spend more extra money than she had already with our trip. But I told her if she, or Lu,
wanted to go, they were free to do it. I didn’t want to spend my money on that. I wanted to go to
Graceland Plaza, to visit some more museums and to buy some more Elvis’ items. I also prefered to visit
Graceland by night.
At the end of the conversations, many people wanted to go down there to ask for autographs, since those
who hadn’t appeared weren’t going to do it anymore. I wasnt’t interested in autographs. I wasn’t losing
much either with the absence of the other guests, since I already had met Scotty and D.J. in England in
1993 and had seen Janelle countless times since I had arrived in America. I only regretted not having met
Marian Cocke, but better luck next time... Meanwhile, the school was also very busy, since daily tribute
concerts were taking place in there by a boy named Daniel Young.
Sincerely Elvis Museum and Walk A Mile In My Shoes
In the middle of all the commotion, I had only eaten an icecream all day. Sandra and Lu were even a bit
worried about that. As such, after going to the hotel, we caught the first bus to Graceland and got out
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near Shoney’s. Jeane had told us about this restaurant, where, apparently, we could eat reasonably for
little money. Me and my friends were more and more surprised with the club’s organisation, for the fact
of not even needing to ask where we wanted to go once we went to the parking lot... a member of the
organisation immediately came to us and asked where we wanted to go. We told him/her. “It’s bus
number 3,” he/she would say and off we went. It was incredible. Since we had arrived, we had only
waited for a bus and all because we didn’t know exactely where the bus stop was.
Before having dinner, there was still time to visit one of the museums that we hadn’t visited yet. Sandra
wasn’t in the mood to go and choose to stay at Graceland Crossing attending to the shows that were
always taking place there. As such, Lu and me went to visit the Sincerely Elvis Museum. We handed our
ticket bought on the 11th and got in. At the entrance there’s an area with unusual Elvis’ photos on the
walls. I say unusual because they are not that known. And there were also quotes from him spread all
over. I will quote some of my favourites:
Do what’s right for you, as long as it don’t hurt anyone.
Only thing worse than watching a bad movie is being in one.
I wouldn’t call any art bad, though there’s a lot of it I don’t get. I like realism... though I can admire a
good house painting job.
You let your head get too big, it’ll break your neck.
My name has got evils and lives. It’s probably better not to worry much about it.
The world’s more alive at night. It’s like God ain’t watching.
There’s a photo there of Elvis with Dixie Locke, which I think I’ll never forget. Up until now, I’ve only seen
3 different photos of Elvis with this first serious girlfriend of his - the one to whom he would probably
marry if he hadn’t become famous after recording and releasing That’s All Right (Mama). Elvis and Dixie
were staying at the side of a road, next to a parked automobile and Elvis is embracing her by her back.
But she looks like she is trying to get away, to get loose and they’re both laughing a lot... In this area
there’s also a TV set constantly running some private movies that belong to Priscilla and Joe Esposito that
I had never seen before - mainly from the vacation they all spent together in Hawaii in 1967 and of Elvis
playing in the snow.
After getting in, we immediately saw a display completely covered by old magazine covers with Elvis. On
the floor is a pile of letters that were sent to him, the biggest part never having been read by him. A sign
said, “This is an average amount of letters Elvis received per day.” Some are opened and I read one, just
out of curiosity, written in 1971. It was from a fan who had attended to one of his shows and was praising
him for his performance, not forgetting to add that she thought he was handsome, cute and sexy...!
Also in exhibition are some of his famous clothing, such as that black and white suit that Elvis loved so
much, that he used both on stage and out. Elvis muddy boots were also there, still with remains of mud
and with a very spent look, I must say...! Right beside them are his riding saddle, Lisa Marie’s and also his
leather protections for his legs. There’s another TV set running footage of Elvis riding his horses, as well as
Priscilla and Lisa Marie.
At the center of the room is a big exhibitor that contains a small bed that belonged to Lisa Marie, some of
her toys, a record with the mark of her little feet when she was a baby and photos on the wall of her and
the marriage of her parents. On one of the sides is Priscilla’s bridal gown and Elvis’ groom suit. A curious
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aspect that I hadn’t noticed before - Elvis’ suit is made of red silk on the inside! Inside this exhibitor some
footage is running about their marriage.
In other stands are several items related to Elvis, such as his football gear, balls and baseball bats (there’s a
baseball ball in there autographed by Muhamad Ali), a broken TV set with a gun shot...! There’s also some
of Elvis’ robes in exhibition in there, robes that Elvis wore in his privacy - and, as Sean Shaver had said in
his book In Focus - some of his robes were even more elaborated than his jumpsuits that he wore on
stage. One of them, in green and yellow, looks like it belonged to an arabe sheik...! There’s also some
hygiene products, such as brushes, combs, cotton and, as it had to be, the always present Brut perfume,
Elvis’ favourite.
But the piece of clothing that I really enjoyed the most, was the last suit that is standing right before
getting outside (or, better still, to another Elvis’ shop!) - the suit that Elvis wore when he went to meet
President Nixon in December 1970. In the photos I had seen, it had never impressed me, but believe me,
the suit is gorgeous...! All black - black pants (and what thin legs, my God!), a coat Italian style sewed in
front (you have to dress it like a sweater) delicately lined with black embroideries in front, over a very
beautiful white shirt. The coat was enhanced by a belt and a black and simple, although sumptuous cape.
It doesn’t surprise me now that the President looked so impressed with the way Elvis looked... But he was
beautiful, believe me.
We didn’t take any photos on this day, but we would do it in a future visit.
We got out through another shop and I bought two things that I really wasn’t counting to do - two tshirts. One completely black with the letters “Graceland” embroidered in hot colors and another
completely white with a drawing of Graceland’s gates enhanced by a golden dust. They were quite nice
and I was able to wear them, since nobody, except for Elvis’ fans, would know that they were related to
the King. Lu bought some more t-shirts. Meanwhile, I had completely lost count with her shopping...!
Leaving through the shops was proving to be a good idea - for the Elvis Estate (ruled by Priscilla) and also
for the fans that only bought the items if they wanted, even if they were caught in a trap!
There was still time to watch the movie Walk A Mile In My Shoes. Off we went, still laughing over the first
time we had gone there, with all that “mess”. But, this time, the movie went on without trouble. And it’s
quite well done. In just 22 minutes, the life of Elvis flows before our eyes. And I had never seen such a big
Elvis when his face first appeared on the screen singing “If you’re looking for trouble...” from NBC TV
Special in 1968.
We went to Graceland Crossing again to see if we could find Sandra. It was easy to spot her. She was
feeling happy and not bored at all, since during our absence she had met a guy from Boston, Mike.
Meanwhile, Lu went inside another shop to see if she could choose one of the many beautiful Elvis’
porcelain plates. I went with her to keep her company. I was the last one to leave, although I didn’t buy a
thing. And when I left, I found Sandra with Lu, who were chatting with two very beautiful American
young ladies. I don’t quite recall what they were talking about, but it looked like they had just met. It
seemed to me that the conversation was around Lu’s blue suede shoes, that she had bought here in
Portugal. The truth was that we hadn’t seen any woman with shoes like hers.Or maybe it was because of
her Elvis’ ring, I don’t remember anymore. The American ladies were called Gail and Sandy and I was
talking to them in a second. They were from Massachussets and were quite surprised for us being from
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Portugal. “And me thinking I was coming from faraway...!” Gail said. And while saying it, her beautiful
blue eyes filled with tears, as well as Sandy’s sweet brown eyes. I asked them if they had been to Tupelo
and they said no. I told them what had happened to us at the banquet, of having been given the Key of
The City and they felt quite touched with the story... We said goodbye with a “See you later” and went to
try to eat something.
At Shoney’s, the line to have dinner was very long. We were given a ticket and we had to wait for our
turn. When we heard our number being called, off we went to our table. The walls were covered with
portraits with Elvis’ photos. I asked for a chopped beef with mushrooms, mashed potatoes and broccoli
with melted cheese. Mmm... it was delicious...! I drank a Coca-Cola. I think I must have drank more CocaCola on these days than in my whole life up until then. And the glasses were quite big...!
As the guided tours to Graceland had already finished, we thought about going there once again, to go
up that beautiful drive way to the gardens up there. Since we had that opportunity, the best thing was to
take the most out of it while it lasted. While we were going by Graceland Crossing, Sandra found Mike
again, who she immediately introduced to us. He was a big guy, tall, enormous, typically American. He
was quite nice and simple and I instantly liked him. So we all went together to the musical gates. On that
night there was a small crowd already gathered waiting for the gates to open. Meanwhile, a constant
presence inside the property were the journalists from several TV channels and networks who were
covering all the events throughout the week of celebrations. I kept talking with Mike, who told me he was
from Boston. I asked him exactely from where and he said, “Cape Cod.” Incidently I had just finished
reading a book and the plot had happened in Cape Cod, that beautiful place by the sea. I told him that
and he spoke a bit of his town. Already near the gates, in the middle of the crowd, an elder lady showed
up and she started preaching against Elvis and his fans. Well... she wasn’t being exactely smart by doing
so. To start with, she was yelling that Elvis was a junkie and that his fans were trying to turn him into
something that he was not, etc, etc, etc... Everybody was doing remarks against her, but nobody was
doing a thing to make her go away. It was easy to tell that everybody was avoiding a more direct confront.
Meanwhile, there was a man right by my side, with long and grey hair and also a long beard. He was
wearing a ribbon around his head, hippy style. He couldn’t look more like a hippy. He started talking with
me and a boy who was standing next to him, started talking to me, too. Soon I realized that they were
father and son. This man was quite wise in every word he said. And when he saw that a lady near the
woman that was preaching was really feeling very nervous about the whole situation (her daughter was
trying to calm her down), he decided to go and talk to the woman who was preaching, but she didn’t
listen. “You should be thanking Jesus every day for everything that He’s done, and not Elvis...!” she
proceeded. Mike only laughed. Another boy turned to her and said, “C’mon... get a job!” But the thing
was that many people were getting quite upset with the situation. Some people started singing Can’t
Help Falling In Love to see if her voice couldn’t be heard, but even so, she could still be heard. We were
saved when the guards opened the gates for us to get inside. I laughed like crazy when a guy up front
raised his arms to the sky and screamed, “Thank you, Jesus, thank you!” being ironical with her own
words a little while ago and making a joke at the same time. Between laughs, we got inside the grounds.
I was only praying for her not to show up on the Candle Vigil Night.
In the middle of all that confusion and people, I got lost from Lu, Sandra and Mike. I couldn’t find them. I
waited for a while near the gates inside the property, but I couldn’t find them anywhere. I decided to go
up little by little by myself, maybe I would find them on the way. We couldn’t be lost and we surely would
all meet again eventually. I took the chance and picked some more leaves from the ground. I also took a
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few grass that Ana had asked me to take her. And a bit of earth for Cristina Martins - another request. This
kind of thing could only be done at night, as it was the case. I kept walking up to the house. And I was
completely absent minded and lost in thoughts looking at the house, thinking of how everything looked
so natural over there... there were tamed squirels everywhere, they didn’t even ran away from us - when I
heard Sandra’s voice shouting at me. I swear I jumped. She was angry, since Lu had been stopped at the
entrance by the guard (she was carrying her video camera and it’s forbidden to take that type of
equipment inside the grounds) to hand her camera and I had simply vanished. I only remember having
thought, “How unfair...” I even had waited for them for some minutes standing by the gate and on top of
the grass to look taller, and now I was being accused of desertion... Okay, it’s wasn’t important, I wasn’t
there to get upset. The important was that we were all together again. And Lu didn’t look upset or angry
to me. I talked a lot with Mike, who was talkative and very funny. When we were already leaving, we sat a
bit near the gates down there, waiting for Lu, who was still in the gardens. I asked Mike if he had a ticket
for the concert on the 16th and, very sad, he said he didn’t. But he would try to get one, since he had
come all the way up from Boston all alone, in an adventure and he felt that if he didn’t go to the concert,
he would be missing the highlight of the week of celebrations. I expressed my worry once again for not
having gone to fetch our tickets. But he was very nice and asked if we wanted him to take us by car (he
had rented one) to the Mid-South Coliseum to fetch them. We could take the chance and have breakfast
together and everything. He also asked us if we’d like to go to Beale Street with him at night. But I was
always afraid to accept. However, I thought that having breakfast together was a good idea. We could
arrange for that to happen the day after tomorrow, when we were free during the morning, with no
defined plans yet. And so it was. He would fetch us at our hotel.
When Lu arrived, we went to Graceland Crossing again. We saw a boy named Sean Barry singing Hurt in
such a moving way, that we felt our eyes filled with tears... There was an old lady who felt so moved, that
she went to him to give him a hug. And Sean, touched with her emotion, had his eyes filled with tears,
too. We became instant fans of his. It looked like in two days there was going to be a concert by him.
Sandra said she would like to see him. Another common thing that happened there, was to accept
requests of songs from the audience. There was a gentleman there, who was the responsible for all that
organisation, who was very nice and who could sing quite well, too. Suddenly, Sandra got up and went
to talk to him. She didn’t tell us what was all about. When he started singing, we immediately found out
what was happening. He said, “This song is dedicated to three people who are here from Portugal.” And
he sang Twenty Days And Twenty Nights, one of Sandra’s favourite songs.
On this night, I entered again in one of the shops of Graceland Crossing (the best of them all, to me) and
did some more shopping. I think I will take this chance to say the names of the shops: Wooden Indian,
Elvis Memories and Loose Ends. I bought the book Steamrolling Over Texas, by Ger Rijff, a gorgeous
collection of Elvis photos live in Texas, in several different dates in the 70’s. I also bought the book Tiger
Man, by Joe Tunzi, which is all dedicated to the NBC TV Special of 1968. There are no words to describe
it... you have to see it! Charlie Hodge’s book, Me’n’Elvis, also went to the bag. I bought some original
photos by Sean Shaver, also very beautiful, which showed Elvis riding his horse in Graceland... It was so
different to look at those pictures now...! I saw a book for sale in one of the shops of which I’d never heard
of before. It was a new book by Joe Esposito. I was wondering if it would be in the same type of Good
Rockin’ Tonight. But after a quick glance, I saw it was just a number of photos of his private collection. Its
title was Intimate And Rare and it was gorgeous. I had to think if I was going to buy it or not. I was already
very heavy in terms of luggage and I still had some more things I wanted to buy.
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While we were witnessing to some more talents performing at Graceland Crossing, a very tall and elder
gentleman appeared in there, who was introduced as being Ira Jones - it was Elvis’ sergeant in Germany.
Everybody welcomed him with a round of applause. He thanked and decided to share a story with us. He
told that Elvis was the driver of his jeep in Germany and that, one day, as they were quite far from their
destination, the soldier asked the sargeant if he could do a short cut. After having his approval, that’s
what he did. “Only he went through some pastures and fields that just had been fertilized,” Mr. Ira Jones
added, stopping to smile. “After arriving, we had to put the jeep in an open field for 3 days, since nobody
could get near it because of that smell...!” Everybody laughed. Sandra and Lu went to talk to him, while I
was taking care of our things. They took photos with him. When Lu asked him how Elvis was like, he just
said, “There are no words to describe him.” Lu was pleased with the answer, “You don’t have to say
anything more. You’ve said it all.”
After having attended to a few more live songs, we decided to go home. After all, we had to wake up
quite early the following day, for another guided tour through Memphis. While we were waiting for the
bus to arrive, it started to rain cats and dogs! Sandra and Lu ran to shelter themselves at Shoney’s door
(the bus stop was right in front of the restaurant), but I rather prefered to stay under one of those small,
but thick trees near the road. The worst was that I had to step on the grass and we were suspicious that
the pimples we had in our feet were due maybe to some bugs in the grass. But I wasn’t going to die
because of that...! Even raining, the heat never stopped. And we really looked like chicken, crouching
under the small tree! Meanwhile, Lu and Sandra came to my side when it stopped raining for a while, but
it started again a minute later. And it was on that moment that a van with a trailor drove by... it was
absolutey lovely! It was painted in tones of pink with several Elvis pictures all around it. It looked like taken
out of a dream...! We were only sorry for not having had the chance to photograph it. It would be great if
we could see it some other time. Of course there were other fans all around us, also waiting for the bus. I
started complaining about the rain, hoping that it wouldn’t rain on the 15th, the Candle Vigil Night.
Candles with rain don’t work together... But God wouldn’t allow that.
When we got to the hotel, some of our English friends - Brenda and Victoria - were inside the souvenir
shop, very busy around a book, Child Bride. It was a book that mentioned in the cover that it contained
the untold story about Priscilla Beaulieu Presley. It was not my intention to buy it, but Sandra, who likes
Priscilla, bought it. Already in our room, I asked her if I could see the photos of the book. It had beautiful
photos of Priscilla...! Not many on Elvis, but just for the photos, it was worth it to buy it. I asked her if I
could borrow it from her to read it. She said it was okay. The author of the book, Suzanne Finstad, had
been in an autograph session in a nearby hotel (I don’t remember which one now) and that was all we
could hear around the hotel.
I kept buying my stuff and packing them. And I was realizing I didn’t had much more space available... Besides,
I wouldn’t want to risk to have to leave anything behind for being too heavy. So, it was quite confusing to me
to think that Lu had already bought SO MANY things and hadn’t pack a thing yet...! I commented on that and
she decided to start packing her things on that night. You should see all the stuff spread all over her and my
bed...! Sandra thought it to be so funny, she even took her a photograph and everything...
14th of August - Thursday
We woke up early once again, around 6.30h. Usually it was always Lu to get up first, I was second and
Sandra, was last. We always took some time, since we always wanted to take a shower before leaving. We
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had to be ready at 8.30h - the time when our bus would leave to another guided tour through Memphis.
Meanwhile, the 16th was nearer and nearer and we still didn’t have our tickets to the concert. The buses
to Libertyland (the amusement park near the Coliseum) were going to start on that same afternoon, but
we still had so many things we wanted to visit around Graceland...! We hadn’t visited everything yet.
Already inside the bus, we found out that Kathy wasn’t our coach on that day, but a boy, Chris, also very
nice. Something real strange about Memphis... We were there for only 3 days, but it looked like we were
there for 3 weeks instead. It was the same feeling we had experienced in Tupelo, but much more intense,
since we saw and did much more things during the day. Only the fact of strolling by the Elvis Presley
Boulevard all decorated with those Elvis posters saying “20 Years After - Still Rockin’” or sitting in a bench
at Graceland Plaza was enough to enjoy ourselves. There are always those “crazy” fans who try to dress
like Elvis, some people look like Christmas trees completely covered with Elvis’ related items, there are also
men and boys quite attractive and many people of several nationalities, completely different... To be
there, was an adventure for itself...! It was also fun to see the fans boarding the shuttles to go and visit the
mansion. And the young personnel of Graceland always seem very happy with what they’re doing. In
spite of the heat, the black and white uniform, they look like they couldn’t care less. And there were also
handicapped employees, some in wheelchairs and everything. I appreciated that very much. Although
with limitations, they are considered as people who can be useful in some way. The most important
aspect may be to know that the person who allows this is Priscilla Presley, which makes a person with a
good heart out of her, since she tries to follow Elvis’ steps and lifestyle in that regard. Even inside
Graceland, I had seen handicapped people working. The buses are all equiped with wheelchairs and lifts
that allow an easy access. Graceland also has ramps for those people. And everything in Graceland Plaza
and Graceland Crossing was done thinking about those who have some limitations. I enjoyed to see that,
since in Portugal almost no one is reminded of the fact that there are people who cannot climb and
descend stairs.
The Sun Studios
Today we were going to visit the Sun Studios on the inside, since two days ago we didn’t have the chance
to do it when we passed by for a brief moment. But once again I felt surprised with the picturesque and
bizarre look of the building, in triangular shape, for standing in a corner.
Inside the bus I heard two people who had gone to Carl Perkins’ concert on the night before talking and
complaining that it hadn’t been good and it had been quite expensive. I was glad I hadn’t gone. We
stepped outside and entered the building. It was weird to see the famous letters saying SUN in neon
lights over the door and on the door itself... Everything looked so small. The reception area had a desk,
still with the identification plaque of Marion Keisker, Sam Phillips’ secretary and assistant during the 50’s.
The files looked old, heavy and solid. It wasn’t interesting at all and I was wondering what Elvis had felt
when he had to wait in there for his turn to record a demo to offer his mother. I was sure that, to him, the
studio must had been very interesting and quite intimidating, too.
However, when we entered the studio itself, I was astonished...! It was very small, the control room was
right in front, also very small. Some instruments were displayed, which were played by Elvis and Jerry Lee
Lewis, such as two pianos, some drums and some guitars. The walls were covered with photos of artists
who became famous and started their career in that very same small studio of Sun, such as Carl Perkins,
Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Howlin’ Wolf, etc... But the most famous photo of them all is, without a doubt,
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the one where Elvis is sitting at the piano, surrounded by Carl,
Jerry and Johnny Cash, on the day that that famous jam session
was recorded, now know as The Million Dollar Session.
Our guide inside the Sun was named Barbara (she was black)
and started to tell us several things about the Sun’s history and
about Sam. She told us that Sun was closed for some years and
that some people tried to convince Sam to sell it and turn it
into a clothing store. However, he had denied. He had always
had the dream of putting the studio working again. And that’s
what he did. Today several stars enjoy to record there, as Bono,
for instance. The studio works at night and during the day is
open for guided tours. Barbara also said that Sam is a very
wealthy man now and lives quite well in Memphis. At the same
time that she was telling about the hits recorded there, she
played them in those very old reels...! We heard what was
considered to be the very first rock’n’roll song recorded at Sun,
Rocket 88, by Jackie Brenston, which I have in my collection.
The sound looked authentic in there, much more than in the
recording I had back home. Maybe because I was inside the
place where it had been recorded... Barbara told us that one
day, in July 1953, Elvis went there to do a demo record. Marion
was the one who did the recording on that day, since Sam was
busy. “And what Marion heard was this,” and she put Elvis
singing That’s When Your Heartaches Begin. She was quite
impressed and was constantly mentioning the boy to Sam.
When, a year later, a song came up that Sam wanted to record, Without You, he decided to call the
sideburned kid. But he didn’t sing it okay, according to Sam. He felt that the boy had something, although
he didn’t know exactely what. He asked him to sing what he knew and Elvis gave him a complete session
of all the musical styles and songs he knew. Sam was impressed. He decided to insist with the boy until
the sound he was looking for appeared. And of course that, after so many failed tryings, Elvis and Bill
started playing around with That’s All Right (Mama) and Sam woke up... That was it! Barbara played the
song for us. Sam released it in the South after having been played at the Red, Hot And Blue radio
programme, hosted by Dewey Phillips in Memphis. Other sessions followed. We heard a bit of a session
that Elvis had when he recorded When It Rains It Really Pours, where he laughs and is interrupted so
many times by Sam, who is always telling him, “Elvis, don’t get too close to that mike...!” He always says
yes, but there he goes again...! Everytime he sang the word “pours”, that “P” almost jumped out of his
mouth...! I also have this recording, which I really enjoy listening to. But in there, it “tasted” much better.
