I love the fact that Prime Minister Koizumi is a huge Elvis fan and I love our President for hauling him down to Memphis to see the Kang's house.I'm overdue for a Graceland visit myself. I've been there a number of times and I absolutely LOVE it. I love anything Elvis. Even though Priscilla tried to trash him and make us hate him in her lame autobiography, even though he was a freak, I love Elvis.
The first time I went to Graceland was in about 1970. I don't have photos, but, I do have home movies. The Biffer and Elvis made aquaintance back in about 1954 in Houston when Dad booked him on some shows there. This was before he was The King, but, was rather The Hillbilly Cat and hillbilly he was, sho nuff. Anyway, we went by and Uncle Vester took us up on the grounds and there is film documentation of me playing where Lisa Marie herself played.
The next time we went was after he died. These pictures were made either right before or after the first or second