Barbara called out attention to the ceiling of the studio. It was a fake ceiling with triangles. Whenever she
moved inside the studio and kept talking at the same time, her voice acquired completely different
tonalities - sometimes was flat and sometimes it wasn’t. And that was the secret of the famous Sun sound,
which noone else seemed able to reproduce anywhere. Not even RCA when they bought Elvis’ contract
to Sam Phillips. It was incredible...! I could imagine Elvis so clearly inside that studio, that it was almost
eerie... At Overton Park Shell I hadn’t been able to do it, not even trying very hard... But in there... in
there, it was so easy! It was so easy to picture him arriving from work, from Crown Electric, still with his
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sweaty working clothes, entering the studio and starting to play, sing and rehearse with Scotty and Bill...
So easy... I even felt like kind of going back in time inside that little studio. Of course we took lots of
photographs. I asked Sandra to take me a photo sitting at the drums.
Barbara told us that we were also welcome to visit the first floor, where there was a record shop with
records, CD’s, books and postcards for sale. She was also available for any clarification we might need. I
took that chance, went to her and asked about something that had always bugged me.
“Barbara, in the Million Dollar Session, while Elvis is singing and in the breaks where he’s just talking,
sometimes we can hear a woman’s voice talking and also a child’s, who I suppose is called Jack, since Elvis
addresses to him that way. Have you got any idea of who these people might be?”
“Oh, probably were Marion and one of Carl Perkins’ kids, who was present on that day, he had come with
his father.”
Yes, that famous day had been a terrific amount of coincidences, since the four performers had all gone
there for different reasons. Of course that when they got together, they started to sing. It would be
expected. And Sam, smart as a fox as he always was, started recording it without none of them knowing...
That’s the way, Sam! This remains one of my favourite CD’s.
We went upstairs and I just looked around, I didn’t buy anything, since I was not interested. I came down
and out to the street and Sandra found out she couldn’t take more pictures, since the battery of the
camera was spent. And she didn’t have an extra one to put it. We went to the shop near the gas station
on the other side of the street to look for a battery, but they didn’t have the model we needed. We
definitely had to go the Mall to buy batteries for all the cameras. I was glad that I had been able to have
my picture taken at the Sun’s door...! But I was really sorry for not having photographed the whole
building from other side of the street...
At the Sun’s door was a gorgeous guy (you won’t believe this) offering dognuts away to the Elvis’ fans. He
said it was for us to taste the King’s favourite dognuts, which were the ones with gelly. I only ate one, but
it was so sweet, I got sick and didn’t eat more...! Sandra almost puked when she tried one and did a
face... The guy laughed, he was very nice and gave us another box with normal dognuts. All in all, he
gave us 12 dognuts. It was really appropriate, since we hadn’t have breakfast yet! I don’t know how Elvis
was able to eat those dognuts so sweet...!
It was also at the Sun’s door that we met a lady, Iris Marie, who had seen Elvis live 7 times during the 50’s
and 70’s. Her son, David, was exactely the same age I was. I asked her if she had ever gotten close to him
and she said yes, with her eyes filled with tears... This is something that I have been noticing. Every people
who were lucky and fortunate enough to see Elvis from up close, whenever they speak about him, their
eyes are immediately filled with tears. She told us that once, she kept waiting for Elvis near a hotel where
he was staying in 1956 to ask him for an autograph. At the time she was six months pregnant of her first
child, Elvis went by her, placed a hand in one of her shoulders and told her, “I’m sorry, honey, but I don’t
have the time now...” She was really moved for just telling this story. Then she showed us, very proud, a
copy of a poem that her son David did at school after Elvis passed away. He was 7 at the time, just like
me, and I tell you that the poem was simply beautiful! Iris was proud and she was right to be proud. She
also told us that when she went to one of the concerts in the 70’s, she managed to get one of his scarfs
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and she took it home, of course. And only in her home she found a strand of hair, a real jet black kind of
blue strand of hair inside the folded scarf...! That hair she knows it’s from Elvis for sure...! It’s not like the
locks that were being sold at the souvenir shop of our hotel and which everybody was buying... How
stupid! I really believe that if all the hair that has been sold around belonged to Elvis, it would be enough
to fill countless bags. Iris’ husband was standing beside her, always smiling and supporting her words. Iris
was a tall lady and I asked her if Elvis was tall and for her to show it with her hand. She placed her hand
well over above her head. I got a better notion of how tall he was.
Poplar Tunes Record Shop
We boarded our bus and continued our tour. The next destination would be the record Shop Poplar
Tunes, at Poplar Avenue. It had been in there that Elvis had bought his records for his personal collection.
It had also been in there that his own records first started to be sold. It is said that Elvis hid behind the
record shelves and observed while people bought his records, still finding it hard to believe...! I got ready
to buy one or two CD’s that might interest me. The shop had a sign in one of its windows that read, “Elvis
has never left our building” instead of “Elvis has left the building”, which was what was always said at the
end of his concerts. We went inside and there were rows and more rows of CD’s. They were not all Elvis’,
of course. But I just looked at those. I bought 3 CD’s which I didn’t have yet: Alternate Aloha, DoubleFeatures Soundtrack - Live A Little Love A Little/Charro!/Change Of Habit/The Trouble With Girls and The
Louisiana Hayride Archives - Volume 1. We didn’t stay there for long. On the way out, the girls at the
register, who, for a change, were white (!) asked us where were we from and if we wanted to sign the
guest’s book. Of course we did. There was still time to go for a walk, so we went to a Kentucky Fried
Chicken restaurant. Sandra and Lu ate, but I wasn’t hungry, since I had eaten 3 dognuts. We stayed there
for a while, lazing around, listening to the beautiful music sang by a black singer which could be heard
inside and observing the typical persons of the South that we had just seen in movies so far. For instance,
there was a black gentleman present in there, who was wearing overalls, one of them almost falling off
from his pants and a dirty looking scarf hanging from one of his back pockets. He also had a cap and
there he went, to eat his fried chicken.
We went outside, we filmed a bit around and went to the spot where the bus should be. When we arrived,
we found out (shame on us!) that everybody was already inside the bus and waiting for us to leave...!
John teased us a lot because of that when he saw us come in. Chris went to fetch us and made us
company to the door of the bus, assuring us that it was okay, that they had only waited around 15
minutes. Already inside, we found out that Poplar Tunes had offered some things to all of us, namely, keyrings and automobile stickers to everybody and also 3 posters. As it were just 3 posters and we were 45,
we had to do a draw. We weren’t the lucky ones, but it was fun anyway...! My sticker read, “Poplar Tunes,
Record Shops, Memphis, Tennessee - Where the KING was a customer and the customer is still King.” It
was a nice quibble.
Humes High School
Our next stop was Elvis’ high school. Although we had been in there just the previous day, we hadn’t
done the guided tour, since we had been there just for the conversations. And some people hadn’t even
attended that. I wasn’t really feeling like going there again... I didn’t like the people who welcomed us at
the school door, nor even the surrounding neighborhood. But there we went.
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But it was quite different from the previous day. Now only our group was there and everything looked
much quieter. At the entrance I was able to enjoy a copy of one of the most famous sketches by Betty
Harper, which shows three different Elvises in the same picture and which title is American Trilogy. I knew
that because I had two books by this artist back home and one of them had that sketch. There was
another oil painting in there by another artist, whose name I couldn’t identify by its signature. But the
painting was impressive, especially the blue color of Elvis’ eyes, the tanned tone of his skin, the black/blue
hair, the very white shirt and the background in dreamy shades of blue and purple... It was lovely. It was a
shame the camera wasn’t ready to shoot...
The guides of this school were all very young black girls. But I tell you something - I didn’t understand not
even half of the things they said...! I didn’t feel very dumb for that fact, because it seemed to me that my
British friends weren’t understanding anything either...! Their accent was so strong, like a singing drawl,
which made them extremely difficult to understand. We went to the same auditory where we had been
for the conversations. One of the guides stepped on the stage. We thought that she was going to talk for
a while, since she waited for all of us to seat. And then she started talking, she said that the auditory was
named Elvis Aaron Presley in Elvis’ honour (not very surprising) and that the blue curtain had been a
donation by several fans from around the world. And so there. We started looking at each other, thinking
she was going to say some more things, but no, she told us to leave and join the other guide on the way
out. Weird...
The next visit, after strolling by some of the school halls, was a room which had in time been the reading
room. It had some artifacts inside some cases identified as having belonged to Elvis, but I didn’t recognize
any of them. This doesn’t mean a thing, because if they were artifacts from the time he had gone to
school, at that time he wasn’t famous yet and there aren’t many photos of him. There was a blue shirt in
there and some suede shoes. But what I enjoyed seeing the most were the avaliation records of Elvis, with
his different grades at the several subjects and the top of the form filled out - that’s what it looked like - by
Elvis himself. He wasn’t a bad student at all...! On the contrary to what he was always saying himself
many years after.
We left the room and walked down the hall to visit another room which was selling Elvis’ stuff. I was finding
that very abusive, although the profits would revert to the school. Meanwhile, I kept observing the polished
school’s floors, the lockers along the walls. I could so perfectly imagine Elvis walking in there, with his guitar
hanging on his shoulder, causing the stares and remarks of the other students. They told us that at the time
Elvis had studied there, the school had 1.500 students, but nowadays, it has just 600 students.
When I entered the shop, I was petrified...! In one of the walls some pink paper hearts were glued and
they had names of people written on them. The blackboard also had messages written and more hearts.
Then, right beside it, there was a sign that read, “Pay a dollar to write your name.” That was the last thing
I saw in there before leaving outside. Those things really made me feel sad...
It was time to return to the hotel. Already inside the bus, Victoria was saying that she didn’t agree with
Elvis when he said that every son/daughter loves his/her mother. “Because I don’t love mine,” she said.
Her friend Brenda looked kind of sad hearing her saying that. I said, “I agree with Elvis. Do you know
why? Maybe you don’t love your mother, but think about it... isn’t there any other person who you love
as if she was your mother...?” She thought for a while and said yes. “See...? That was the person Elvis was
refering to.” It seems that Victoria was abandoned by her mother when she was still very little.
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We arrived at the hotel at around 1.00 p.m. and immediately went out again to have lunch at Shoney’s.
On this day I ate a super hamburger with everything that came with it. During our meal we talked about
the fact of not having seen yet two things being sold in there and which were going to be quite necessary
for the 15 and 16th of August - candles and flowers. We already had our candles and the respective cups,
that Lu’s mother had sent her especially from Fátima. But we didn’t have flowers. Where were we going
to find some...? We would see then. There was so much to do, to see and buy and it seemed we had so
little time...! We were only hoping that after the week was over, those last few days in Memphis would be
more quiet in order for us to photograph in peace, do our quiet visits and not having to stay in line for
everything - to eat, to pay, to enter in Graceland, etc...
Sandra was in a hurry to go to Graceland Crossing, since this was the day that boy was going to perform,
Sean Barry, the one we had loved so much to hear sing. Of course we went there straight after having
lunch. We were really surprised when, instead of that boy, another one completely different showed up...!
His name was also Shawn (it is pronounced more or less the same way), but the last name was Klush. We
were disappointed and also amused at the same time and laughed a bit about it...! But when he started
singing, we were flabbergasted... He was a real talent, he sang really good, he didn’t have the “peacock
attitude”, he was funny and he freaked out when the audience gave him lots of cheers and applauses.
“You are too much!” he would say, “You are spoiling me!” But the fact was that he had his own
impersonating show of Elvis, although there he was dressed normally and he had already recorded a CD
with the Stamps supporting him. It is well known that the musicians who have worked with Elvis while he
was alive usually don’t work with Elvis impersonators who aren’t real talents for themselves. He sang so
well... Sandra even decided to buy his CD and everything.
There was a time when he started singing It’s Now Or Never (oh yes... the songs he sang were requests
from the audience) and he decided to sing it to the other side of the stage, since he was always with his
back turned to that side. There was a black lady standing there, to whom he started singing the song. She
was really confused when he went there to fetch her and sang the rest of the song to her with his arm
around her shoulders up on stage and everything...! Whenever he sang another verse “When I first saw
you...”, she almost cried with emotion. And the audience applauded. It was really spectacular. And since
he sang so well, the requested songs were those that are extremely difficult to sing and you really have to
have a voice for them. He sang for around 2 hours in a row and, to the end, he was excusing himself for
not having anymore voice left... But that was what he was saying...! If you could hear him sing You Gave
Me A Mountain or still Hurt, you would see what I mean when I say he had talent. And above everything
else, he was really nice.
Car Museum
When the concert came to the end, we decided to go and visit the Car Museum for the first time. We
hadn’t gone there yet and, in two days, we would receive our free ticket by the fan club, which would
entitle us to enter in all the museums once again, as well as in Graceland. There we went. We decided not
to take any photos on that day. The entrance to the museum is indicated by a green Cadillac (which some
time ago it seemed to have been pink) which did not belong to Elvis. I had read in my book on Graceland
that the Car Museum was done in a way that it looked like we were strolling by a kind of lane while
admiring the vehicles which had belonged to the King. We could even go to a drive-in movie inside and
everything. So, I was curious.
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Once we stepped inside, Sandra noticed the dimmed lights straight away. That would cause that, without
a flash, the photos would become blurred. At the entrance to the right side were the several motorcycles
that belonged to Elvis, some spectacular Harleys... so big...! They should weight a ton. Straight ahead was
the famous purple El Dorado Cadillac from 1956 which Elvis had bought white, but had it painted purple.
The salesman didn’t know exactely which was the color that Elvis wanted. So he grabbed a black grape,
he squashed it on top of the white painting and said, “This is the color I want.” I started noticing that the
cars were parked along a lane, or kind of street, together with street lamps and artificial trees that seemed
real.
The black Stutz Blackhawk that Elvis bought in 1973 is also impressive, enormous, too big, in fact, for my
taste. This was the last car that Elvis drove on the 15th of August 1977 when he went to a dentist
appointment with Ginger.
There’s a white convertible Mercedes in there, which Elvis gave to Priscilla in 1971. She always liked this
car very much and she drove it until 1989, when she decided to put in it exhibition in this museum. This
car wasn’t big, when compared to the others.
The black Ferrari which I really enjoyed to look at in photos was real nice. Elvis bought it in 1975 and in
second hand. It seems this was the single time he did it in his life after becoming famous. This car rode at
165 mph and Elvis usually drove in high speed. But it is also known that he was an excellent driver and
everybody felt safe when he was the wheel. Every time he was stopped on the road by some policeman
that wanted to give him a ticket for going too fast, Elvis usually got away with it, by letting the man
observe the car and giving him an autograph...!
But the most famous car is, indeed, the pink Cadillac Elvis gave his mother in 1956 and which he swore
always to keep. He kept his promise and it’s really a beautiful car...! It doesn’t surprise me that Gladys
almost burst with pride when Elvis arrived at home with that gorgeous pink car. There was a time, a long
time ago, when she was still working as a nurse’s aid at the hospital in order for Elvis to go on with his
studies, she had seen a customer stopping at the hospital’s entrance driving a pink Cadillac. She couldn’t
not forget that car and she was mentioning it over and over when she returned home on that day. Elvis
swore to himself on that very same day that, if he became rich one day, he would buy a car just like that
to offer his mum.
Other very famous means of transportation among the fans is the pink jeep we can see Elvis driving in the
movie Blue Hawaii. There it is, with a beautiful scenery of that lovely place in the background. It’s kind of
funny, standing close to all those vehicles and knowing that they must have so many stories around
them...
There’s a Harley Davidson golf cart in there that Elvis gave Lisa Marie at Christmas in 1976, the last they
would spend together. Elvis loved to drive this cars at high speed in the beautiful grounds of Graceland
and, after Lisa becoming big enough to ride in them too, Elvis took her with him. At 4 years old, Lisa was
already driving a golf cart. She says that “my father was crazy... he rode those carts at high speed, I fell
off, but he grabbed me in the air and stepped on it even more... he almost scared me to death!”
The white Continental Mark V II of 1956, which is standing in the museum, was the car that Elvis kept for
the longest period of time after the pink Cadillac. But he sold it in 1976. This was the same car that
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Priscilla used to drive daily to school during the 60’s. At this moment, although it is also standing in the
museum, it is rented to the estate by its real owner, who does not want to part with it for anything in this
world.
Drive-In Highway 51
Then we went to watch the movie at the Drive-In Highway 51. I always felt envious of those people who
had the chance to go to the movies in a drive-in during the 50’s. That was the closest I could get to one,
so I watched everything carefully. The seats are original Chevy seats covered with new leather to recreate
the original patterns. The speakers standing beside each seat are also original and quite old. And, up there
in front, is the big screen. The movie that we watch here is basically several snippets of many of Elvis’
movies riding every kind of wheels... On the back of the drive-in were the words advertising the soft
drinks, hot-dogs and popcorn. Other funny aspect is the recreation of a gas station from the 50’s, also
inside the museum. There’s a back of a Chevy in there and the driving’s plate says “Not His”, since that
car never belonged to Elvis...!
Other things we still could see in the museum were the several Elvis’ drivers licences and his gas credit
cards. A curious aspect that I have noticed is that Elvis’ height never appears the same in all the
documents...! It seems to me that I’ll never be able to know for sure how tall Elvis was.
The general idea when we’re strolling along the lane and looking at the cars and also staying in the drivein is that it’s night and we’re just having a walk down the street, relaxed and amused, although outside
the sun may shine and the heat may be awful. But there we feel like we’re in heaven...!
However, when we went out to the street, we were faced with the harsh reality - the heat kept going and
the humidity, too...! We were thirsty and wanted to buy something to drink. I thought about something
else and went inside the ice-cream shop Elvis once again and bought a vanilla milk shake. I had never
tasted a milk shake like that...! It looked more like an icecream than a milkshake and it was delicious... Oh,
yes... and it was a very big cup, as enything food related in America...!
There at the Graceland Plaza was a booth where photos could be automatically taken and which was
quite funny. It costed 5 dollars per photo. People could choose from 5 different pattern borders to their
photos. Those I liked the best were: the one which had as a border Graceland’s gates and the other with
several views of Graceland. Of course Lu wanted to take two photos (incidently she chose these borders).
We had loads of fun instructing people who went inside to smile...! Because there’s a screen outside from
where we can see their faces. It was while we were here that we met Gail and Sandy again. They were
very pleased to meet us again and of course we were, too. They were curious about something - they
wanted to know how had we managed to get a hotel reservation if we had come from so faraway.
Because they had found it difficult to do it and they lived closer than we did. Then we mentioned the
English Fan Club to them, of which they had never heard of before. They were so impressed that they
wanted the address. By chance we had it with us and gave it to them. They said they would write. We
took some photographs there, but with their camera. We told them we would go to Graceland Crossing
in a few moments. They waited for a while and we all went there together. On our way, I talked with Gail
and Sandy was a few steps back, talking with Sandra and Lu. We had our seats once again and they went
inside one of the shops to buy some Elvis’ postcards. When they returned, they handed postcards to each
one of us and asked us to write our addresses. Not only did they do that, but also they gave us their
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addresses in some more postcards they had bought. I really wasn’t counting that some weeks later, they
would send us those same postcards with our addresses...! In a word: we stayed with the postcards with
their addresses and also the ones where we had written our own addresses...! They were so nice.
We were pleased to know that Shawn was going to sing again on that night. There was also another
person staying in our hotel, Jerry Craft (the same who had sang so well in Tupelo) to whom we asked if he
was going to sing there. He told us he would, but he didn’t know exactely when. We were always
checking, but we never saw him sing. Maybe he did it at a time when we were visiting other places or
something else. But we were quite happy to see Shawn again. On the next day he would leave. He
accepted some more requests from the audience, of course, but he didn’t get to sing the song we had
requested, Rags To Riches, for being physically impossible to sing all the requested songs. However, I was
very happy to see another fan’s request coming true and Shawn started singing Always On My Mind, her
favourite song. He sat at the edge of the stage, with the girl sitting beside him. He took her hand and
sang the song to her... it was truly amazing. He wasn’t a guy making a fool of himself, thinking he was
Elvis, nor did she was a fan pretending it was Elvis who was singing to her... They were just two Elvis’ fans,
doing something to please one another, in a true and simple tribute to the King. Yes, he still brings people
together... The girl gave Shawn a hug at the end in a true felt appreciation. I swear that sometimes my
eyes filled with tears with moments like these.
But the magical hour was getting near... it was the time to go up the drive-way in Graceland once again.
It was dark, Elvis Presley Boulevard seemed to acquire more personal and special characteristics at that
time of the day. It was so good to see so many people in the sidewalks and to know that they were there
exactely because of the same reason we were, to know that they wouldn’t tease us for sure. It was so
good to know we could go up that drive way as much as we wanted while we were there... It was always
a different experience to the previous one. But there was something that always remained the same - the
peace around me while I was there. And this is because everybody who visits the grounds and gardens at
night, they go up in silence or they talk in a low voice, and they come down with the same behavior...
This way, nobody disturbs the personal and intimate thoughts of each person there. I must stress that
everybody was also trying to respect each person’s space when the time to take photos came, waiting the
necessary time and stepping aside in order for not “spoiling” the photos of other fellow fans... This respect
for the fellow fan is something that really makes me feel good, so happy... Elvis would be proud to see
that his fans share a mutual respect. It is also a way of respecting him.
Once again I’ve appreciated the sound of the wind going through the leaves of the oak trees, of the
insects singing... I enjoyed looking at the colors of the lights at the feet of the main trees, adding to that
magical and surreal painting look of Graceland - that house of so many dreams, of so many ilusions... and
also of so many heartbreaks. It was lovely, beautiful... Each time I looked at its porch with magestic
columns, I felt a deep pride overflowing all over me, for knowing that Elvis had made his biggest dream
came true, when he bought that house. I could well imagine how proud he must have felt...! I felt happy
to know that he had owned Graceland, that he had spent his last living days in Graceland, for having
ended his life in there, and not on tour, someplace else and, yes... for still being there, in Graceland.
I went to the gravesite again. I felt luke to sit there in the ground and spend the night in there. As the
days were going by, my sadness was slowly going away... I don’t know how to explain it, but it was almost
like I felt his spirit was there, in that beautiful piece of land that had belonged to him, very much alive.
Not only his spirit, but of all his family, too. This way, I felt closer to him in there. And I felt an enormous
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peace... I found myself sending him messages through my mind... and I could almost “hear” him
answering... it were always words of gratitude, understanding and warmth...
When I was leaving the gravesite, I kept observing the flower arrangements, which never stopped arriving.
I was happy to see that our English fan club had already placed its flower arrangement in there - the same
for all the fans of this club contributed for. Now it was dark and we wouldn’t photograph it, but me,
Sandra and Lu wanted to photograph it, as well as the message on it, which I will quote:
“Elvis - 20 Years After
You are with us always
From:
All of the fans travelling with the Official Elvis Presley Fan Club of Great Britain and its Elvis Time Fan Club
of Holland, representing the countries of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Eire, Canada, U.S.A.,
Argentina, Holland, Australia, Channel Islands, Belgium, Macedonia, France, New Zeland, Spain, Sweden,
Portugal, Germany, Norway, Poland and Sri Lanka.”
When I read that so simple message in which so many countries were mentioned (22), I felt proud again
and my eyes filled with tears once again. The arrangement had very beautiful flowers. The main ones
were Flowers of Madeira and I couldn’t help thinking if it was because Portuguese people were in the
group... I didn’t see any other arrangement with that kind of flowers. It also had a big treble clef and it
was enhanced with some vinyl records and the logo “Elvis - 20 Years After” well evident in the
background. The truth of the sentence “You are with us always” also touched me deeply. I felt that way
and I didn’t doubt that lots of others like me, did too.
I sat in the stone bench contemplating the façace of the house one more time, with the lights really putting
it in evidence. It was funny... I stared so many times and only when I was at home I did notice in one of the
photos that we took that one of the corners of the porch had a bird’s nest in there...! But this only added to
that so warm feeling that that was really a home... even the birds and the squirels liked to live there. Noone
hurt them, they were really tamed. I didn’t know when was I going to return to Memphis, I knew that the
week of celebrations was nearing its end and, with it, our visits at night. On the remaining days of our stay
there, Graceland would return to its daily routine of closing the gates around 8.00 p.m., more or less at the
time when the last people of the last guided tours came out, since the ticket booths closed at 6. I was
going to miss going there every night... As such, I had to go there every dawn, to make up for that. I just
had gone there at dawn twice and I had loved it. The beauty was completely different, but also one to keep
in the memory... Graceland could be so many things to each one of us... I was standing there, I had already
lost count of my visits and, yet, it was still very hard for me to believe it... Just a few days back, all of that
had been so faraway for me... and now, I could go there every day as much as I wanted. And it was never
too much. My God... how I would have loved to live in that house...! “Lisa Marie... what will you do next
year when you’ll inherit all of this...?” I kept asking myself. Whatever she did, it was in her right. All of that
belonged to her and she was really lucky. “Are you in there rightnow...?” It was heard everywhere in town
that Lisa had already come to Memphis and was staying at the Peabody Hotel, downtown. However,
nothing would prevent her from coming to Graceland at night, as she usually does some times during the
year. And some people had already seen a white limousine entering and leaving the grounds. Gail and
Sandy had even photographed it and everything. Well... wherever she was, I only wished she was okay.
Mike was also staying at the Peabody. I only hoped he would remember to show up at our hotel on the
following day, as agreed, around 8.30 a.m....
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When we returned to the hotel after attending to some more shows, I visited the souvenir shop once
again. I had decided to buy the biography book on Priscilla after all. Only it was too late... it was sold out
already! However, the gent at the shop promised he would try to get me a copy. I told him that the
writer’s autograph wasn’t important. I went to our room, I took another shower and went to bed.
Tomorrow would be another long day. There were many things to decide in the morning in order to solve
the tickets’ matter to the concert on the 16th and also to buy the batteries for the cameras. Not counting
with this, we had our itinerary to follow if we didn’t want to miss a thing.
15th of August - Friday
We got up quite early, in order to be ready around 8.30, the time that the phone should ring announcing
Mike’s arrival. When that hour went by and nothing happened, we went downstairs to the lobby to verify
the timetables of the buses. I knew that Mike wasn’t going to get there. Probably he had arrived late from
his latest visit to Beale Street and was sleeping on that moment. We concluded that it was physically
impossible to go and buy the batteries for the cameras and go to fetch our tickets during the morning
and be back at 2.00 p.m. - the time we had to leave to go and attend the show at the Memphis
Planeterium. Only if we parted. Okay, we would do that. Sandra and Lu would go to the mall to fetch the
batteries and I would go to pick up our tickets for the following day. It was still too early for each of the
buses, so, I went to buy some more milk and a pie to eat. Meanwhile, the conversation at the reception
area among our group of friends was quite “interesting”. Peter was saying - another guy from the British
fan club, quite nice - that a girl from our group (our club) had gotten in some serious trouble that
morning. She had decided to go walking to Graceland in order to be the first one to get there in the
morning. And so she decided to do it at 5 a.m. We had all been warned more than once not to walk at
night in Memphis, at least, not alone. And that’s what she did. Although we weren’t that faraway from
Graceland, it was still far in terms of walking. She was followed by a car and was about to panick when a
police patrol car appeared, which was checking the area. Another thing that I noticed was that police cars
are constantly passing by, patroling the city. I also came to know that they do it more insistently during
this time of the year for knowing that it’s Elvis’ week and many thiefs may want to take advantage of Elvis’
fans. Peter was upset and angry because the girl had exposed herself to that risk. That story was only
proving that I was right when I decided not to walk to Graceland at night right at the beginning. Before
this incident, Sandra and Lu had suggested to go walking to Graceland at dawn. My answer to that had
been: “I love Elvis very much, but I don’t risk my life for him. I know even him wouldn’t approve that. If
you want to go, be my guest.” Then they chose not to go either and I think they took the right decision.
Tickets for Elvis In Concert ‘97
I went to our room to fetch my passport and the confirmation fax of the tickets’ reservation that the MidSouth Coliseum had sent me on the 10th March. Only with these documents would I be able to get the
tickets - already paid by us - since they were under my name. I was happy when I saw that Trevor also
took the same bus with the same purpose - to get his and John’s tickets. As the Mid-South Coliseum was
still a bit faraway from the hotel, we talked quite a bit on our way. Once again I was astonished with the
similarity of our opinions...!
We started talking about the concerts at Graceland Crossing and Elvis’ impersonators. I asked him if he
liked to watch them. And he said he didn’t like to see men dressed and trying to imitate Elvis, since they
looked ridiculous. I agreed and said that the ones who were normally dressed were usually the ones who
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knew how to sing, since they didn’t need the clothes to shine. Although there were some moments good
to laugh our heads off, there were others of great emotion and value. I told him about the rendition of
Hurt by Sean Barry, of the talent of Shawn Klush, of the little 6 year old boy that we had seen singing
Suspicious Minds, of the tender and touching moments shared among the fans that stepped on that
stage and the ones present in the audience... “Oh, yes,” Trevor said, “If you’re not always there, you loose
those moments. And they only matter if you’re really there, it’s no use to try and describe them.” This
subject lead us to the concerts that were taking place every night in out hotel, at the Dad’s Place pub.
Sandra and Lu were talking about an Elvis impersonator, Ron Starr, who was great. But, one night, I went
there just to have a peek with Sandra and I admit I didn’t like what I saw. I went away immediately.
However, I had never seen a concert by him. Trevor told me a funny story:
“Listen to this, I was sitting the other night on the same table with Ron Starr. He asked me for me to
honestly tell him what I thought about his performance. ‘Do you really want me to be honest?’ He said he
did. And then I said, ‘I think that if any child who never saw Elvis performing in his/her life, saw you
perform, that child would think that Elvis was a terrible singer.’ Really, I thought that the guy was going to
beat me up when I said that! But he just looked at me and told me, ‘Okay, you were honest.’ Then he told
me a story himself of a guy that he knows who is a terrific singer, named Luciano, that the hotel didn’t
want to hire simply because he refused to get dressed like Elvis.” Ron dressed with a jumpsuit similar to
those that Elvis wore in the 70’s. This is an evidence of how talent can be wasted away because of an
image. An image that will never get close to Elvis’ image because no man in this world can look as great
as he did with the pieces of clothing Elvis wore. It’s incredible how any other man can look ridiculous with
those clothes and Elvis... well, Elvis kind of gave light to the clothes. It wasn’t the other way around, it’s
was him who made the clothes shine. I think that even the most ordinary fabric and piece of clothing
would shine if it was Elvis wearing it... His eyes added to that effect, those so shiny and alive eyes, full of a
fulgor of life that seemed to come from his very soul, from the depths of his most intimate being... It’s not
any kind of man who has that quality. Elvis was a very special man. He had an unique aura.
Trevor and I continued our pleasant conversation about Colonel Parker. I told him that I didn’t feel sorry,
sad or happy with his passing. I just felt indifference. “I still don’t know if he did Elvis good, or if he only
harmed him.” Trevor said, “I mean, he was a good manager to Elvis, but only until...” he started thinking
of a date. And we both said at the same time: “1960!” Then we burst out laughing. Yep, from that time
onwards, Elvis could have well gotten rid of him, he would have earned much more without him than
with him, who always involved him in terrible businesses that made him loose money and gain lots of
headaches.
Meanwhile, we arrived at the Mid-South Coliseum. We were counting on having to wait for a while and
we only had 20 minutes to take care of business in order to catch the bus back to the hotel. Our driver on
that day, an elder gentleman, told us to rest assured, since we wasn’t leaving until the whole group was
back inside the bus - those had been the instructions of the personnel from the fan club. How
wonderful...! We entered the building in the tickets’ booth area and looked to the sign on the wall to
check our seats inside the round building. I was pleased to find out that I was sitting right up front, near
the stage - me and Lu, since Sandra had chosen a cheaper ticket than ours and was a few rows back. I
presented my fax and passport to the lady at the counter, who immediately gave me a piece of paper to
sign my name and gave me the tickets. I was astonished because there were thousands of tickets and it
hadn’t taken not even a minute to hand them to me...! I was so surprised that instead of giving the pen
back to the lady, I was handing her my passport again. Trevor and she both laughed and I laughed with
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them, of course! It had been so easy and quick it was hard to believe. And the rows of people that I was
expecting weren’t there either. Well, maybe Trevor was right when whe said that maybe just us (the
foreign group) didn’t have the tickets yet, since the fans from the town and other American from other
places must have gotten them sooner. As we still had some time left, we decided to take a walk inside the
coliseum, just to check the place out. But a security lady told us that we couldn’t walk in that area. Oh,
well... never mind, we were just killing time anyway.
When I arrived at the hotel, it was still soon, so, I caught the next bus to Graceland to have lunch before
returning to the hotel. Lu and Sandra would have lunch at the mall, I was sure. I went to Shoney’s, as
usual and, this time, I’ve ordered shrimp with mashed potatoes and delicious sauces...! I also ordered a
big glass of orange juice that really tasted like heaven...! This time no one was waiting to be served or on
line to get a table and God only knows why...
As I still had the time, I decided to go and check the shops again. I had decided to buy the photo book by
Joe Esposito. Heck... I still had room in my bag and, then again, to carry everything, it would be only
once...! Off I went. I entered the shop and immediately found out why no one was waiting at the
restaurant... they were all in there, at least that’s what it looked like...! Dear me, what a long line...! Only
to pay, since the shop itself was packed with people. As I looked for the book and didn’t find it, I decided
to ask the lady at the counter if they had it, since I didn’t want to wait in line for nothing. Meanwhile, I
also spotted the biographical book on Priscilla for sale in there. When she said she had it, but it was
packed in the back and would fetch one for me in a minute, I decided to pick the other book. But I was
intercepted by an elder man who was already getting near the counter, who told me:
“Oh, Joe has written another book?”
“No,” I said, “it’s just a group of photos from his private collection.”
He looked at me with his dull eyes. “Where are you from, child?”
“From Portugal,” I replied. He smiled and handed me something with the words, “Could you give me
your address? I want to write you a letter.”
I didn’t know if he was teasing me or not and told him I didn’t have a pen to write. Only then I noticed
that what he had given me wasn’t an agenda to write on, but a little tape recorder, which was already
recording our conversation and everything...!
“Oh, but if I tell you my address, you won’t understand a thing, since is foreign!”
“So, spell it!” he said, in a bold way. And that’s what I did! I assure you it wasn’t an easy
task and I added at the end I hoped he would understand everything.
I was ready to go on my way, when I noticed that a small crowd had gathered around us and a lady was
smiling and staring at us.
“Have you any idea of whom are you talking to?” she asked me. I looked to the old man again, I was
honest and said I didn’t.
“It’s Jackie Kahane.” Well, well! I looked to him again and recognized him. It was really him...! My God...
of course I knew the commedian from Elvis’ concerts in the 70’s, but my memory of him was from 1972
and many years had gone by ever since without seeing him. The images to which I am refering to are
from the Elvis On Tour documentary.
“Oh, yes!... It’s true, it’s really you, I recognize you...!” I shook his hand and he smiled. “You will be
hearing from me!” he assured me.
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I didn’t know if he was going to do it or not, but I was happy for having met him. He had always defended
Elvis at every chance he got. He even had taped a tribute song titled Requiem For Elvis, which I really
enjoyed and had in my collection. The song was narrated and not sang, but it was narrated in such a
moving way... I got emotional every time I listened to it. I was only sorry for not recalling to thank him for
the song and for the fact of having been such a big Elvis’ defender. Well, maybe I could thank him one
day, if he would write as he had promised!
After buying the books, I went home. I turned the TV on and heard on the news that there had been a
bomb threat at the Peabody Hotel, the same hotel where Lisa Marie and Mike were staying...! How awful,
I only hoped nothing bad would happen to either of them. There are crazy people everywhere. When Lu
and Sandra arrived - already equiped with new batteries - we hardly had the time to go downstairs and
catch the bus to another optional tour that we had previously booked.
Elvis Legacy In Light
We went to what would be our last optional tour on those holidays. We still had many days until the 21st
(the day of our departure), but I was already feeling sorry for knowing that so many days had already
gone by...! The day was wonderful, and we were hoping that it would remain that way, in order not to
harm the candle vigil light ceremony on that night.
When we arrived at the Planeterium, we visited the shop while our guide was going to take care of our
tickets. I was expecting my ticket to be handed out to me, to keep as a souvenir, but they considered our
group as a whole and of course I never got it. I have to confess that by this time I was already very, very
tired. After all, we were sleeping an average of 4 hours per night and we were starting to get controled by
tiredness... I was only hoping to have strength enough to go through the vigil on that night.
We entered the planeterium which, as incredible as it may sound, is smaller than our Planeterium in
Lisbon...! We took our seats and I thought to myself, “Well, I hope they start this thing quickly, otherwise
I will fall asleep...!” Yes, you know how the sitting position at the planeteriums is, don’t you? We are more
lying down that sitting down! I had no idea of what I was going to see. I only knew it was a tribute to Elvis
with laser beams. That’s why the name of the show was Elvis Legacy in Light.
The man who was operating everything inside welcomed us, told us to participate in the show, to
applaude, sing, etc... and asked us to tell him which were the countries represented in the audience.
Hands were put in the air and I assure you many countries from very faraway were represented there. And
there were also many American from several states. After this and a warm applause to ourselves, the show
began. To the sound of the songs that Elvis sang at NBC TV Special in 1968, we saw beautiful projections
of Elvis’s photos up there in the dome, as well as incredible light effects done with laser beams. The sound
was powerful, Elvis’ voice was strong and confident... and some photos - unknown to me - brought tears
to my eyes. They organised things in a way that the chosen photos and the light effects were combined
with the songs. Then it was easy to feel emotional. But I confess that there were times when my eyes felt
so heavy I almost closed them... I was so tired...! And I felt my eye lids so heavy... But I managed to stay
awake, although I confess that I heard snoring once. I don’t know who was it, but it wasn’t me...!
At 4.60 p.m. we were already back at the hotel. My God... was it hot or what...! Everytime we got inside
the reception area, it looked like we had just entered paradise. We went to check if there were any
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messages for us, since Mike could have dropped by and, after finding out there weren’t any, we went to
our room. I also came to know through Anne Nixon that Kathy Westmoreland would show up near
Graceland, in the house that once belonged to Elvis’ father, at Dolan Drive. She would talk to the fans and
maybe we could buy her book, too - one that I had always wanted to add to my collection. But we didn’t
have the time to do it. When we would get to the Elvis Presley Boulevard, she would be gone already. We
grabbed our candles and respective cups and off we went to Graceland Crossing again. We attended to
some more shows and, when we felt thirsty, we decided to go and drink something in the cafe at the
corner. Time went by and we thought it was best to go and eat something to be ready for the ceremony,
which would not start before 9 o’clock. When we were leaving to go to Shoney’s, we were kind of
intercepted by a young police officer that we had already seen around that area other times. Besides, it
was always him and other partner, an older man. Their uniform was completely black, from their boots to
their hats and I don’t know how didn’t they die with the heat...! He came to us and asked, “I’ve been
noticing you girls and I’d like to ask you where are you from...?” We told him. He was funny, just a bit
taller than me, muscled body, blond with long hair in a “pony tail” and blue eyes. His name was Jamie
Cox. He had noticed Sandra and that’s why he started talking with us. But I was the one who replied to
most of his questions and asked him the same amount in return...! For instance, I asked him for how long
was he an officer, since he looked so young to me. He said, “For a year.” “And do you live here in
Memphis?” I continued. “I was born and lived all my life here.” I took the chance to ask him if he had ever
seen Elvis. “No, I don’t remember him, since I was only 5 when he passed away. But my mother and my
aunt knew him well and went to some parties with him and everything.”
“And do you like Elvis?” I always asked this question to everybody. I had also asked it to a lady who was
selling Elvis articles behind a counter in one of the shops and she had replied, “Oh, yes...! I was hooked
from the very first time I heard that voice.” She had added that it wasn’t necessary to be a fan to work in
there, but it sure helped a lot. Jamie had a different answer. He said, “I don’t deslike his music, but I like
him much more as a human being.” His answer seemed interesting to me and with meaning. “Why?” I
asked. “Because most people don’t realize this, but...” he stopped talking to add effect to his words and
went on slowly, “... he gave a lot. People don’t even know how much.” I found interesting how a boy
who was only 5 years old when Elvis died (I was 7) could say those words with that certainty. I waited to
hear the rest. “One day, my aunt went to a party with Elvis and they went to a place to have something to
eat and a black old woman dropped by, in rags, who was begging... you know how it is, she approached
him, without recognizing him and asked, ‘Do you have a dime?’ Elvis faced the woman, reached in his
pocket and do you know what he gave her? He gave her his car keys...” Jamie was touched while saying
this. “I don’t know anyone who would do this,” he added, “but not counting with this, he gave a lot of
himself too, he was ready to give the shirt from his back and everything.”
While talking to him, I found out that Jamie lives in Beale Street. I asked him if it was really that dangerous
as everybody was saying. “Yes, it can be very dangerous, especially at night and if you’re alone. People
don’t know, but they can get in serious trouble even without realizing it. A couple of days ago I saw a
tourist just doing a movement with his hands to a car that was passing by with black guys inside. The
movement was quite simple, but meant something like, go away from here. He was lucky because it was
day light, since I know of some people who have been shot for less than that at night. Never, but never
pick up on the people who live in Beale Street. If you go there, don’t go alone.” It was a piece of advice I
was ready to accept. Another interesting topic about Jamie was his Indian ancesters, which are Apache
and Sioux. I asked him if he knew that Elvis had Indian blood too, Cherokee? He knew, but not that it was
Cherokee. “So, you are a son of the real American,” I told him. He smiled and nodded yes. I think that if I
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was American, I would be very proud to have Indian blood, since those are the original and native
American. Then Jamie told us something that really seemed unbelievable: He said he was going to attend
to an Indian party in Graceland in a month, which was organised by an Indian descendant of Crazy Horse.
“Do you know him?” I said I did, I had already heard of Crazy Horse, I even had a stamp with his face
back home and everything. When I asked him who in the Elvis’ Estate was organising that party, he didn’t
know. As we had exchanged addresses, I made him promise that he would tell me all about it in a letter.
But of course I couldn’t know if he was going to keep his promise or not. Sandra and Lu took a photo with
Jamie, but I was ashamed to ask him to take a photo with him and figured I could have Lu’s and Sandra’s
photos.
We went to Shoney’s for a bite. Not many people were there, we just waited for a while, went to our table
and ordered. Sandra’s and Lu’s food arrived and mine didn’t. I kept waiting for 40 minutes when I
complained. They had forgotten about my request. When it finally arrived, they brought it prepared to
take with me, but that wasn’t what I had requested. By this time I was really tired, but as I wasn’t feeling
too well either, I didn’t feel strong enough to complain. But the same didn’t happen with Lu, who asked
to speak with the manager. Meanwhile, a very nice black boy who was going by my table, noticed my
tired and unhappy look and asked me what was the matter. I explained to him and he told me to rest
assured that he would take care of my order himself. Those were not his tasks - he was collecting the dirty
plates and glasses left on the tables after the customers left. In 10 minutes he brought me my plate. I
thanked him. There was only one good thing in the whole story: as they forgot about my request, they
also forgot about the ticket for Lu’s and Sandra’s meals. We would have said something about it, if it
weren’t for the bad service on that day, so, we paid just my meal and divided it in 3 - it must have been
the cheapest meal I had so far...!
In the meantime, it was almost 8 o’clock - which meant that the ceremony was about to begin. But as we
still had time and there was a big confusion near Graceland, we sat at Graceland Crossing to watch some
people singing. We found Gail and Sandy again, who sat next to us and made us some company. As we
didn’t know if we were going to see each other again and they would leave after the 16th, we said
goodbye on that day. I got a warm hug from each one of them and the beautiful whispered words from
Gail: “I feel that you’re going to be a true friend.” She had her eyes twinkling because of the tears, as
usual, and I gave her a little smile. It was a big contrast of emotions. The saddest date of Elvis’ life was
coming near and of course we felt sad. But as Gail had said, “Whenever we feel sad, we can always come
here to feel happy again.” It was true.
Candle Light Vigil
Part of the Elvis Presley Boulevard had already been barred to the traffic by the police - cars and
motorcycles with the lights glowing. This is something that happens every year - the quarter where
Graceland is, is barred to the traffic for security reasons. Yes, it’s thousands of people who gather there on
that date and the city does not want to take unecessary risks, since Elvis Presley Boulevard has lots of
traffic.
On that day and at that time, the action was immense, but it was all motivated by people, many, many
people... some were carrying candles with them, just like us, others had flowers (I was still wondering
where they had bought them), others were practically carrying their whole house on their backs - sleeping
bags, chairs, bags with food and water, fans to help tolerate the heat. There were people spread and
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sitting in every little piece of grass of the Boulevard in front and around Graceland. The scene could
vaguely be compared to a battle field after a war, when the silence is the only thing remaining, as well as
the last surviving people after someone dear was taken away... On that night 20 years had gone by since
the last night of Elvis’ life - the most dear person to us on that moment. The ones who had prepared so
well, we could tell they were veterans, the ones who go there every year. They didn’t worry to stay on line
(which was already dreadfully long and large), but they just sat comfortably to spend the night there - the
closest possible to their idol, who knows? maybe recalling happy moments of their own lives, or weeping
for not having him among us anymore...
Although there were lots of people there, it’s funny to note that there was no noise... as we didn’t have
traffic and people were there in a sign of respect, we could only listen to the bugs and insects singing, the
forever and ever present bugs... a gentle breeze had also began to blow, which made the leaves on the
trees sway with a soft and pleasant sound. At 9 o’clock we went near the musical gates, where an
enormous crowd was already gathered, as well as reporters from several TV channels and staff from the
Estate. A voice was heard from the speakers temporarily put in there. Above and slightly distant, some
choppers were flying by. Who started talking was Todd Morgan, the communications director from
Graceland.
“We are gathered here one more time, 20 years after Elvis’ passing to remember him and to pay a tribute
to him. We ask all of you to respect the space of each and every person present here. We know it’s hot, it’s
humid and there’s lots of people here, so, try to respect your fellow fans in order to make this night the
most pleasant possible, under the circumstances. I take this chance to inform that if there is anyone
present here who is not an Elvis fan, please don’t do anything that might offend the people present here
tonight or anything that might offend Elvis’ memory, because, if you do so, we cannot be taken as
responsible for what might happen. And, besides, if you’re not Elvis’ fans, you’re in the wrong place...!”
There was a slight applause. Todd continued to explain as the candle light vigil started. I was all ears,
since I could not see, because I was surrounded by people everywhere and they were all taller than me
(which isn’t difficult either!).
“This ceremony started precisely in 1978, during the first anniversary after Elvis Presley’s death. A quite
small group of fans gathered in front of the musical gates of Graceland with a candle in their hands. And,
ever since, and every year, that group of people kept growing. It became so big as 15.000 people... Well,
this year you are 30.000...!” There was an approving cheer among the crowd. “So, light up your candles,
please, so they can see you up there and they can show the world how faithful and loyal you all are. Do
your best, since you are showing up in the houses of 60 million people right now.” I felt myself trembling
when I heard that. “Let’s sing the song that Elvis always sang at the end of his concerts as a tribute to all
of you.” We lighted our candles, using other fans’ candles to do so. It was such a moving feeling, of
sharing, that brought tears to my eyes. More so when the first chords of Can’t Help Falling In Love could
be heard and we raised our candles high and started singing. There was people of every nationality in
there, but every one sang the same song in one single voice... On that moment, I truely felt in peace with
the whole world...! Elvis brought people together, he made them respect each other, he made them love
his music and love themselves, as nobody else I could remember of... I felt so proud and so small at the
same time. It was a very strange feeling, since these are two very contradictory feelings. I was small, yes,
since I was part of the crowd. But all that crowd was made by “small” people as I who, who knows?,
maybe were feeling like I was on that moment. My voice was so affected by the emotion that I almost
couldn’t sing... How I would love to be on that chopper rightnow...! I just wanted to see the crowd as a
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whole... I stared at the leaves of the bushy trees of Graceland and wiped a tear with my finger tips. It was
hot, now with the candles all lighted up, it was even hotter, but... as if “somebody” knew that we were
needing that, a soft breeze kept gently carressing our sking and hair, as if it was saying, “I know you’re all
there, I respect you very much for being there, don’t get discouraged, ever...”
Then they put Elvis singing How Great Thou Art and Unchained Melody... The only sound that could be
heard was his powerful, strong and gentle voice... first worshiping the God he always loved throughout
his life and then, expressing all the pain and grief in the world in the song that I still consider the most
difficult to listen to so far... Elvis turned Unchained Melody into exactely that - a total and devastating
despair, he sang this song as if he needed all the love in the world in order to survive, as if it was just that
he needed to keep on going... And not even the whole love in the world had been enough to save him
on that night, 20 years ago... I started feeling completely broken up with emotions.
There was a stirr near the gates, which were opened. Graceland’s staff started to do something that I
wasn’t expecting - they started to give candles to everyone who didn’t have one. Those who were in front
passed the candles to those who were in the back and I must have been doing this for 20 minutes or so,
until everyone had a candle. I don’t have the slightest idea of how many candles passed by my hands. At
the end, I noticed that a candle from Graceland was lying on the ground. I reached out to catch it and
keep it as a souvenir. On that moment I had my candle from Fátima lighted up, but I wanted to enter
Graceland with the candle Graceland had given in my hands. Graceland’s staff also started giving cups of
water to the people, who were really becoming dehidrated. When I finally reached the gates, almost
fainting and someone gave me a cup of water, I was informed I couldn’t enter, since the line was going
exactely in the opposite way. I warned Sandra and Lu and we kept digging among the crowd until we
reached a more open space. We knew the gates would stay open during the whole night and that we
would eventually get inside, but I’m telling you, when we saw the enormous line of people standing
there, we felt a bit discouraged... it was not just the fact that we were super tired (we were more and
more tired since the beginning) and that the heat was unbearable... it was also the fact of being there for
the reason we were.
We observed when we saw little trembling lights going up the drive-way to the Meditation Garden, up
there... The first to enter, by tradition for 14 years now, were always the same people - fans of an American
fan club that, quite honestly, I don’t remember the name anymore. Graceland and Elvis never seemed so
distant to me as in that moment... My God, so many people were there (meanwhile, it was estimated that
the crowd had grown to 50.000 people...!), how would I be able to reach Elvis...? I guess I won’t get
nearer to the feeling of what the fans must have felt when they knew Elvis had died... to know that they
would never see him again... or the feeling of knowing that he was so close and, yet, so far... I felt kind of
desperate. But I had to respect the line and all the people present there for so many hours now.
Lu had placed her video camera in a safe deposit at Graceland Plaza and Sandra hadn’t taken her photo
camera, since we thought that that moment wasn’t appropriate to take photos. But Lu decided to go and
fetch her camera so we could have a souvenir from how that was. I stayed in line. On the way she found
a lady selling roses and bought her one. When they were back, I was sitting on the ground, completely
exhausted and we were there for just two hours. We also saw Vera, June, Joyce and Margret again. And
we saw Jamie (the young officer) passing among the crowd with civilian clothes and his hair loose. He
looked so different...! I also noticed that there were people passing by just by curiosity. They were
Memphians for sure, who wanted to see how things were going that year. I saw a young couple walking
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hand in hand, whose remark was, “See? This year there’s much more people than last year!” But they
kept going, without teasing anyone. Fortunately, the same woman who had preached against Elvis the
other day, hadn’t showed up yet...! I believe that if she had done it, she would risk getting lynched...
Maybe she wasn’t that crazy after all and knew what she could and couldn’t do.
I also found Trevor. He was sitting on the ground, with his head bowed low, between his arms. He had a
lighted candle on the ground, in front of him and a red rose lying beside him. He looked so sad, so
abandoned, so lost in his own world of despair, that I reached down and placed one hand in his
shoulder... I didn’t know if I was acting accordingly or not, but he just looked up at me and I saw that he
was crying... but he smiled and said, “Hi...” I smiled weakly back and kept going... we were doing so
because we were not at the end of the line and were wandering and trying to find it. While we were
doing it, I was astonished with the surreal look of all that atmosphere... It looked like I was in a movie, that
that scene wasn’t for real, it wasn’t really happening... Elvis had always been so alive to me, but now,
while his songs were being played through the speakers (all slow songs, ballads and gospels), I was
realizing that he had been gone for 20 years. Twenty years... My God, it was a lifetime...! It was practically
my whole life. I had felt so sorry for losing him, for not having met him, for not having witnessed to his
talent in a live concert, I was so sorry for knowing that he could no longer be up there, in his house, doing
whatever pleased him...
When we found the end of the line (there were two girls from Graceland’s staff in there with two signs
that read “End of Line”), we were so happy...! But it was a quick feeling, since we noticed that the line
gave 5 turns in front of Graceland’s wall...! We still had to go up and down the boulevard 5 times before
being in the last line that would take us inside the grounds. We started to stay on line one at a time, while
the other two rested sitting in the sidewalk or at the middle of the street, that had grass, bushes and
flowers. We were doing that for 3 hours... and we were still on the second line... It was moving quite
slowly and we were feeling like slipping away... everytime I sat down, I almost fell asleep and dropped.
There were many people really sleeping, lying around, in the grass, in the sidewalks... It was almost 2 in
the morning and we weren’t counting to be able to get to the gravesite before 7 o’clock... if you could
only see our faces! We looked like real zombies... I didn’t say a word, I felt more dead than alive, in that
strange and moving atmosphere... and the heat, the ever present and unbearable heat. I bought a CocaCola, since I had already drank all the water that they had given me. In the midst of all that confusion, I
was never stepped on my toes or pushed aside. Another evidence of respect by everyone present there.
Then Lu said that the best thing to do would be go home and sleep for a couple of hours and turn back
when less people would be there. As we had more buses on that night, we didn’t think twice. I was feeling
quite bad for not staying there, but I felt so tired that I wasn’t strong enough for that and my will was also
weakened. We got home, we took measures to awake in two hours, lied down and fell asleep almost
instantly. However, before that, I took a shower, since I was all sweaty and felt all dirty.
16th of August - Saturday
When the clock rang, I didn’t know exactely where I was. But I got dressed very quickly, I took my candle
and moved on, with Lu and Sandra. We practically didnd’t say a word. We arrived at Graceland and there
was still a reasonable line there, but it was just a single line now. We could see the roped off area that
surrounded the wall and all the drive way up to the house. The TV networks were still there. I started
noticing the excellent job that Graceland’s staff had done during the night. Before going home, I had
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noticed that there were quite a lot of melted wax stains in the ground, as well as empty cups, cans and
bottles... but now, only a few boys and girls were cleaning the last garbish. Everything had to be ready
before 8 o’clock, since it was the time that the Elvis Presley Boulevard would be open to the traffic again.
While we were moving slowly along the Graceland’s wall, I kept reading the love messages written there.
The most of them expressed my own feelings. We also passed by our own messages on the wall, which
meant we were almost getting there. The sun had already risen. Two people from the Graceland’s staff
still remained at the gates to light up the candles of the people with the torch that had been lighed at the
eternal flame, which is near Elvis’grave. I was completely lost in thoughts, absent minded to what was
happening around me, I practically couldn’t listen to Elvis singing through the speakers... I was just staring
up there, where the house was...
However, there was something quite irritating in our pilgrimage (now I understood better the reason why
some people called it pilgrimage. A message on the Graceland’s wall said, “Some people go to Mecca, we
go to Memphis”). All of us were in silence, but there was a girl in front of us who decided to tell her life
story precisely on that day and on that moment...! She wouldn’t shut up for a second... I am quite
talkative, but on that day I was sort of speechless, since all of that was too much for me and there were no
words, really. But that woman wouldn’t shut up... There was a time when Lu even said, “Well, if this
woman doesn’t shut up, I swear I’ll punch her...!” Although the moment was solemn, it was kind of funny
to hear that. But in silence I was only hoping and praying that she would keep her mouth shut...
It was around 7.30 a.m. when we entered in the grounds. I lighted up my candle in the torch and went
up really slowly. The sun beams were already peeking through the leaves of the trees that surrounded
Graceland, enhancing the house and everything around it... At the exact moment when we were lighting
our candles, the song Elvis was singing was Are You Sincere. I swear I didn’t pay attention to it, but it was
Lu who called my attention to the fact after having come out. When we were more or less half way to the
gravesite, we saw Gail and Sandy coming down. You should see their faces...! We shouldn’t look better
than they did. They came to us, gave us a hug, with their eyes shining from the tears and said, “It’s very,
very emotional up there... get ready, girls...” and said goodbye. I didn’t know that would be the last time
that I would see them, otherwise maybe I would have thought of saying something. But they had done
something that I didn’t realize before approaching us. I think I will treasure that for the rest of my life...
they took us a photo while going up the drive way with the lighted candles in our hands. And I just knew
they had done it after Gail sent me that photo by mail when I got home. I wasn’t my own self on that day,
since I didn’t pay attention to anything, except the things that were appropriate and were according to
my own thoughts at the time. I was still very, very tired, but happy to know that I was going to pass by
Elvis’ grave... I knew that many of the fans in our club in Portugal would have wanted to be there with me
on that moment, but I would try to explain it to them how it had been. However, I knew that as much as
I would try to explain it, as much as I would try to write about it and describe it... nothing could compare
to the fact of actually being there, on that moment...
As a matter of fact, the talkative woman was intelligent enough to stop talking while we were going up
the drive way... and I could observe the house and all the surroundings in peace and quiet. A boy was
already cleaning the grass, although it was still so early... Graceland was very well taken care of. When I
got close to the gravesite and saw what I saw... I couldn’t believe it... What a pile of flowers, dear God...!
The only thing that could be seen was Elvis’ name on the stone, all the rest was completely covered with
flowers, as well as the other graves, although Elvis’ was the one that had more flowers. When I passed by,
the height of the flowers went well above my waist and I... I... cried... 20 years had gone by, but he was
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not forgotten, and proving it were all those flowers and objects made with love and warmth... and
proving it was the fact that I was there.
The rose that Lu had bought had been forgotten inside a glass of water in our hotel room. I would have
loved to put in there some flowers, or just one flower, but I felt that my presence alone, was already
important enough. Sandra had taken her camera and she snapped a couple of photos of the gravesite full
of flowers. We also saw a black lady praying near the grave with a t-shirt on that must have been painted
by herself, which read, “God could have called a thousand angels, but He called Elvis”. On the back, it
read, “My God, give me the strength to go through another year without Elvis”. Those words said it all.
I went down, feeling sad, but pleased for having been near Elvis’ grave during the vigil light candle
ceremony. Just a few moments after having entered the grounds, they had to close the gates, since the
guided tours were about to begin and there were still people who didn’t manage to get inside. When we
went outside, Lu said she wanted to return to the hotel to sleep. But me and Sandra didn’t feel like going
home. We were tired, of course, but sleeping in that moment didn’t feel right. Lu went to Shoney’s to eat
something and after handing her our candles, me and Sandra were just wandering around when a car pulled
up near to us. Who was that guy? It was Mike! He opened up the car window and after saying goodmorning, he began to excuse himself for not having showed up at the hotel on the previous day, but he
would explain all about it. “Where are you girls going? Have you had breakfast?” We replied that, by chance,
we still haven’t had breakfast. “Then, come with me. I’ll buy you your breakfast!” Sandra sat beside Mike in
front and Mike had to come out to get some space for me on the back seat, since it was a whole mess...!
Then he explained that he had gone to Beale Street the previous day before our conversation to meet at
the hotel and that he had arrived quite late. He had simply fallen asleep. I had already guessed that. I
remembered to ask him about what had happened the previous day, with the bomb threat at the
Peabody Hotel, where he was staying. “Well, I was having my breakfast when they warned us about the
bomb threat. I just said, ‘Well, if something blows up, let’s just pray that nothing will fall on my plate!’” I
laughed. I asked him if he had already seen Lisa Marie and he said he didn’t. We rode for a few minutes,
Mike didn’t know Memphis too and we stopped to ask for instructions to an old black man who was
lazzily sitting at the door of a house. He gave us instructions. Sandra and me had been noticing that Mike
didn’t have any gears in the car. When we asked him about it, he just said it was automatically done. So...
the attitude that so many people had driving was explained. They drove kind of relaxed, some of them
more laid down that sitting up, with one arm always dropping lose outside the window...!
We stopped at a place that served only breakfasts. Mike ordered pancakes, coffee and orange juice. I just
wanted something more simple, as milk with toasts. It was what we ordered to the astonished employee.
I asked Mike why so many American had coffee and orange juice in the morning. “The tastes don’t go
well together,” I said. Elvis was like that, too - black coffee and cold orange juice. Mike just shrugged, “I
don’t know why, you’re right, the tastes don’t go well together.” When the pancakes arrived, I was blown
away...! Six big pancakes filled a big plate and I wouldn’t be able to eat all that at that hour of the
morning. Mike was quite funny and it was pleasant to talk with him one more time. While we were there,
a very well dressed man came to greet us at the table. He said, “Good morning! Thank you very much for
having chosen our house and enjoy your breakfast.” I found that so nice that I asked the employee, “Who
is that gentleman? Is he the manager?” She smiled with pride and said, “No, he is the owner.” Mike
looked at me and said, after they went away, “This is a sort of thing that would never happen up in the
North - the owner of a restaurant or something to come and greet people at the tables. That’s why I love
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the South so much, everything’s so different.” Even Mike found it different and we watched the owner
greeting every customer personally with a smile and a friendly slap on the back. Indeed...
When we finished, he stressed that he wanted to pay the bill and asked us if we had any plans. Well, I just
knew that that was the day that the fan club had sellected to give us a platinum ticket to go inside
Graceland and all the other museums. “Have you been to Graceland already?” I asked him. “No, not yet.
So, let’s go there.” Mike still hadn’t managed to get a ticket for the concert on that night, but he said he
would keep on trying. I thought it was going to be difficult. He also asked about Lu and we were about to
say that she had gone to the hotel, when we saw her still waiting at the bus stop for the bus to arrive...! Of
course we pulled the car near her and Mike instantly offered to give her a ride to our hotel. Lu said no, but
he kept insisting... It was funny the way he addressed to us - “Gucci, gucci,” because of the way we
pronounce Portuguese in English - the sound is a bit similar. And as such, we started to be called by the
famous watches brand...! The way he said it was funny. When we got to the hotel, Lu said good bye and
thanked Mike and Sandra went up to the room to fetch another camera. Me and Mike waited for her in the
car. I had already picked up a few coins that I had found spreaded all around in the back seat and he always
laughed when I said, “Here’s another one!” His quick answer, “Yep, they keep showing up everywhere...!”
But then I found a book about Casanova. I thought it was funny, since I had finished reading a book a few
weeks ago that was a biography on Casanova. We talked about the book, which dealt with the personal
growth of men while single and married. Mike was married for a year now and wanted to analyse if he had
grown, or not. “Marriage is such an important thing, you know? I felt really scared when I got married. In
a way, maybe I wasn’t ready yet for that kind of commitment. And now I want to do a self analysis.” Mike
was 32 years old, but he looked more like a scared little kid, talking that way.
Sandra came down and we went straight to Graceland. Mike parked at Graceland Parking and let us put
the cameras in the car. When we got to the tickets’ booth in Graceland Plaza, we found an enormous line
of fans of our group and five tour managers of the club. Keith was among them, who immediately handed
us our tickets. “We are going inside now, girls, so stay in line.” We kept a place for Mike, but when he
arrived, we told him that we couldn’t go inside together, since our visit was going to be on that moment
and we belonged to the same big group. It was a pity, but Lu was going to miss that visit. Mike said it
didn’t matter. As such, it would be better for us to go and fetch the cameras, since this time we were not
going to take the audio equipment which guided us during the visit and it wasn’t the first time we were
going to visit the mansion. Mike gave us the key of his car and told us to go and pick up the cameras,
while he was going to find out if he could go in another tour, later on, as he needed to do some things
first. There we went, still not believing the way he trusted us. When we came back, however, we couldn’t
find him and we were worried about the car keys. Keith asked us if we were enjoying ourselves up until
then. “Oh, yes,” I said, “but yesterday and today, it’s very sad.” Keith smiled and said, “You mustn’t
think about it that way, darling. Have you already realized how many people would love to be here in
your place rightnow?” He was right. I should feel very fortunate.
When Mike showed up, he didn’t seem the least worried, unlike us, we really wanted to give him the car
keys. It was not his car, it was a rented one, but even so, it was a great responsibility.
Second visit inside Graceland
It was the second time I was going to visit Graceland. It was so good to board the shuttle and not take the
audio equipment with me, in order to be able to visit the house completely independant, at my own
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pace. When we got off the bus, who else was at
Graceland’s door collecting the entrance tickets?
Jeff, the same boy who had been at the Bijou
theater in the first time we had been there and
nothing had worked properly. He acted like he
remembered us when he saw us and said, “Hi!” At
the door, I noticed that we were the only ones not
taking audio equipment and just the sign that they
give us to put around the neck, in order for them
to know that we didn’t go inside with a walkman.
The tour guide at the mansion’s door started
telling the brief history that it was already so
familiar to me. There were two girls who didn’t
stop asking questions about Elvis’ parents’
bedroom and I thought it was funny when the tour
guide replied, “If you get lost, just follow these two
girls here, they know all about it!” She noticed that
we weren’t carrying the walkman and, besides
that, I was more worried about making a simple
fantasy of mine come true, one that I always had
before going to Graceland. I wasn’t paying
attention to what she was saying and was hugging
one of the white columns of the entrance...! I
always wanted to do that, I don’t exactely know
why. But it felt so good... to clung to the column and rest my face over its soft and warm surface, as if it
were a living being... I also enjoyed listening to the guide saying that and I couldn’t help smiling. In the
meantime, before going inside, I had asked Sandra to take a photo from Graceland’s steps, overlooking
down there, so we could have an idea of what Elvis saw everytime he was getting out of his house. And
there, over the entrance’s mat, was a feather of a bird, which seemed to have belonged to a jay. I reached
down and picked it up, and decided to keep it as a souvenir. It was pretty, as jays are very beautiful, in
shades of blue, black and gray.
We got inside. This time, I was paying more attention to the details. One of the things that had my
attention this time, was the peculiar scent of the house. It was similar to the one of a tea house, of
aromatic and exotic herbs... a pleasant and inviting scent. I have noticed that, although the house always
had the curtains shut when we visited it, it had lots of windows. And although the basement didn’t have
windows, as it’s supposed to, it didn’t look claustrophobic or suffocating to me, neither did it resembled a
closed and opressive mausoleum, as Priscilla had described in her book and movie. There were lots of
lamps all around the house, the chandeliers were usually made of colored stained glass, which added to a
joyful and cosy look, as well as warm and nice. There were also several decorating objects - fossils, sea
ornaments, animals’ statues, crystal and glass pyramids, ashtrays and pillows - which added to the
welcoming and homely look of that house. Once again, I could picture myself living there. I just couldn’t
understand how Lisa could stay away from that house.
But I also kept “stucking my nose” in places I shouldn’t, such as, for instance, peeking behind the curtains,
to see what was there. In the Jungle Room, I found out that there was a closed door behind the curtain
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that led to the kitchen...! In the basement there was a door that was always shut and kept like that during
all our visits. Maybe it was another toilet, or maybe the laundry room, of which I had always read about in
several books. Or, who knows, maybe it was Charlie Hodge’s bedroom, who lived in Graceland for 17
years. In the pool room, which is all covered with fabric, underneath that fabric, the walls were made of
wood, as I could see, when I pushed the fabric aside in order to be sure if it was glued to the walls or not.
I’ve visited the trophy room with my feet on the ground this time. I took my time to read all the
inscriptions in the plaques and awards displayed all over the walls. I’ve noticed, for instance, a gold record
given by South Africa for the song Kiss Me Quick and I instantly thought about Lu, who was always
mentioning a friend whose favourite song was that one and who had already died... I would call her
attention for that fact in our next visit together. I saw plaques that were tributes to Elvis, given to him by
several charity organisations: one was from a blind’s association, another from people victims of palsy,
and yet another one from people who suffered from polio - all of them thanking him for his donations
and wishing him well and success for the future... There were organisations in there of which I had never
heard of before and, I was sure, many other people hadn’t heard of either. While I was in there, I just
remember having thought, “My, oh my... I just wish that all of those people who say that Elvis never did
anything special in his life, could see just this part of his house... just this part. And they would have to
shut up forever...!” Which fascinated me the most was that Elvis never bragged about those awards that
were given to him. He was quite happy whenever someone paid him an homage that way and it was with
pride that he put his awards in his trophy room, but he didn’t do any publicity over that fact - Elvis was
just like the lonesome cowboy, who arrived to help the opressed, rode his horse again (or was it maybe a
Cadillac...?), moving on to another crusade in his adventure of never ending help... Each day that went
by, I admired him even more. Each day that went by, I wanted to stay there, in that place, where he had
walked so many times, where he had laughed and also cried so many times - some times of sadness and
some others of joy. I think he cried more of joy than sadness. One day, Larry Geller found Elvis in his
gallery where all his gold records were displayed. He was sitting down and just staring at all the records,
looking puzzled. Larry asked him what was the matter and Elvis said, “I don’t know... every time I look at
all these records on the walls, I think they don’t belong to me, I think it wasn’t me who earned them, I
always think it was somebody else, since it’s so hard for me to believe...” If Elvis himself felt puzzled with
his success, what else could we say about it...?
Outside, the sun was well high above and shinning. It was also very hot... I sat for a while near the pool. I
looked at the iron benches, painted in white, where Elvis, Priscilla and Lisa had sat so many times... I had
photos of them three taken there, exactely on that spot. The pool’s plank kind of invited people to jump
to the water, that must have been cooler than the air arround it. But the pool was quite small, much
smaller than I had imagined. Inside it, the water only went to a person’s waist, even if it was full to its
capacity. After some minutes sitting there and thinking, I got up and moved on. I visited the gymn, where
once again I gasped with the sight of the 111 gold and platinum records displayed there and left, to
return to the Meditation Garden. While I was wandering around, at my own pace, I was never disturbed
by anyone. Some of mine penfriends had already complained to me that the security people and staff of
Graceland were always rushing people around during their visits. But I must say that I always took more
than two hours (or almost) to visit the house and noone ever rushed me. I also must say that I almost
never saw any security guard. There are more security people inside the house, but even so, they are not
very tough. Maybe there’s no need for that, since several surveilance cameras are all over the house silent, but nevertheless present. However, outside, everything was quite natural and done at each one’s
own pace.
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I peacefully strolled near the fence which separates people from the horses who feed themselves in the
spacious grounds of Graceland. Sandra took a photo of me in there. Then I went to the little covered well
with that small roof of grey tiles and surrounded of several bushes with beautiful hot pink flowers. The
little well was covered with a wooden cover and, now, it looked more like a table than a well. Around it,
several wooden benches were very inviting, where I took a seat. I loved that place. While I was sitting
there, I was wondering if it had been in there that Elvis had burned a pile of books when Priscilla asked
him to. One day, shortly before getting married, Priscilla complained that Elvis paid more attention to his
books than to her. And, in a gesture that I really consider as love, he took his beloved books and threw
them inside a well in Graceland (which didn’t have any water), where he set them on fire. Could have it
been in there? That story had always impressed me a lot. To me, books are one of the most important
things in the world, I consider them as friends, I would never be able to burn any one of my own books.
Well, but maybe Elvis bought a complete collection after that scene...! I was photographed in this
wonderful place and took a pink little flower that I would take to Portugal with me. I knew it was going to
get brownish after drying, but it didn’t matter.
Near Elvis’ grave, I found more Brazilian once again. I was always finding them everywhere, since I had
met them in Tupelo. They were very nice. However, there was a Brazilian girl sitting there who was crying
an awful lot... A friend of hers, who started talking with me, said, “It’s her first time in Graceland... and,
poor little thing, she just loves Elvis...!” This, of course, was said in that beautiful Por tuguse accent with
sugar, as our famous actress Beatriz Costa would say, who loved Brazilian people so much and who might
have - who knows? - already met Elvis on the other side...! This same Brazilian girl left on Elvis’ grave a
wooden work, maybe done by herself, that had Elvis’ face carved on the wood and the following words,
“Elvis, te amo” (Elvis, I love you), signed by her and yet “Brasil”. I must say that the Brazilian (they were
37 people) marked very well their presence in Graceland. They left flower arrangements everywhere and
even a country flag with a tribute sentence that they put near by the pool. Everytime they saw us, they
asked, “Oi! Tudo bem?” (Hi! Is everything okay?) But it was a truely felt greeting, that was waiting for a
reply. Some even personally said good bye to us when they found out that we were going to stay after
the 16th and they would leave at the end of that week. Besides, our own group of one thousand people
of the club, was going to part after the following day. Many would return home, others would leave to
Hawaii and others, like us, would stay in Memphis for 4 more days.
More flower arrangements kept arriving. Who put them in the garden and near the graves were usually
the security guards themselves. I was observing the care with which a gentleman put an arrangement
near Elvis’ grave. He jumped over the low fence very carefully and, during the process, he lost his balance
a little and it should have been practical for him to put one foot over the stone in order not to fall. But he
did an effort not to fall and he did not stepped on the stone. I perfectly saw that that was his intention not stepping on the stone. If he had done it, it would have been a lack of respect, even though he didn’t
meant it in the first place. While he was putting the flower arrangement, he laid two fingers on the stone
and looked at the name carved on it. I think I saw a warm look in his eyes. This same man had been
telling some stories to some fans who were talking with him. He had met Elvis, he had worked for him
while he was still alive and he said that he could not have a better boss in the whole world. I don’t know
where all the flower arrangements that arrive daily to Graceland are put, but I know that they must keep
some. Some real framed works of art arrive - drawings, poems, photos, needle point portraits, sculptures,
etc... - evidences of an undying love. Maybe one day they would be displayed in Graceland, where some
of the many others were already, at the Trophy Room. I’ve noticed already that the objects displayed in
this room vary from year to year, since the photos taken there also vary. So, they should keep some of
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those tributes somewhere in Graceland. Maybe in the attic, who knows? It was there that Elvis kept
everything that was given to him. Elvis never threw anything away and it is said that Graceland’s attic was
a real wharehouse.
We left and went to attend to some more performances at Graceland Crossing until it was lunch time. We
went to have lunch and were about to return to Graceland Plaza when we saw Lu...! Of course we acted
as if we didn’t see her for ages again. She was definitely looking much better than we were, since she had
been sleeping. In a way, she was right, since now she was more rested for the concert on that night. But
we also told her that she had lost her entrance in Graceland... She wasn’t the least worried. We visited the
shops again (just looking the books for sale and all the other Elvis’ objects, was entertaining) and we
watched Walk A Mile In My Shoes movie for the third time...! It always “tasted” good. As it was very hot,
we went to the ice cream shop, Elvis, and me and Sandra bought an icecream that I had never eaten
before, a Banana Split. You should see the size of that icecream...! It had a split banana (of course, that is
why it is called banana split), lots of icecream balls, chantilly, almonds, chocolate, vanilla crackers,
strawberry sauce and three cherries...! While we were sitting in a bench at Graceland Plaza, many of the
fans passing by kept staring at our icecreams. A lady even said, “Dear God... just look at their icecreams!”
Sandra began to offer her icecream to the people passing by and Lu started filming, very amused...!
Well, but with all this, it was getting late. The concert began at 7.00 p.m. and I had seen in the timetables
at the hotel that the bus was leaving at 5.30. I decided to catch the bus at 4.30 to the hotel. Lu and
Sandra didn’t want to go with me, they said that they still had plenty of time. I knew that the Mid-South
Coliseum was still faraway and I didn’t want to arrive late, that was for sure. I left them behind and went
home, warning them not to forget about the time. I think Sandra visited Graceland again with Lu, who
had lost the visit on that morning. When I got home, I just had the time to take a shower, put on some
clean clothes and take my concert ticket and leave. I boarded the bus and there was Keith. He was telling
a story about the last concert that Elvis had done in his lifetime, in Indianopolis, on the 26th June 1977, to
which he attended. Keith attended to countless Elvis’ concerts, that lucky bugger...! He was telling that
this concert had been fabulously remarkable. I have always read everywhere that the concert had been
extremely good, that Elvis had put on quite a show, etc, etc... In fact, I even have a bootleg recording of
that concert, but unfortunately, the sound isn’t very good. “When we returned home, in the bus that was
taking us to the airport, a young lady was sitting by my side. A young lady just like Celia here, who is
sitting by my side now. And she just rested her head on my shoulder and cried and cried and cried...
because we were leaving. My shoulder was completely wet. Little did we know that that concert had
been Elvis’ last...” But on that night, we were going to attend to another live show, after so many years.
How would it be? I was very curious and anxious, although I was very tired, too. I asked Keith if we could
take photo cameras with us. “If I were you, I would, but I never told you a thing,” it was his reply. Damn!
I was only hoping that Sandra would take the camera, since I could not warn them now... And I was
praying too that they would arrive on time. I was wondering if Mike had found a ticket...?
Elvis In Concert ‘97
Still inside the bus, I sat beside Lynn - a 70 year old lady, very nice, with sparkling blue eyes - and we
chatted a lot until we arrived at the Mid-South Coliseum. She told me that she had gone to Memphis for
four times now and that she was going to Hawaii, too. She told me she felt happy for meeting me, and
Sandra, since “I always love to meet the younger fans. If you don’t mind, then I would like to take a photo
of you.” Of course I didn’t mind. She told me about the marriage that she had attended in Hawaii of an
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English couple that had married there, in the isle of Kauaii, exactely the same spot where the marriage
scene of Elvis with Joan Blackman in the movie Blue Hawaii had happened. She told me that the bride and
the groom were dressed exactely like them in that movie and that the ceremony had been beautiful. Lynn
just couldn’t get tired of mentioning that marriage. This year another couple was going to marry that way
- Bernard Roughton and his girlfriend, Julie. Bernard was, of course, our official cameraman of the club,
who was always filming everything around him. Lynn would have another marriage to talk about in future
trips...!
When we arrived at the Mid-South Coliseum, we had to part, since our seats weren’t where we wanted,
but according to what was marked in our tickets. There were still many seats to fill in and I looked around
me. It was funny... seen on the inside, the coliseum looked bigger than from the outside. Weird... The
stage was enormous, but the curtains were shut and I couldn’t imagine what I would find behind them. I
just knew that it was going to be a live concert by all the elements that had worked with Elvis during his
career, musicians and backup singers. I had also heard that it had taken 4 months to rehearse that show
and that it had cost half a million dollars. I knew that the profits from the sales of the tickets would go to
charity, but I didn’t know to which organisation. The tickets cost 50, 70 and 80 dollars. Mine and Lu’s had
cost 80 dollars, and Sandra’s, 70 dollars. In the meantime, the seats all around me kept being occupied by
people and Lu and Sandra hadn’t arrived yet. I went outside to buy a delicious lemonade, since I was
thirsty. When I came back, a lady was sitting beside me. My seat was number two and hers number one.
We were very close to the stage and to her side was a quite large hall that almost looked like a road. I
started chatting almost immediately. She
was alone, she hadn’t come with noone.
She was English, but she didn’t belong to
the fan club. I couldn’t stop looking at my
watch - it was almost 7.00 o’clock, the time
when the show would begin. When the
coliseum was bubbling with people (it was
completely full), and the lights were
dimmed, Lu showed up at my side and I was
happy to see that she didn’t lose any part of
the show. She was breathless.
Wink Martindale appeared on stage to
welcome us and wishing us a pleasant and
entertaining night. Then, he introduced the
commedian Jackie Kahane - the same man I
had met in one of the shops at Graceland
Crossing not so many days ago. I had
always heard that Jackie wasn’t funny at all
and that, many times, Elvis’ fans booed him
out of stage and yelled for Elvis. This way, I
was quite curious. But I laughed like crazy
with him...! And I wasn’t the only one, I
assure you. He told us a true story that
happened with him in Las Vegas during the
70’s. He had seen in the audience two ladies
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that were his friends, one of which had been his teacher. They were old
ladies, but he managed to take them to Elvis suite on the 30th floor of the
Hilton Hotel, so they could meet their idol in person. Jackie was always
subject to the remarks of the security guards and Elvis’ friends everytime
they saw him, “But where is he getting them from? The graveyard?”
Laughs. “One day I met a lady, who was also friend of mine, who was a big
Elvis’ fan. She said that nothing could make her more happy than meeting
him. After she had her dinner, I asked her to come with me. We got inside
the elevator and kept going up. When we were almost 4 floors away to
arrive, she asked me where was I taking her. When I told her it was to meet
Elvis, she just yelled: ‘AAHH!’ and fell on the floor!” To stress his point, Jackie
threw himself to the floor. “When we arrived up there, she was still fainted
when the elevator doors opened. The security guys saw me with her and
said, ‘That’s it, he finally brought us a dead one!’” More laughs. But Jackie
continued by saying that the lady didn’t want to go inside Elvis’ party, since, in her own words, “I am not
ready to meet God.” Jackie proceeded with an hilarious sketch, a kind of recreation of one of those
religious gatherings in which the preacher is all inflamed with the faith of the Lord. Jackie was that
preacher and he always ended each little sermon with the words, “Give me an Amen!” And we said,
“Amen!” And he said, “Give me an Alelujah!” And we said, “Alelujah!” And he proceeded this way, never
offending anyone, until he asked us all, brothers, to hold each other’s hands in a love gesture in a very
special moment. Many people did just that. All people around me did it. And then Jackie says, “Okay,
now we can go on in peace, since we know noone is going to steal noone!” He entertained us with his
humour for around 15 minutes and then he gave the Memphis Symphony Orchestra a chance to shine.
The conductor was, of course, Joe Guercio.
The Memphis Symphony Orchestra was made by 54 elements, distributed by violins, cellos, flutes, oboes,
clarinets, saxophones, trombones, trumpets, tubes, tympans, drums and harps. It was the biggest
orchestra I saw performing up until now. And the work they done, under the conduction of Joe Guercio,
was phenomenal. They played a meddley of Elvis’ hits. And me, as I’ve always loved orchestras and
symphonic bands, felt in cloud nine, listening to that sound, so pure
and loud. This opening was a tribute that the Memphis Orchestra
paid to Elvis. However, when they finished, a very weird atmosphere
set around the coliseum... the lights began “moving” in an erratic
and funny way, the sound that could be heard was unsettling and
restless. When I looked around me, I saw the coliseum security
guards surrounding all our area, ropping it off and holding hands.
Behind me, it was what it looked to me like a real mountain of
photographers and cameramen of several TV networks. Everybody
was screaming and talking at the same time, asking questions.
Everybody stood up and I felt myself doing just that. “What is
happening?” I asked. And a security guard who was right beside me,
replied, “This is the man you’ve been waiting for 20 years...!”
Needless to say that his answer didn’t calm my nerves...! I didn’t
want to believe my own eyes when I saw 4 police motorcycles
entering the coliseum escorting a black and quite long limousine
who was moving slowly. The questions, the rumours and the
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excitement were felt all over the coliseum. There were screams of antecipation, of confusion and the
photographers didn’t stop shooting their cameras, adding to a very strange atmosphere, punctuated by
the the lights of their flashes. The limo disappeared somewhere behind the stage. And then...
Boom-boom Boom-boom Booom.... Ta-ra...! It was the 2001 theme. The curtains of the stage went up.
All the musicians were there, in their places, as well as all the backup singers. A giant screen was hanging
in the middle of the stage. For a brief moment, I saw Elvis’ shadow coming up and entering the stage
and... suddenly, there he was, coming down again, to meet us...! The screams were too much and the
cameras were flashing like crazy. There he was, dressed with his blue jumpsuit from On Tour (in fact, that
image on the screen was from that documentary) and I felt the hair on the back of my neck going up. He
looked all around, he waved to his musicians to both sides and nodded in our direction. He took the mike
with assurance and started singing, “Oh see, see see rider, oh see, what you have done...” and the Sweet
Inspirations beside him, “Yeah, yeah, yeah”... I couldn’t believe the power of his voice, the strength and
energy of the sound of his band and backup singers...! I thought that I had already listened to Elvis’ voice,
but in there, his voice looked like something out of this world - it entered in me, it ran all over inside me
and shook my heart like it never had happened before. I felt the tears in my eyes. Once he finished this
song, Elvis and his band proceeded with Burning Love, that very pure rock song.
With no breaks or warnings, Elvis appears with his Aloha jumpsuit on, and starts singing Steamroller Blues.
This sexy song always caused some excitment amont the audience and, this time was no exception. Elvis
was enjoying every moment. And we were, too. Although the lights in the coliseum were down, the place
was constantly lighted up by the thousands of flashes by the cameras that were going off. I knew through
Lu that Sandra hadn’t taken her camera and I was sad about it. But, oh well... being there on that moment
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was the best thing I could have in the world! Elvis started singing I Can’t Stop Loving You, that song that
he always loved to sing so much. I was astonished with his beautiful image... it was almost like I was
seeing him for the first time, on that giant screen, so big... his beauty was extraordinary. When Elvis
started Johnny B. Goode, he turned to James Burton (right there to his right side, as usual) and said, “Play
it, James!” When the image of James (the present James) appeared on a smaller screen to the right side,
right beside Elvis, the audience roared its approval and Elvis just stared and enjoyed his real skills with the
guitar. It was fabulous...! Elvis liked it and he told us he would sing You Gave Me A Mountain.
These footage of Elvis were from Aloha From Hawaii, but, to me, it was like I had never seen those footage
before. I’ve noticed lots of details that I had never noticed before - the intense Elvis’ sparkling eyes,
although they were also sad, as if he was lost singing this song so sad, but one that shows so well his
wonderful singing skills... He was very much applauded by all of us. He disappeared for a few moments,
only to be called by all of us, “Elvis! Elvis!” And he came back...! This time he was coming with his white
and simple jumpsuit, with the chains in front, over his chest. He was very slim and with that teasing and
naughty look of his... He felt confident that he was going to please us. I felt a chill when I heard the
powerful drums played by Ronnie Tutt and James Burton’s guitar playing the first chords to Polk Salad
Annie. “That’s polk...” Elvis sang, “Boom!” Ronnie’s drum went, “salad,” Elvis proceeded, “Boom-boom!”
Wow... I could hardly stand still in my seat, I just wanted to get up and run to him...! This song always
excited me a lot. And I wasn’t the only one, since the house almost came down with the applauses. Elvis
just limited to stroll over the stage, smiling, pleased and happy.
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The lights changed to a dark red tonality and the low chords of Jerry Scheff’s bass were heard. Elvis was
with his back turned to us and we could only see his back. “You never close your eyes anymore when I
kiss your lips,” he sang, “There’s no tenderness like before in your fingertips...” This had always been one
of my favourite songs from the That’s The Way It Is album. “You’re trying hard not to show it,” he went
on. “Baby...”, the Sweet Inspirations sang. “But baby I know it... You’ve lost that lovin’ feelin’” and Bam!,
Elvis turned suddenly and the lights changed to yellow. “Oh-oh, that lovin’ feelin...” Wow... I knew dozens
of versions of this song, but noone sang it like Elvis and now, that I was seeing him performing it live, I
was more convinced of that. The Sweet Inspirations were doing an excellent job backing him up in this
powerful and dramatic song. However, when Elvis was in a playing around mood, not even a serious song
prevented him from being the inate clown that was inside of him. He moved closer to the Sweets and,
when they were not expecting it, he screamed, scaring them...! But not too much, since they also know
how he is. And as professionals as they were, they didn’t miss any key or their pose either. Elvis enjoyed
testing the talent he had on stage. And as that had always been his attitude during all his life as an
entertainer, the Sweets were given the privilege of shinning by themselves in a number sang by
themselves alone.
One of Elvis’ favourite songs that he most enjoyed by the Sweets was Sweet Inspiration, the song with the
same name of that singing group. The Sweets are a bit on the heavy side now when compared to 20
years ago, but they still are in a splendid vocal shape. They even danced and everything. They took the
mikes, they came to the edge of the stage and introduced themselves boldly, “Hi there, I’m Myrna !
(Smith)” “I am Estelle ! (Brown)” , “I’m Sylvia ! (Shemwell)” “And I am Portia! (Griffin)”. I always loved
black voices singing soul songs and this song is simply wonderful...! Elvis had very good taste. The Sweets
felt honoured by that and I was loving listening to them sing. In fact, I was even sorry for them to have
just sang that song. But more surprises were yet to come...
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Elvis returned, again with his blue On Tour jumpsuit and started singing a song that was one of his biggest
favourites and also mine - Lawdy Miss Clawdy. But we could perfectly feel the joy he had singing that
song on that moment...! He was gently swaying to the music and singing with might as only him could
do. I Got A Woman was next, where the ending was enriched by the thunder voice of J.D. Sumner and
The Stamps Quartet, who were backing him up on stage. All the four members were there - Ed Enoch, Ed
Hill, Rick Strickland e Jerry Kelso. When Elvis started singing I Never Been To Spain, it was so funny...!
Because he always sings “Well I never been to England, but I kinda like the Beatles” and the group of the
people present at the coliseum on that night that were from England gave him a cheer...! Elvis knew that
there were always British people in his concerts.
Then, I thought I had died and gone to heaven, when I saw Elvis surrounded by blue lights and heard his
deep and sexy voice singing, “Just pretend I’m holding you and whispering things soft and low...” My
God... I felt so blessed for being there, seeing those images from The Lost Performances, so big and with
such a good quality sound...! (I don’t know how in the world did they manage to do that). Just Pretend is
one of my personal favourite songs and my favourite version is precisely that one. The jumpsuit Elvis was
wearing, was completely white and simple, enhancing his dark beauty, his jet black hair, his blue eyes and
white teeth... His image was enormous, right there in front of me, so close... Maybe for being so close it
looked even bigger to me... and I felt like diving in that image and that voice... In The Guetto was next,
and Elvis sang it straight and with emotion. He was very much applauded and photographed, too. It
looked like it was daylight inside the
coliseum.
Suddenly, the lights on stage got
brighter and the Stamps had their
moment of glory. Elvis told us that he
would ask the Stamps to sing his
favourite song by them, Sweet Sweet
Spirit and he asked us to pay attention,
even putting a finger over his lips, as if
saying “Don’t make any noise and
listen...” It was a big thrill, to attend to
the Stamps Quartet singing that
beautiful gospel song, live, and with Elvis
approving each note and voice right
beside them... listening, with us, smiling,
letting himself be invaded by that sweet
spirit that was with us on that moment...
“Sweet holy spirit, sweet heavenly dove,
stay right here with us, filling us, with
your love...” And the Voice were backing
the Stamps up. “There’s a sweet sweet
spirit in this place...” My God, I could
feel that sweet spirit too, all around us...
“... and I know that it’s the spirit of the
Lord...” Those variations of voices of
those so talented men... it’s not possible
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to describe it. You really had to be there, to feel the joy, the peace and love - all these feelings were seen
on Elvis’ face on that moment, while he was listening to the Stamps and the Voice with us (Tim Baty,
Shaun Nielson e Donnie Sumner). Then, carried away by the religiosity of the song, Elvis sang How Great
Thou Art. The Imperials Quartet were there to back up this song. As you know, this was the gospel quartet
that backed Elvis up in studio during the recording of his album with the same title in 1967. There was
also a coral group supporting him during this song - the O’Landa Draper Choir. Each minute that went by
I felt more surprised with the amount of people present on that stage, singing by Elvis’ side. (The Imperials
are made by: Sherman Andrus, Terry Blackwood, Armond Morales, Joe Moscheo e Jim Murray). How
Great Thou Art is always a climax moment at any Elvis’ live concert and, in this one, it was no exception.
But there were still many climaxes in this show and we were about to witness yet another one - Elvis
started singing Bridge Over Troubled Water. Once again, but this time more intensily, I shivered from
head to toe when Elvis sang, “Sail on silver, girl, sail on by, your time has come to shine, all your dreams
are on their way, see how they shine, oh, if you need a friend...”. I’ve always felt as if he was singing this
song just to me. I really feel that he is like a bridge, a friend who always tells me that my dreams are about
to come true... Well, on that moment I knew one of my dreams was coming true. The orchestra and the
voices of all the vocal backup groups at the end of this song almost made the round walls of the coliseum
tremble. The applause was immense and we knew there was going to be a break when the curtains were
brought down.
I went outside thinking about buying another soft drink, but I found out that they were selling concert
programmes of that night and they were quite interesting. Of course I wanted to have one and besides, it
contained lots of additional information on the concert that would be of interest to read later on. But when I
saw the people in the line, I almost dropped...! However, when I finally got my copy, I heard the sound of music
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inside - it looked like being Trouble from NBC
TV Special of 1968. I went running inside (I
don’t know how didn’t I get lost, in the
middle of around 10.000 other people who
were inside that place and moving through
the many exits and entrances of the
room...!) and found my seat. I arrived just in
time to see the big neon red letters ELVIS
over the giant screen on stage and seeing
Elvis singing Trouble/Guitar Man, with that
unshakable look of his that meant “I am here
and I’m here to stay.” I was wondering if
they were going to let those red letters
hanging in there until the end, because if
they would do it, I wasn’t going to like it.
Well, no panick.
After Elvis finished his song, Ronnie
McDowell appeared on stage (the same
singer/impersonator we had seen at the
conversations at Humes High School). He
talked a little bit about the beginning of
Elvis’ career in the 50’s and introduced
Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana, who were
warmly welcomed by the audience. Ronnie
himself, backed up by Terry Mike Jeffrey
Band and The Rhythm Kings, sang and played with Scotty and D.J. That’s All Right and Blue Moon Of
Kentucky, the first two songs that Elvis recorded at Sun in 1954 - when it all started. Some more important
songs of the 50’s followed, such as Baby Let’s Play House and Heartbreak Hotel. Then Ronnie introduced the
Jordanaires (Gordon Stoker, Neal Matthews, Ray Walker e Duane West) to sing Don’t Be Cruel, which never
“tastes” the same without the backup vocals that they provide. Mystery Train and Teddy Bear were next.
Then they introduced Millie Kirkham and they sang four more other songs: My Wish Came True, Are You
Lonesome Tonight/Surrender and It’s Now Or Never. I confess I didn’t pay much attention to this part of the
concert. First, because Elvis was gone and I was only hoping that he would come back fast...! And second,
because I was so tired due to all the previous events, that I found myself fighting to keep awake...! Only Elvis
manages to keep me awake at all times, no matter what! Meanwhile, George Klein woke me up a little when
he started talking, saying that Elvis would be back in a minute, but that we should give a big hand to the
person who had made that concert possible - Priscilla Presley. Well, it was true and we had to admit it. She
had been involved in the preparation of that concert since the beginning, doing everything in her reach to
turn it into a big success. We gave her a round of applause. I turned to the lady who was sitting next to me
and asked, “Do you think she’s going to show up?” She shook her head with a doubtful look on her face.
But I was sure she must be there somewhere, she and Lisa, too, and something deep down in me told me
that both of them would show up before the concert came to an end.
But Elvis appeared... beautiful as the sunrise and I... Woke up! He sang The Wonder Of You as only him
knows. The audience screamed like crazy for him and I whistled a few times when this song ended. I
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remembered my mother, who loves this song so much. Well, thinking about it, I think every mother must
enjoy this song...! These images were once again taken from That’s The Way It Is and Elvis was very slim
and in splendid physical and vocal shape. He also played some practical jokes, as usual...! He said he got
real close to a girl, he looked right on her face and started singing a very romantic song... “You ain’t...” he
yelled and everybody started laughing, since we all knew what he was going to do next. “And her hair
flew back...!” he said, showing how it had been with his hand and laughing with us. Of course he sang
Hound Dog, but always teasing and joking, such as joking for singing it very fast and sticking his hand in
his mouth...! But whatever he did, he always got away with it and we gave him a big hand. He sang other
songs of the 50’s, such as Don’t Be Cruel, All Shook Up, Heartbreak Hotel and One Night... and I tell you:
It was so much better to see the original in action...! I wasn’t sleepy anymore again.
Elvis started to explain that his first movie had been Love Me Tender. Well, but his mike wasn’t cooperating
to let him speak, since the sound was failing. He raised it in the air and we saw his lips miming “No
sound”. But then the sound came back. He was surprised, but happy and continued his monologue. But
the sound failed again... He did an angry expression, went to the piano and close to Glen D. Hardin and
picked up four mikes...! He tested them all and two were okay and two other weren’t. “Two out of four is
not bad, really,” he said, after having played with them and sticking them in the ears and making some
funny faces...! We laughed and applauded and he laughed with us. “My first movie was Love Me Tender,”
he said, with a very strong voice which was heard quite loud, which we really approved, “and I’d like to
sing that song for you.” We heard the first keys to this famous song. But instead of singing it, Elvis said,
“And that’s how it went...” moving his hand down. We laughed again, but he sang the song anyway.
There were kisses, of course, and I was only sorry to know I wouldn’t be able to get one...
Elvis sang Make The World Go Away, another big
favourite of mine. But the best was yet to come...
Suspicious Minds, one of the highest moments of Elvis’
concerts. The images were from That’s The Way It Is and
Elvis gave his all. Not only him, but all his band too on
that stage of the Mid-South Coliseum. When it was
getting close to the part where Elvis dances a lot, shakes
his torso with a snake’s flexibility, under the crazy
lights... Elvis was gone...! We didn’t know if it had been
a flaw or something, or if it had been on purpose, in
order to increase the climax. Lu said it was for all of us
to see that that was really a live concert, since Elvis was
gone, but all the musicians continued to play. We
started yelling, “Elvis! Elvis!” But he didn’t show up...
Instead, when the song ended, Wink Martindale
appeared on stage saying they were sorry, but a lack of
energy had happened very suddenly. “I could almost
hear you thinking, ‘Oh damn... it had to happen during
Suspicious Minds!’” We laughed, since I believe that had
been the thought of everyone present there. “But don’t
worry, we are going to listen to Elvis singing Suspicious
Minds from the beginning again.” While he didn’t
appear, we kept screaming for him. And when he did
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appear, with a smile, it was if he was saying, “Ah-ah, I’ve fooled you all, didn’t I?” It was quite funny,
really! And the best of it all, it was that we could see Elvis singing and dancing Suspicious Minds all over
again, this time with no interruptions... WOW... what a showman! He had a terrific energy and I admired
him even more.
After this so fabulous moment for which there are no words to describe it, Wink Martindale appeared on
stage again to introduce the person who had made all of that possible - Priscilla Presley. I looked to the
lady sitting beside me and she had her mouth wide open, since she didn’t believe she was going to show
up. Something deep down inside of me always told me that she was going to show up and I was right.
There she was, all dressed in black, with a tailleur (with trousers instead of skirt) and her hair simply pulled
and tied in the back. I was so close I could see her features perfectly, without having to look at the big
screen. She was really short...! She started talking and she was very nervous: “Good night to you all... I
would like to thank you very much for being here tonight. Believe me, I would love if Elvis could be here
to see with his own eyes how loyal his fans are.” She kind of gasped and stumbled in a word, “You will
have to excuse me, but I am very nervous.” A few guys were heard screaming that they loved her. She
really had her eyes shinning from the tears. “Elvis was so proud of his fans. The proof that he was an
extraordinary performer is you, who are also the most extraordinary fans in the whole world. Elvis was
really proud of his fans. However, there was nothing in this world that made Elvis more proud than his
daughter, Lisa Marie...” The audience interrupted with a big hand and screams of approval. “She also
wanted to mark this anniversary and this event in her own way with something very special. I am very
honest with you when I say that you will enjoy it, since I also enjoyed it very much, but you’ll also be very
surprised, since not even myself was expecting this...” I turned to the lady beside me, without believing,
and asked, “Oh my God, is she going to sing?” This time she was ready for everything and answered,
“Maybe.” Now I was the one feeling nervous...! It had always been the biggest controversy in the world
of Elvis’ fans around Lisa Marie - did she sing or not, did she had recorded songs or not, did she want to
be a singer or not... all questions that remained to be answered. And now... what was ahead of us? Priscilla
left the stage, which was in complete darkness.
Just the giant screen in the center of the stage could be seen... We spotted Elvis coming from a sort of
smoky cloud, almost as if it was a fog, dressed with his white jumpsuit lined with red leather in the collar
and chest and with a red belt. He moved in slow motion, as if in a dream, all that scene seemed like our
own dreams unfolding before our eyes... He started singing Don’t Cry Daddy: “Today I stumbled from my
bed with thunder crashing in my head, my pillow’s still wet from last night’s tears”.“And as I feel of giving
up, a voice inside my coffee cup keeps crying out, ringing in my ears...”... Here Elvis image is gone and
we see another one of someone who is being filmed from the waist up. I immediately noticed it wasn’t
him, and we heard that strange voice singing before we could see the face, but I already knew who it
was: “Don’t cry daddy, daddy, please don’t cry, don’t cry...” It was Lisa! It was her who was singing this
part of the wonderfully beautiful and sad Elvis’ song...! She was in a studio with some headphones on and
she was singing with her eyes closed, with such a sad and hurt expression... “Daddy, you still got me and
little Tommy, together we’ll find a brand new mummy”, she continued singing... “Daddy, daddy, please
laugh again, daddy ride us on your back again, oh daddy, please don’t cry”... Her voice was hot, sexy,
sweet and beautiful... In the meantime, some images started to be shown in the smaller screens that
surrouded the central screen that went with the situation - images of Lisa when she was born, in her
mother’s lap and both being held by her father, images of Elvis kissing his own mother... Meanwhile, Lisa
kept singing, “Why are children always first, to feel the pain and hurt the worst, it’s true but somehow, it
doesn’t seem right...” and Elvis appeared beside Lisa backing her up when he repeated, “It doesn’t seem
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right...” Images were shown of Elvis holding his father, crying when Gladys, his mother, died... In the
meantime, I was crying like crazy, it wasn’t even worth it to wipe the tears with a kleenex, since they kept
running... And then Lisa and her father sang in harmony the verses: “Don’t cry daddy, daddy, please
don’t cry, don’t cry...” “Daddy, you still got me and little Tommy, together we’ll find a brand new
mummy”, “Daddy, daddy, please laugh again, daddy ride us on your back again, oh daddy, please don’t
cry”... I just wanted that on that moment everybody that I knew who loved Elvis could see the wonder
that was unfolding before my eyes - the father and his daughter, singing side by side, their faces together,
as if they could reach out and touch, as if they could hug each other, as if they could bring comfort to one
another... Images of the family kept on being shown - of Lisa playing with her father on the grounds of
Graceland, of Lisa riding horses with her mother, images of the happy family leaving the hospital after she
was born, images of the proud and happy smile of daddy Elvis... Lisa was singing with the emotion of a
daughter who loves her father, of a mother who adores her children, of a grandaughter who wasn’t
fortunate enough to meet the mother his father loved so dearly, of a daughter who loves her mother and
is not ashamed to show it... But above all, she waited for that so special moment to show us all that yes,
she can sing, she has a beautiful, hot and sexy voice, slightly husky, a voice that she could use to exploit
her artitisc and talented side. If she never did it before, that’s because she didn’t want to be accused of
taking advantage of her name. I admire her very much for having done it. I couldn’t stop thinking about
that while I was seeing her, beautiful as the sunrise, singing next to her father, beautiful as the sunrise,
“Oh, Elvis, why aren’t you here to see what your daughter has done for you and all of us...? You’d be so
proud of her...!” When it was over, the applause was deafening. Everybody was crying and clapping
hands. Priscilla came to the stage and said, “I don’t know about you, but would you like to see it again?”
The answer shook the coliseum’s walls. It was too moving. I swore to myself that I wasn’t going to cry so
much this time, in order to see better.. But it was all in vain. I cried even more than in the first time... That
work of art that Lisa did, ends with her singing, “Oh daddy, please don’t cry...”, removing the headphones
and looking down with a very hurt look on her face... But then the image changed with a shot of her
smile - which is her father’s smile - that was frozen in the screen. A smile that was worth millions... for
being so beautiful...! I looked around me, everybody was crying - men, women, everybody... the lady
beside me, gently squeezed my arm, due to the emotion that she felt in me...
Priscilla came to the stage again, this time to say, “Well, Lisa doesn’t like speeches much, like her daddy,
but she would like to say a few words...” And she appeared on stage, moving towards her mother.
Together, they put their arms around one another and remained like that... Lisa was all dressed in black,
with a suit with skirt and with glasses. She said, “I would like to thank you all for loving my dad...” She
was going to say more, since I saw her breathing to say some more words. However, the men in the
audience started screaming, “Lisa, we love you!” And she, shy as she is with these things, backed up a
little, and just thanked us again, waved us good bye and left...! Well, I would have loved if she had talked
more, but it had been very good to see her (small as her mother. In fact, they are more or less the same
height than I am and I’m 1,60m) and also see the tribute she had done. Natalie Cole had had a
tremendous success with the song Unforgetable, sang with her father Nat King Cole. If Lisa released that
duet with Elvis, I didn’t doubt that it was going to be a much bigger success...
The show took its normal course with Elvis’ presence singing I’ll Remember You, that beautiful Hawaiian
ballad that Elvis always delivers so well... After the claps and the screams of the audience, “Elvis! Elvis!”, he
smiled and thanked, immediately starting A Big Hunk O’Love to cheer things up a little. Of course that
when he threw the glass of water that was supposed to hit Glen D. Hardin, he did a messy move and wet
himself, laughing afterwards... What a smile, what perfect teeth...! We could see images of ourselves in
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the smaller screens beside Elvis and, sometimes, he glanced at us and smiled. My Way was next - the sole
version of this song that I like is sang by Elvis. Besides, this song only meant something to me after
listening to Elvis singing it. When I heard the first chords to American Trilogy, I saw two big American
unfolded flags appear in both the smaller screens. The people who were sitting all around me raised and
held hands. I looked all around me, feeling a greatest proud for belonging to my group of Elvis’ fans of
the English fan club... Up there, in the back and all around, there were small “isles” of groups of people
standing up and holding hands. And I knew those persons belonged to my group. Yes, because not
everyone got up. Elvis sang, he sang... with that patriotism that we know so well... and the orchestra
played and played... with the sound that’s so familiar to us... Which wasn’t familiar at all was the sound of
fireworks going up and when I looked up, to the dome of the Mid-South Coliseum I saw the fireworks
exploding as the song was reaching its climax...! It were red and blue fireworks, just like the colors of the
American flag... It was incredible...! The roar of the applause must have taken around two minutes to fade
away. We couldn’t stop applauding... I remember having worried about it, “And what if we don’t stop
clapping and cheering, how is going Elvis to be able to sing without seeming strange...?” These images
were from Aloha From Hawaii and I knew Elvis immediately started singing another song after American
Trilogy. But no... everything was so natural, that for a few moments I really believed that Elvis was really
there and that he was listening to us... “Thank you, you are fantastic...” We applauded even more,
screaming, whistling and screaming for his name... “Thank you very much... thank you, you are
wonderul...” he thanked, once again. He was standing still next to his band, looking around the room, all
around him, smiling, “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen!” It was a moment that I shall never ever forget.
And it was awful when we saw Charlie putting his cape around his shoulders and we heard the first chords
to Can’t Help Falling In Love... He was leaving...! Oh, no... no, I wanted him to sing more and more... I
was enjoying myself so much... When Elvis threw his cape away, we didn’t see where it landed, but there
was a roar among the crowd... I just wanted to go up there, to touch him... but he was already getting
ready to leave... However, before doing it, he introduced all his band. It was a real moving moment. Elvis
was introducing each member, one by one, and all of them thanked our applause, with a light over each
one of them, on that stage. Elvis was in the middle of the stage, turning to each one of them as he was
introducing them... As they all were in their usual spots when they worked with Elvis, he turned exactely
to the correct spot when he introduced someone... It was incredible, EVERYBODY was there. Only Kathy
Westmoreland wasn’t there. I felt really moved. After Elvis going away, we heard the closing vamp of the
show... The voice of one of the Stamps said, “Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left to Graceland. Thank
you and good night!” But all the musicians remained on stage, dancing, hugging each other, laughing
and smiling with satisfaction, their faces in the central giant screen, and our own faces in the two other
smaller screens - equally moved and hugging each other... It was beautiful, beautiful, beautiful... For 20
years that people hadn’t reunited up in the same stage to perform all together... And it had been Elvis, 20
years after, reuniting them once again to give a fine concert to his loyal and eternal fans...
We started to leave, me and Lu, to see if we could find Sandra. In the middle of all the people that were
getting out, of all those moved people - there were astonished faces, wet faces, happy faces, sad faces...
but all of them shared one thing in common, they were all marvelled faces... Mine should look like that,
too. It didn’t take long to find Sandra, who was coming down some stairs to meet us, with her face
completely wet from the tears. She ran to us and we reunited in a hug, crying at the same time... Just by
chance, we found Larry Geller right beside us, Elvis’ friend... I wanted to meet him and tell him some
words. He had his eyes wet from tears, too. I went to him, reached out my hand and said, “Larry, I went
to listen to you talk at the Humes High some days ago.” “You did, honey?” “I did and I just wanted to tell
you that you were the person I most enjoyed listening to.” He smiled warmly and said, “Well, I knew I just
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had a few time to talk and I just could say very little. But sometimes, the little can mean very much, isn’t
it?” I nodded yes. I gave him my concert programme and asked him to autograph it for me. He signed,
“Love, Larry Geller.” I felt happy for having talked with him and for having seen him up close, since he
really was the only person I would have liked to talk to on that day at school. I told him we were from
Portugal and he was surprised. Lu also told him some words, telling him that she was born in SouthAfrica. When we said good bye, she told him something that I shall never forget, “Thank you, Larry, for
being Elvis’ friend.” His eyes got even more wet and we said good bye. I think he will never forget her
words either.
We went outside, trying to find our bus. It was around 11 p.m.. But outside were dozens of buses parked.
It was going to be difficult to find ours... In the middle of all that confusion, we found John and Trevor,
who just said, “My God, it was so moving! I cried and cried! What a show!” It was nice to see grown up
men admitting that openly. Needless to say that they staid with us in our quest for the bus. We also found
someone that we weren’t expecting to - Mike! He was surprised to see us, too, but he seemed in a state of
schock with what he had just seen. He was stuttering and saying, “I cried during the whole thing!” I was
happy for him, to see that he had managed to get a ticket after all. When I asked him where he had staid,
he replied that it was a very bad seat, sideways, near the stage and that he couldn’t see very well. On the
other hand, though, that had been his luck. “I shook Lisa Marie’s hand!” he didn’t stop saying. “You
what! Explain that to me...!” I said. And then he told us that when Lisa got off the stage, instead of going
backstage as Priscilla did, she stood there at the side of the stage, watching the audience and its reactions.
Mike was really close to her. He came closer and just said, “Lisa?” Mike told us, “And she turned to me,
she smiled and reached out her hand, that I shook... I still can’t believe it!” John had found our bus and
was yelling for us from faraway. I yelled for Sandra, who was standing close to Mike after I said good bye.
But he was just writing his address on Sandra’s programme, since we weren’t going to see each other
again. I was going to enjoy writing him, in order for him to send me in writing his story of his meeting
with Lisa Marie. But, unfortunately, Sandra lost her programme and, it with, Mike’s address...
Already inside the bus, people were kind of numb. And Sandra kept saying: “I attended to an Elvis
concert... I attended to an Elvis concert...!” I thought the moment was right to remind her that she had
been the least excited with the concert and that I almost had to convince her to go. She admitted I was
right, shaking her head. If we hadn’t gone to the concert, we would have been fools. It was the highlight
and most important event of the whole week, after Graceland, of course. During our ride back to the
hotel, we didn’t talk about anything else besides the most important moments of the concert. “Do you
remember when he did this?” one of us asked. Then we laughed and recalled yet another moment. My
God... in fact, that should really be the closest thing to an Elvis live concert. We were still so excited about
it and, yet, also so sad for being over. The show had lasted for more than 3 hours and, even so, we weren’t
completely satisfied... Elvis was never able to completely satisfy his public.
On that night, after going to bed, my head was spinning with music and wonderful moments that I was
going to cherish forever... Outside was raining very heavily and the wind was very strong. It was a real
storm...! Around 20 planes must have landed in one hour, as we had the chance to confirm. Lu
commented that on the 16th of August, precisely 20 years ago, it had also rained very heavily. It looked
like “someone” up there was trying to tell us something. However, even with all the rain and wind
outside, I fell asleep and... I dreamed with Elvis. It was the first time it happened since I was in America.
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17th of August - Sunday
Although we were extremely tired, we wanted to visit Graceland at dawn. After the previous concert, our
thoughts were just - visit the grounds and garden of the mansion one more time - to feel closer to Elvis.
And that’s what we did.
I picked up the programme of the concert on the previous night, while Sandra was finishing getting ready
to leave. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. has a charity fund and,
from that fund, they do charity every year to several organisations. Other thing I found out was that, in
1995, EPE created a Scholarship Fund in the name of Elvis Presley at the University of Memphis. And it
was for this fund that the money of the concert went. Basically, this fund gathers money that EPE supplies
and gives in Elvis’ name in order for several young people with no means, but with talent, may take a
university course at the University of Memphis, College of Communication & Fine Arts - there are courses
in the areas of music, tv, radio, cinema, journalism... several areas directly or undirectly related to Elvis. It
was good to know that that fund existed. Elvis managed to survive and make himself known all over the
world even without any help... Sometimes I wondered of what could have happened it the world had
never heard of Elvis...! It would be a massive tragedy, what a loss... As such, this fund helps young people
as Elvis to follow a career for which they feel they are talented. (Note: after arriving in Portugal and
receiving a letter from Gail, I found out that the Elvis’ “shadow” I saw behind the curtain on stage was,
after all, from a friend of them, who is an Elvis impersonator. His name is Ray and she sent us a photo of
him with her and Sandy).
When we went up the Graceland’s drive way by our own foot on this day, the atmosphere was different once again. As it had rained so much in the previous night (although now the sky was clear and blue
again), that Graceland’s grass was humid and the weaves of the spiders were all decorated with shinny
little drops. The scent of the wet earth and vegetation was stronger, too. Everything looked clean, as if
everything had reborn to the world... I kept picking up more leaves from the ground and we took some
more photos. The sun rose from behind the house, making the tree leaves shine in all their splendour. I
was only hoping that the photo camera would be able to capture all those shades and lights... The sun
rising over Elvis’ pool was also very beautiful. Once it rose, it started to become hotter. That was always a
constant thing - whether it rained or the sun shined, the heat was there... When we were coming down, I
asked Sandra to take a photo of Graceland’s wall from the inside before getting out to the Elvis Presley
Boulevard. At the time, she didn’t understand the interest of that photo, she said it would be just a photo
with trees and leaves and nothing of interest. But I had photos of Elvis riding horses exactely on that spot
and I wanted to have a photo of that place to compare afterwards. As if fate knew, we saw some Sean
Shaver’s photos for sale at the Elvis’ shops riding horses on that spot. Sandra was astonished...! She kept
saying, looking at Elvis on his horse, that the photos seemed to have been taken the previous week and
not almost 30 years ago...! And it was true. Now she could compare. I was going to put them together
when my souvenir written album would be made by me, I thought to myself.
We didn’t have any plans for this day. The week of celebrations was over and, with it, the programmed
events by our club and Graceland. By one hand it was good, since we could slow down a bit. But on the
other hand, it was also sad. For instance, there were lots of people from our group that went away to
Hawaii on this day - around 300 people. Around 400 returned to their homes and we stayed in Memphis
with around 200 people of our group. I suggested a Mississippi ride, to see if we could sail in one of those
boats, but Sandra and Lu didn’t feel in the mood for it.
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As such, we went to have lunch at Shoney’s and strolled on the Elvis Presley Boulevard, simply lazzing our
time away. We went inside every shop, for a change. I bought a black and golden beads neckless, with
the letters TCB. It was nice. We went to visit the Sincerely Elvis Museum again. And it was at the entrance
of that museum that we met that man with the hippy look with whom we had talked one night before
going inside Graceland and the old lady started preaching against Elvis. He and his son came to greet us.
The father exclaimed, when he saw us, “I’m so glad I found you, girls...! Since that night that I’ve been
trying to find you to say good bye.” They were from Nashville and were leaving on that day. The father’s
name was Ebby James and his son was Ebby James, Jr. We came to know that the father was the founder
of the Elvis Country Fan Club of Nashville (founded in 1971) and its president. Jr. was vice-president, he
was born in 1970, so, he had exactely my own age. It was here that we found out that Ebby James saw
Elvis live 67 times...! And Jr. also saw him a few times. In fact, his father told us a funny story. He said that
when Jr. was just 2 months old, he wanted Elvis to see him and managed for him to stop while he was
leaving the hotel before going to a concert. It was raining and Elvis kissed Jr.’s cheek and said, “I just hope
the little fella doesn’t get wet.” Sandra was so thrilled with the story that she touched Jr.’s face and
everything...! And believe it or not, Jr. went to his first Elvis’ concert when he was 2 months old. Another
story that we found quite interesting was to
know that Ebby James was one of the first fans
starting the candle vigil ceremony in 1978. “Do
you remember the story they told here the other
night about the small group of fans that
gathered here at the gates? I was one of them,
we were just around 15 people.” Wow... that was
important! At least, to me, was very important.
We asked them to take a photo with us. They
were happy to satisfy our wish.
Sandra wanted to keep their fan club’s address,
since she always considered important to
become member of an American fan club. We
also talked about the concert, they had been
there and they said it was the closest thing to an
Elvis live concert. We discussed the possibility of
this show to go on tour around the world. We
agreed it would be kind of utopic, considering
the age of all the musicians and singers. Some of
them, as J.D. Sumner, who has diabetes, had
health problems. Scotty had arthritis. The only
young person of the group is Elvis. We talked
about the virtual Elvis that we hear it’s being
already prepared. I don’t agree to that, since
although that Elvis can have his image, his look
and even his voice, it could never be him. It will
never have his soul or his feelings. So, it won’t be
Elvis and that’s not interesting to me. But Ebby
said something that schocked me a little, “Well,
as long as they don’t play with DNA, everything’s
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okay.” Yep, it has already been discussed doing an Elvis clone. Dear me, that is really too much...! I have
the creeps just thinking about it.
After saying good bye, we visited the Car Museum for the second time. I entered in one of the shops at
Graceland Plaza and stared at the video cassette that was for sale about Graceland. Sandra wanted to buy
it, but I had said it wasn’t worth it. The VCR system at the States is different than ours, but they had this
cassette for our system, too. However, after picking up the cassette and read the description of its
contents, I realized it had many unreleased footage on Elvis and his family and it was that that made me
change my mind and made me buy it, since it was very expensive. I offered to give it to Sandra and Lu for
them to tape it, but they also wanted to buy another original between them both. And after this, we
really felt tired... “What about going home?” we said almost at the same time. And that’s what we did.
We went home and we immediately found out that the souvenir shop near the elevator wasn’t open
anymore, they were packing everything in order to leave, too... At the time I found it sad as everything. I
mean, it was almost as if Elvis was just important from the 11th till the 16th of August and then, that was
it. We went up and spread on the beds, watching some TV. I even took the biographical book on Priscilla
and read a few lines, but I was so tired. I wasn’t the only one, since Sandra was the first one to fall asleep.
When I saw that nobody was watching TV, I switched off, undressed and went to bed. It was around 6.00
p.m. We slept and slept... and only woke up around 9.00 a.m. of the following day. I think that not even
an earthquake would wake us up on that day... We couldn’t beat the tiredness.
18th of August - Monday
We woke up with that crazy feeling of having done something that we shouldn’t... And, after all, we had
just dropped due to the tiredness and had recovered some of our strengths that had been lost over the
last 10 days. Yep, 10 days had already gone by... Well, what were we going to do today? Memphis was
ours and the rest of the time too, so, it was just get out of there and adventure, here we come. Where
would we go? Graceland, of course! We thought about having lunch at a different place...
Elvis Presley’s Memphis Restaurant
Of course we couldn’t let the visit of this restaurant from the inside go by, as well as having a meal there.
Off we went to Beale Street, once again. This day was unusually hot - more than usual! - but, even so, the
ever present black men were sitting in the benches that surrounded the square, under the sun and
everything... I don’t know, maybe they’re used to it already! That added to the picturesque look of the
street, which was a different street from all the streets I had walked in before. While we were walking by, I
glanced to the black men who were lazily sitting and doing nothing and heard one of them say, “Hey,
honey, you oughta be a movie star!” I don’t know if the compliment was being addressed to me or not,
but as I had glanced, maybe it was.
We kept walking up, towards the restaurant with the beautiful red façace and its logo of Elvis rocking in
the 50’s. It went really well with the statue on the other side of the street. The girl who was sitting at a
computer at the entrance of the restaurant, outside, informed us that we would have to wait for a
moment and handed us a beep. She informed me that as soon as our place was available, the beep
would ring. Only I couldn’t go faraway, since I just had around two minutes to go to my table. Our beep
was number 48, which corresponded to the table with the same number. I couldn’t help feeling
surprised with the organisation. This way, crowds of customers at the entrance were avoided, they could
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well visit some shops nearby instead of being there, with nothing to do. However... as we felt curious to
see the restaurant on the inside, we decided to get in. We had heard so many things - that it had so
many Elvis’ belongings displayed on the walls, several photos and artifacts by the fans, that we didn’t
resist.
The entrance had some very inviting and comfortable sofas, where we sat for a while. I looked around me
and noticed that only on that room 8 big TV sets could be seen, placed in strategic spots, always showing
Elvis footage or other footage that had to do with him. It could be ads, movies’ excerpts where he was
briefly mentioned, etc... These snippets lasted for around 15 minutes, when the footage was replaced for
the logo of the restaurant for other 15 minutes. This made sense and, as the restaurant was Priscilla’s and
Lisa’s idea, I presume the TV sets thing was, too. It’s well done, since the customers could watch Elvis and
it’s never tiring. At the same time, although it’s just a few images, they are very well selected and you
always feel compelled to look. Considering that the customers of the restaurant are fans and non Elvis
fans, it was a smart move.
We decided to explore the place, just to see. Sandra was feeling a bit embarassed for doing it, but that’s
already an expected attitude by all the restaurant’s personnel. We went to the first floor. Oh, I take the
chance to say that the restaurant has capacity for 330 people. While we were going up the stairs, we
could enjoy many of the portraits displayed there, made by Elvis’ fans and sent to him. Some were nice,
some not that nice. Maybe if I sent one of my drawings to Priscilla, she would put it in display in one of
her restaurants... who knows? Upstairs is one of the most important Elvis’ belongings - his jumpsuit from
the 70’s, the Dragon Suit. It’s in a glass case, near a table. I asked Sandra to photograph it, but she was
only able to do it from faraway, since she was ashamed to got closer...! The magnificent and enormous
chandelier that looked closer from up there (the first floor goes around the walls, a kind of balcony, and
the center is completely occupied by the chandelier) was an exact replica of Graceland’s chandelier which
was at the top of the stairs that led to Elvis’ bedroom, only it was much bigger. It had been a nice touch.
There was also a piano room and a pool table. We went down.
We went to the basement. Down there was much peaceful and as there were no tables, we wondered if
we could be there...! It seemed more like a conference place to me, although everything was open. Two
things that I really enjoyed seeing were there. One was a photo of Elvis’ parents that I had never seen
before. I liked the photo so much (they were both still very young and slim) that I asked Sandra to take a
photo for me. And right in front of that photo was a glass case over a table which contained a small
replica of the house in Tupelo, the shack Vernon had built.
We went up again. We went to our table. The service was excellent. The employees were all very young,
white and black, with a nice and simple black and white uniform, similar to the one the Graceland’s staff
wore. We sat at a round table, surrounded by a round sofa that was very comfortable. We were
immediately given a menu, which I loved and thought, “I just wanted to take one of these home with
me...!” The dishes, on the contrary to what I had read before in some awful news, which said that that
restaurant only had junk food for idiots who were Elvis’ fans, were quite varied. There were quite normal
dishes and, then, there were some that were Elvis’ favourites. Those came marked with a sign. Although I
seldom eat junk food, I love that food. And I thought, “Since I’m here, I’m going to eat something that
Elvis liked, just to know how it tastes like!” We all chose the famous peanet butter and banana sandwich.
Of course that when they brought it to the table, they didn’t come “alone”...! It was an enormous plate
with chips and sauces to go with it. When I’ve taken the first bite, I was astonished for enjoying the taste
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so much. I had never tasted peanet butter before, but as I love peanuts and butter, I knew I should enjoy
it...! I also knew, through Elvis, that the butter was very sticky to the teeth and gums... Well, well...
sometimes it looks more or less like glue! You have to chew it quite well before swallow it. But I liked the
flavour, Lu also enjoyed it, but Sandra thought differently...! For dessert (yes, the snack had almost been a
lunch) we ordered Gladys Apple Pie, which was Elvis’ mother recipe. We could never imagine that they
would bring us a big plate with a big slice of pie and, to top it off, two ice cream balls...! That’s why Elvis
loved his mother’s sweets so much... the pie was hot, it tasted like cinammon and with the icecream on
top of it, I’m telling you... it was delicious...! It looked more like the whole pie and not just a slice.
While I was eating, I kept observing the surroundings and the footage on the TV sets. I really enjoyed the
little and cosy stage in the middle of the room. It is there that some singers and groups perform at night.
The stage is decorated with a beautiful curtain that looked like made of blue velvet to me. In the center
stage is a screen that comes down and goes up, it depends if Elvis is on or not on the TV sets. The curtains,
everytime Elvis is singing, they “shine” with some beautiful and little colored stars that change its color. I
just wished the camera would be able to capture that almost magical transformation... While I was sitting
there, I also saw a snippet of an episode of a series that I absolutely love - The X-Files. And that excerpt was
about Elvis. We could see Mulder with Elvis’ sunglasses talking with Scully and they are in Memphis trying
to solve something connected to Elvis. As I have recorded every episode of the first series and I haven’t
seen that scene yet, I presume it’s in the last series. I can’t hardly wait...!
After the quiet meal to the sound of our King singing and dancing, we went to the first floor once again
to photograph the table where we had been. I also took the chance to go to the stand that was selling
some souvenirs to buy a very cute pin with the restaurant’s logo and Elvis singing (the same of the façade
of the restaurant) and a menu. Everything was put inside a lovely paper bag with the same image. It was
there that I also put the pin that the employee had given me when we sat down. A nice touch.
We got out and went down Beale Street to catch the bus at 4.00 p.m. to the hotel. But it wasn’t that time
yet and I think I saw the bus turning in the corner of the next quarter. As we waited for around 15 minutes
and the bus didn’t show up, one of the ladies that was also with us waiting and who belonged to our
group, went to phone call the hotel and ask for another bus. It was the first time that something like this
happened. And I was really hoping the bus would arrive quickly, since the heat was awful and unmerciful.
In the shadow or standing in the sun, the difference was minimum. And I also didn’t feel very comfortable
standing in a corner of Beale Street, with several people staring at me. One good thing that was always
happening was the regular rounds that the police cars did to the streets. One car passed us by two times
while we were there for around half an hour. The firemen passed us by too, driving slowly while Lu filmed
them and they said good bye, smiling. When the bus arrived and we got inside, the cool air-conditioning
felt like cheer heaven to us...!
We arrived at the hotel and went straight to Graceland. Today we were going to visit the mansion again.
Third visit inside Graceland
One of the good things in visiting Graceland during one of the last guided tours was being able to get
inside still during the day and leave almost at night. Yes, since we always took around two hours inside,
without noone rushing us to move quicker. Other advantage was there was few people.
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There we went, up the drive way inside one of those shuttle buses and, when we arrived and had to hand
our tickets out, guess who was collecting them? Jeff! Oh, my God... I swear I was becoming embarrassed...
it was the same guy from the Bijou theater and who also had collected our tickets on the 16th. From what
I could see, that was his shift and we were always visiting Graceland at the same hour. He stared at us,
smiled and remarked, “Well, I think the best thing to do would be to get you a weekly pass, girls...!” I
found it funny and had to laugh myself, but I ran fast inside the house, to stay away from his astonished
look. Really, even for someone who works daily in Graceland, it must be a little difficult to understand
how can someone visit the same house so many times. Could it be possible that once wasn’t enough...?
Of course it wasn’t enough. Up until now, it had always been different. I had always seen and felt different
things. This time I truly felt as if that was “my” environment, as if I was, as we say, in my cloud nine. I took
a single photo inside this time. It was standing at Graceland’s door, underneath the porch and standing
against one of the columns. I placed my hands in the column, to feel that warm temperature similar to a
living being and took one of the photos that I would love for sure. On our way out, I asked Sandra to take
me another photo standing by the gates. Those gates would be well captured in those films...! The gates
were already closed when we left, since the week of celebrations had ended and, true to their word, the
gates were closed at the usual hour of every other day of the year, i.e., a few minutes after 6.00 p.m. when the visits end. Other difference was Elvis’ parents bedroom - it was closed too, since it was open just
during the week of celebrations.
We found Anne Nixon, who told us that she had had a very different day. She had gone to visit the place
where Gladys and Elvis had been put before Graceland, at the Forest Hill Cemetery. She said that she
entered the mausoleum where Elvis was put and she felt really strange inside. I can imagine...! Then they
took the chance to visit uncle Vester’s grave, who passed away this year in February, and who was buried
there. Then they also visited the Circle G - the ranch Elvis bought in 1967. And, last but not least, they
visited Vernon Presley’s house. She
commented that Vernon’s house was close
by. “It’s just around the corner, isn’t it?” I
asked. “Yes, it’s over there at Dolon Drive.”
We decided to check for ourselves, since we
could not see the other places. You had to
have a car, which was Ann’s case, who had
gone with some friends. I took the chance to
ask her if she had started reading the
biographical book on Priscilla. She said she
didn’t, but that she had found the
writer/journalist Bill E. Burk (I had already
bought at the Plaza another one of his books)
and she asked him why in the world Priscilla
had allowed that book to be sold at the
Graceland’s shops if it contradicted
everything that she had always said? “And he
said that Suzzane Finstad (the writer) has
documents signed by Priscilla declaring that
everything that she told the writer is true (the
writer confronted Priscilla in May last year
and recorded all the interviews). Like this, she
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cannot sue the writer.” Okay, but it remained to be explained the reason why she had authorized its
selling at the Graceland’s shops. I think it will always be something that I won’t understand... Even more
now, since I’ve already finished reading the book. Priscilla must have felt furious...! But according to the
book and to what the well known writer, Bill E. Burk, (he even sent me an e-mail about this subject and
everything), the book is factual and Suzzane did an excellent research job.
Vernon Presley’s House
We kept walking along Graceland’s wall, reading the written messages and slowly strolling. There still was
some daylight, but the night was coming soon. What I most recollect from this walk is the way the bugs
and the birds sang in the trees and bushes of Graceland... My God, everything seemed so alive in that
place...! Even Elvis himself.
We went around the corner and started going up Dolan Drive. I just knew that Vernon’s house was all
white, it was the only reference. I also didn’t recall the number of the door, but I was hoping I would
remember as soon as I’d see it. And that’s what happened. We found a white house, with the number
1266 in the mailbox and it was really that one. That was the house where Priscilla had been sent before
moving definitely to Graceland to live with Elvis when she was 17. It had been in there that Vernon had
lived with Dee for so many years. After his divorce, Vernon continued to live in there, up until his death, in
1979. We filmed a bit of the environment of that street. The houses had just one story, a porch and a lawn
around them. There were several people cutting grass in their lawns. Most of the cars were parked
underneath a porch and not inside a garage, as we see in Portugal. Some black little boys passed us by
playing around and greeted us. Just like the adults did. That was a kind of behavior that was learned from
a very young age.
We walked lazily back, passing once again in front of Graceland’s wall and enjoying the beauty of the
trees, now lighted with the single colored lights at their feet. We were going to have dinner at Shoney’s.
We passed by Graceland Crossing and were sad to see that the usual concerts and singing weren’t
happening anymore. As the week of celebrations had ended, the same had happened to the shows... It
was so different, when we compared the previous week with this one...! Even when we arrived at
Shoney’s, the usual confusion of people wasn’t there and we were immediately escorted to a table. I also
noticed that there weren’t signs about Elvis on the doors and walls anymore and that the part of the
restaurant that was decorated with Elvis’ portraits and photos, had been closed by a sort of partition. It
was good to experience those differences... apparently, during the rest of the year around Graceland,
without counting with the month of January, the surroundings were kind of dead. Gail and Sandy had
told me that they had been in Memphis three times. One of those times had been in July and the
difference was amazing, although it was just a month before August.
We had a quiet meal and chatted over the many things we had already seen and experienced in Memphis.
When we left, there was not much to do. We walked by the Elvis Presley Boulevard a little and decided to go
back to the hotel. Now, that we could no longer visit Graceland at night, we wanted to visit it every morning
of the days that we still had and, by chance, it was convenient that we went to bed earlier than usual.
We boarded the bus and the driver was another men I had never seen before. But Lu already knew him
and told us a funny story about him. His name was James, he was black and very fat...! When he laughed,
it looked like a mountain of gelly was trembling with his laughs...! He was loads of fun. At the first time Lu
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had travelled in a bus with him driving, she had thanked him for the safe drive home, but added that,
“Oh, but I love Gladys,” to which James replied, “Stick around, baby, and you’ll get to love me, too!” On
this night, James decided to start a conversation with me. Imagine about what? About fishing! I don’t
understand a thing about fishing, but had to maintain a conversation quite long about the times I had
fished before, what had I fished, what were the fishes that we could fish in Portugal, etc... Lu just laughed.
Then that Scottish lady who talked real fast and who we could hardly understand, showed up at the door
of the bus and asked, in her accent, if it was going to Ramada. James replied, “Quit fussing, woman! Of
course it’s going to Ramada, I haven’t done other thing every day!” Then he started complaining that he
had trouble in understanding the English, so, he always told them yes for everything. but when we were
already on our way home, it was really funny. As I told you before, the streets are not as lighted as ours
and, in certain spots, it’s really black. We were just arriving at the end of the Elvis Presley Boulevard when
a person riding a bicycle showed up, but going in the wrong direction, close to the edge of the road.
There was no sidewalk in that place, just the road and the grass beside it. It could be dangerous and I’ve
commented, “What in the hell is he doing there?” And James replied, “Beats me! I didn’t see him
rightaway!” “I wonder where did he come from?” I added. “Oh, that I know,” James answered, “he came
from Africa. Can’t you see how dark he is? I know he’s from Africa, ‘cause I’m from Africa, too.” After
bursting out another laugh, he said, “I can’t understand them either... they have quite an accent, you
know...!” Then he started immitating the Chinese speaking English and even speaking in their language...
Well, you had to be there to see how funny all of that was. I laughed so much, my facial muscles were
sore and I thanked God we were home already.
At the hotel, Dad’s Place, the pub, was also strangely quiet and all the information related to the week of
celebrations had been removed at the reception area, except for the timetables of the buses that were still
working until the 21st. Sandra was needing to buy some things to eat and we went together to the
supermarket close by. I bought a lemon Gatorade. I loved that drink, it was a pity it wasn’t sold in
Portugal. Now I understood why Elvis liked it so much - it really killed the thirst, much more than ice
water. There was a man at the supermarket we had never seen before, who asked us where were we from.
When we said it was from Portugal, he yelled, “Oh, but you’re practically Italian!” He was Italian and, by
chance, he was also the owner of the supermarket. He went to fetch us two Pepsi covers that entitled us
to collect free drinks at the counter. He was very nice...! Sandra also decided to buy a Cherry Coke, since
we had heard so much about it in the movies. But when we tasted it... Ugh! We immediately threw it
away, none of us enjoyed that taste - it tasted like a medicine, but a bad one.
After taking a delicious shower, I went to bed to read my book on Priscilla. It was being quite interesting,
although quite sad, too. The story of her family, of her real father, etc... was really sad, but it was also a
lovely love story - the love between her mother and her father, which lasted so little, since he died on a
plane crash when Priscilla was just 5 months old. Priscilla’s mother was bride, wife, mother and widow
everything in the same year. It must have been quite difficult for her.
19th of August - Tuesday
We woke up quite early and went to have a fine breakfast at Shoney’s. I almost had lunch with all that
wonderful food, so delicious and rich in colestrol and calories... It didn’t surprise me that Elvis and his
friends were always putting on some weight. It’s practically impossible to resist that food. I thought I
wouldn’t be able to eat all that stuff in the morning, but I changed my mind very quickly. If I stayed a
month there, I would put on weight as everything...
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When we left, we didn’t have plans, so we visited all the shops, looking for something that we might have
missed...! Curiously, the only difference we noticed was that, after many fans left the town, the shelves
were practically empty. It was incredible the speed with which all those products had disappeared... it
frightened me a bit.
We went out again and were heading for Graceland Plaza to visit the planes for the second time, when
my eyes spotted something quite beautiful and different: it was the van with its trailer that had passed us
by on that night that was raining and we hid beneath a tree - all pink, with lovely paintings on Elvis all
around it. It was parked on the other side of Elvis Presley Boulevard, the same side where Graceland is and
of course we crossed it fast...! I was very pleased for, after all, having the opportunity of shooting that fine
example of an Elvis tribute by fans that should be a bit crazy, too. When we got near, we were even more
astonished! It really had the same sentence written in every side, saying “A Tribute to Elvis Presley”. One
of the sides was dedicated to the movies, other to the 70’s and the concerts, the trailer itself had a
painting of the TCB logo and the back had a painting of Elvis and Priscilla’s marriage. There were several
musical notes and a Lisa Marie flying in a blue sky with white and fluffy clouds... After photographing that
fine example of idolatry, that’s where we headed - to the planes, I mean!
This visit just had a funny and irritating aspect. This time, the fan detector at the airport before boarding
the Lisa Marie didn’t ring when I passed by it... Well, well! Could it be that that crazy machine didn’t see
that I was a real fan...? You should have seen me, jumping back and forth, to see if that thing rang...! The
“passangers” that were behind me laughed, but when I saw that that the darn thing wasn’t ringing with
anyone, I wasn’t scared anymore and presumed it was broken.
The time went by quickly, we went to have lunch, returned to Gracleand Plaza and stayed sitting there,
just lazing around... I went to fetch a few panflets about Graceland and Elvis, which I was intending to
distribute by some fans when I returned to Portugal. I was only sorry I couldn’t take more, but I was
already so heavy and without space in my bags.. However, I would write to Graceland after returning to
Portugal to ask for catalogs and leaflets. Maybe they would send them and, that way, we could distribute
them by all our members. While we were sitting there, a boy came to me after he was standing for a
while next to the safe deposits at the Plaza, to put some stuff in there that he didn’t want to carry. He
asked me if I had change of a dollar, since the safes just work with coins. The boy was so cute...! He had
dark brown hair, with a quiff (kind of messed up), his eyes were deep green, he didn’t have anything that
made him look like an Elvis fan, except for the quiff and the sideburns. He also had an athletic body. His
accent was strange and I asked him where he was from while I looked for four dimes in my wallet. He said
he was Finnish. Sandra and Lu also found him attractive and wanted to photograph him. After asking him
if we could, he said yes and Sandra took the chance... And off he went, walking away, with his beautiful
jeans full in the right measure...! Lu also filmed him a bit while we were sitting drinking another delicious
chocolate milk-shake and he passed us by again.
Visit inside Graceland for the fourth time
As it was becoming usual, we bought our visit tickets for the tour of 5.10 p.m. It was the best hour,
without a doubt. This time we were going prepared to shoot everything that we hadn’t done yet. There
seemed to be little things left, but I think that if we had taken more films, we would have spent them
anyway. By this time we were in our 14th film already...! We had also developed two films in Memphis one from outsides and another from insides, to see if they were coming out okay. If they hadn’t, we still
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had the chance to photograph
everything again while we were there.
But it was not the case...! Both outsides
and insides photos came out better
than we were expecting. The photos
were the smallest size they had, since
we didn’t want to spend much money.
The developing there was quite
expensive. But then we also noticed
that it had much more quality than the
ones developed in Portugal. Sandra
explained that that was due to the fact
that, there, the Kodak studios were the
real thing and not the ones that we
have in Portugal.
Well, but moving on. Off we went
inside the bus up the drive way
again...! There was just a few people
and that felt good, for a change. When
we got up there, for instance, there
wasn’t any group standing and
waiting to get inside, neither groups
concentrated
anywhere.
But...
someone was there. Guess who? Jeff,
of course... I don’t know how I was
brave enough to pass him by once
again. I just laughed and didn’t even looked up at him, who was just shaking his head...!
From the little group of people (I think we weren’t 10 in total), we were the last ones to go inside. We always
did this and it’s also a smart move, in my opinion. And it was such a rewarding feeling, to go inside Elvis’
house and find myself there, in the hall, with the living-room to my right side and the dinning-room to the
left side, with noone else around me...! I felt so good, so at home, that I stood holding the door’s knob,
before closing it behind me, for a few moments. How many times had Elvis touched that knob...? Then I
asked Sandra to take me a photo right there, to capture that moment of such privacy and quietness inside
the house of our beloved Elvis. Behind me was a picure with a photo of Lisa when she was two years old and
a mirror, and everything looked so familiar to me... I only hoped that the photo would come out as good as
the others. I wandered in the house, I moved back and forward, as I pleased, without feeling watched in any
way (although the surveillance cameras were always there!) and even sat in one of the stools Elvis had at the
bar, in the basement, in the TV room and was photographed again in that spot. What gave me more
pleasure was to touch everything when there were signs everywhere saying not to do it...! Oh heck, noone
was reprehending me and just a little touch wasn’t going to damage either the stool or the bar...!
When we arrived at the Jungle Room, I stood there for quite a while. It was my favourite room and it felt so
good, to stand there, against that kind of open window-still that was facing the fountain in one of the ends
of the room. And, before going out to the backyard, I noticed for the first time that the carpet that was
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covering the floor, the walls and the ceiling in that room was a bit of a bad shape around the door. One of
the threads of the green carpet was longer than the others and I held it just to feel it. It was loose... I didn’t
think twice, pulled it a bit and kept it inside my hand...! I left with my hand closed and a feeling of having
commited a crime of some sort and, at the same time, of carrying a treasure with me... it was a piece of the
Jungle Room’s carpet...! It seemed impossible to believe it. The same room that I had only seen in pictures
and in books that I had at home, now I was carrying a little piece of that room in my hand... I wanted to see
the color of the carpet at day light, since inside the lights were always so dim (Jungle Room is the “darkest”
room of all the house). And when I was able to do it, I saw it was a very bright green, almost like the lettuce
green and it surprised me. I held it in my hand again, since a guard was standing right at the entrance of
Elvis’ office, in front of me, and I didn’t want her to see me doing anything of suspicious. As such, I didn’t
put the thread in my moonbag either. While I was walking towards the office, I recalled the images of Elvis
entering that same door, to be interviewed after coming back from the army. I had to have a photo taken in
there. I also took another overlooking the opposite direction, which captured a bit of Graceland seen from
the back, of the Jungle Room seen on the outside. In both pictures it is clear to see that I have a close fist,
where I am also holding the sign that we have to put around the neck with the indication that we are not
carrying any audio equipment. I had taken it out because I didn’t want to stay in all the pictures with that
“neckless” around my neck. As I was afraid of dropping the thread of carpet in the ground, I didn’t put the
sign around my neck again for the rest of my visit and was carrying both things at the same time in my
hand. With the hand I had free, I kept picking more tree leaves to give to my Elvis’ friends.
Inside the Trophy Room we decided to photograph the beautiful Elvis’ painting with me standing in front
of it, just to have a clear idea of its dimensions. When I left the room, instead of going inside de gymn - to
once again feel surprised with all those gold and platinum records - I sat in the steps and stood there,
alone, thinking and looking to the pool, so blue and lovely... I was really lost in my thoughts and
thousands of miles away. But this distance was in terms of time and not in terms of place, because I was
standing exactely in the place I wanted to... if only I could go back in time, too...! While I was looking
ahead, seeing Elvis laughing, with his red bathing suit on and a T-shirt, so the sun wouldn’t burn his fair
skin, diving and playing in the pool...
- Hi there!!! How ya’all doin’?
I swear I jumped! The image in my mind was gone and, in front of me, was standing a security guard of
Graceland, who had jumped from behind the fence and the steps where I was sitting. She was talking
very loud and was all smiles. I stood up, since, for a few moments, I thought she was going to tell me I
couldn’t be sitting there.
- So? Were you reminiscing? - she asked. I nodded yes. - So, sit right back. Reminisce as much as you want
and take your time. Don’t hurry. We just want you to enjoy every moment here in Graceland, that you
have fun and a safe journey back home...!
Meanwhile, Sandra had come out too and it was very hard for her to believe this character. Because she
was so nice, it looked exaggerated...! But I think she was being honest. I sat back again, this time with
Sandra, who photographed the pool and we waited for Lu.
We visited the rest and we took our time. I sat in the little well’s place again, near the Meditation Garden,
trying to capture in my mind all the moments I had passed in there, since I didn’t know when was I going
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to be back. When we left, the gates were already closed. There was a nice gentleman who photographed
us three standing in front of the gates. I also did something I hadn’t done before because there was so
many people around the place in the previous week. I sat on the ground against the closed gates, the
ground was still hot although it was dark already. Only after Sandra took me a photo I realized that the
ground was full of bugs that walked around the place as if it belonged to them...! Needless to say that I
got up quicker than I sat down. It was no wonder we were all bitten...!
When we were crossing the street to the other side, a men with a bag on his back was giving CD’s away
to the people passing by. I asked him if it was really given. He said yes and gave one to Sandra and Lu,
too. It was a CD by him singing two tribute songs to Elvis. “It was done with love...!” he said. Even without
listening to it, I believed him.
Lu and Sandra went inside a shop at the Plaza to see if there were more video cassettes on Graceland, but
with no luck. At the counter, on that day, was stading a very cute boy. We could tell he was still very
young. We started commenting how cute he was and then it was a big surprise. He came to us and
started talking with a Brazilian accent, but he talked very well...! I had already noticed that his name was
Mario and I even had thought to myself, “Where can he be from?” Then we found out his father was
Italian, but he had already lived in Brazil and that’s why he spoke Portuguese. He thought it was very
funny, the way we pronounced the words in a different way... But he knew how to pronounce them in
both languages. He also took the chance to practice a little, since he was making plans to return to Brazil
soon. We took advantage of his niceness and asked him if we could take a photo of the big poster of Elvis’
face that was enhancing one of the shop’s walls. He felt a little uncomfortable... he explained it was
forbidden for copyright reasons, etc. But he signaled us to take it fast, since noone was seeing. Sandra did
her job very quickly. The poster was really BIG and lovely...!
We went to have dinner, and, on our way to Shoney’s, we saw Jamie. We hadn’t seen him for a few days.
He was dressed as a civilian, since he wasn’t working. We talked for a while and while I was there I must
have been bitten around 20 times by hundreds of mosquitos that were concentrated in there. Jamie
looked like he couldn’t care less. I asked him how in the world he could take that...! He laughed and asked
me if I was wearing any perfume. I told him I was. “So that’s it. You should never wear perfume. I just use
my deodorant and, even so...” While I was looking in my moonbag, I noticed just then that I didn’t have
my thread of carpet anymore...! How awful...! I should have lost it, either inside Graceland or when I
handed the no audio equipment sign to the girl on my way out of the bus. Probably it should have been
there, since I had always carried both things in the same hand. Sandra suggested for me to go back and
try to find it. I just said, “Are you crazy? With that guy who is always cleaning every microscopic garbage
he can find? I don’t have a chance!” I laughed, although I could kick myself...! I had to go back again and
try to take another thread. Sandra had also taken one out, even if it was much smaller than mine. In a
solidarity move, she told me that if I couldn’t take another one out, she would share hers with me...
But, in the middle of all that fuss, I found something in the moonbag that I had already forgotten: the jay’s
feather I had found in Graceland. I took it and Jamie asked me what it was. I explained that I had picked it
up right from the Graceland’s entrance rug, between the columns. And he said, “Keep it with you. It brings
good luck.” I had never heard of such a thing, but I was going to keep it anyway. Meanwhile, a lady
gathered us and I presumed she was Jamie’s mother, but I never got to know that. She saw how bothered
I was with the mosquitos and said: “Here the mosquitos will eat you up.” I had already noticed that...! After
saying good bye, we went to have dinner. There was a few things to do after that, since even the shops
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were already closed - they close at 8.00 p.m. We went home. It was with a great feeling of sadness that I
started packing up my things in my bags... next day, as hard as it was to believe, was going to be our last
day in Memphis. We had to take total advantage of it. To try not to think about it, I went to bed and
grabbed my book on Priscilla’s life, which I was finding so interesting, before going to sleep.
20th of August - Wednesday
After taking a pleasant morning shower, we went to have breakfast at Shoney’s and visit Graceland still
during the morning period when it’s open and you can walk and visit the grounds and the gravesite
without having to pay. After that visit, we made the usual round to every shop. I bought a few last items
to offer and a book for being so cheap - Life With Elvis, by David Stanley. I was totally convinced I wasn’t
going to like the book, but it was so cheap, I decided to buy it anyway.
Visit inside Graceland for the fifth and the last time
After having lunch, we didn’t have much to do. And as almost anybody was around, we didn’t wait for
the end of the afternoon to visit Graceland and went inside at 3.45 p.m. On this day, we even didn’t take
the cameras, since we had already taken all the pictures we wanted. The truth was that we didn’t have
much photos to take either...! And I had the task of trying to pull out another thread of carpet from the
Jungle Room. Today was going to be my last chance. I had prepared for that. I knew that the carpet was
stuck to everything with lots of glue and the threads weren’t easy to pull out. The first I had pulled was
loose, but it had been the only one. At least, that’s what it looked like at the time, and there was no way
for me to stay there pulling all the threads to see if there was another one loose, too! So, I had cut my
finger nails completely, so it would be easy to pull one thread out. And I had also calculated that the best
place to do it would be while climbing up the stairs, after visiting the basement. Over there there weren’t
any cameras and no security guards used to be there either. So I did. But I tell you - my fingers burned,
but I pulled another thread out! And this time I put it immediately inside my moonbag...! Sandra,
although she had pulled a thread out too, felt quite bad about it. Really, it shouldn’t be done, but... I
didn’t agree with her when she asked me for not telling anybody, since it was a sign of fanatism. It could
be fanatism, according to lots of people (and I even could agree to that), but I wasn’t ashamed to tell it...!
I didn’t spent much time close to Elvis’ grave this time. I felt very sorry for not being able to visit the place
at night anymore, but I was going to be one of the first people getting inside in the following morning.
Our leaving to the airport was around 1.00 p.m. And I wanted to say good bye. But I wanted to be alone.
21st of August - Thursday
Farewell to Elvis and Graceland
I got up at 5.30 a.m., hurried myself and left alone, to catch the bus at 6.00 to Graceland. I wanted to catch
that bus, because it was the first one. I was feeling so sad... to think it was the last time I was going on that road
- something I had done countless times during my stay in Memphis. Inside the bus were just 3 other people.
I was one of the first people entering the grounds on that day. Incidently, the song Elvis was singing when
I went up, was Are You Sincere? The lyrics impressed me, “Are you sincere, when you say you love me...?”
I didn’t have to answer that question... It was a very peaceful morning, with a clear sky and Graceland
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seemed more beautiful than ever to me, up in the hill, so magestic... although I was feeling sad, the peace
embraced me once again. What could it be? What could that place have that always made me feel so at
peace with myself...? The oak trees, some with hundred years old, were so impressive and beautiful... I
walked slowly to the Meditation Garden. I was pleased to find out that only around 5 people were there.
Today I had gone there to be close to Elvis, just that. I sat in front of the grave, always full with flowers. I
don’t know exactely for how long I stood there, looking at his name written in the stone, speaking to him
through my mind. I must have thanked him hundreds of times for having been so wonderful, for having
made us so happy. Yes, he also had made me happy, too, although I had never met him. And he was going
to keep on making me happy because, for me, while I was living, he would live also. And while many
others like me would be living, he would live forever. I believed - as I still do - that he would live forever.
I looked ahead, to the pool, which was just on the opposite side to the Meditation Garden. It was so
peaceful, too... I reminisced again moments that Elvis had lived in there, happy, with his friends and
family. I stared at the steps where I had been sitting so many times in previous visits. Everything looked so
familiar to me now. Everything was so natural and easy to me now... Now I knew every corner of that
house where he had lived. Now it was easier for me to imagine how it must have been his life in there. My
stare moved to the leaves of the big oak trees that surround the house like a mantle. The peace I was
feeling was immense...! Suddenly, my eyes fell over a little statue of Jesus Christ that was standing near
the pool. It was a very pretty statue, that I had admired before. But today, in the morning, with the sun
rising from behind it and with the beautiful scenery of Graceland’s gardens in the background, it looked
even more beautiful... As if that could be possible, I was involved by an even greater peace... Could it be
because of that that Graceland was like that...? I recalled, suddenly, that Graceland had already been a
church. Maybe the presence of something holy was a reality in that place... it could only be that, if it was
able to instil such deep feelings of peace, even being visited by hundreds, thousands of people as it was...
“Elvis...” I thought, staring at his name on the stone again, “you loved this place. It doesn’t surprise me
one bit. It also doesn’t surprise me why you loved this town and its people so much. It was because of this
that you always came back, wasn’t it...?” I looked at a postcard that a fan had placed in there. It was half
open and it was possible to read the message written on it. It just said: “Elvis, I will be back in 1998!” I
stared at that message for a long time. Everyone wanted to return to Memphis, to Graceland... just like
him. Now I understood that SO well, it was so easy to know why...! I stood up, against my own will,
feeling a lump in my throat and I moved closer to Elvis’ grave. I reached down and touched the stone
with my fingers for a while. And it was there that I made a promise:
“Elvis, I don’t know when I’ll be able to return... but I do know that it’s not going to be in 1998. I don’t know
if it’s going to be in the following year or the next... But I promise you, I promise you that I will return one
day...!” The stone wasn’t cold, but warm, as everything else in Memphis. Even the lifeless things seemed to
have a life of their own in that place. I glanced to the stone for a few brief and last moments, “Good bye, my
friend... for now!” And I got up and moved away from there fast. I wanted to leave the garden immediately,
but I wasn’t able to do it. I sat by the pool and cried. It was from there that I saw Sandra and Lu arriving.
They were also taking their last few moments with Elvis. I got up and left the garden.
I walked towards Graceland. I sat in the stone bench where I had sat so many times before, staring at the
house for one last time. The sun was making some beautiful reflexes over the pool, since it had risen
completely now... the birds were looking for food among the leaves. The squirels continued to jump on
the ground and in the trees. The horses were lazily eating in the grounds, so close to me... Yes... life
moved on in Graceland. Graceland was alive. And wherever I would go, it would remain alive forever in
my heart.
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I went down the drive way. Elvis was singing There Goes My Everything. “Oh, there goes my only
possession, oh, there goes my everything...”. It was a very sad song and appropriate to the occasion. It
mentioned farewells, good byes... and that was what I was doing.
Departure
It was really sad to pick up my bags and leave that room that had been our home during 12 days. It was
very sad to join the silent and depressed group of fans at the hotel reception to return to our homes. Even
when I handed the electricity adaptor to John, was sad. Everything was sad.
We put the luggage inside the bus. We boarded it and sat down. Lynn told me to write my book about
the trip. “For instance, about the Elvis concert we saw... How many pages could you write just on that?”
She smiled and her blue eyes, so sparkling and young (in spite of her 70 years old) twinkled.
It was true... My God, I had so many memories that I would cherish for the rest of my life...! I had met so
many wonderful people, I had had so much fun, I had been in the city where Elvis had been born, I had
seen Elvis “live”, I had visited Graceland...! I felt SO blessed for that. I had been there...! I had made my
dream come true. It had went well beyond my every expectations. I was recalling the wet and moved
look in Sandra’s eyes when she had said, “Can you believe this, Celia...? I always dreamed about coming
to America, regardless the fact of loving Elvis. But it was him who brought me here...” And I had told her,
“Maybe it’s another thing that you have to thank him for...” And I knew that many Elvis’ fans out there
could just keep on dreaming about going there...
Half the way through to the airport, our driver, Jimmy, wanted to tell us something before leaving us at
the airport and the plane that would take us away. “I just wanted to say that you were quite welcome to
Elvis, Tennessee. It was a pleasure to meet you all. And... until the day you come back, don’t worry, I will
be taking care of Elvis for you!” We gave him a round of applause. It was true. There were many people in
that town who were taking care of Elvis, each one at their own way. I noticed that the respect for him was
immense. It was a reason to feel happy. While I was going away more and more of that dreamy place, in
my mind the one thought prevailed, “I was there... I was there.” Although it was hard to believe, it was
true. And I was taking with me many souvenirs/memories that proved it. But, without a doubt, the best
memories of all, were those that I was carrying in my heart...
Gail and Sandy had written a beautiful message on the Graceland’s wall. It said, “Thank you, Lord, Elvis
and mum, for showing us the highway.” That message could have well been written by me.
But what I had written was also very true and it would always be something that I would carry with me
forever everywhere I’d go, “You’ll always be in my heart... Thank you, Elvis! I love you. Celia. 1997.”
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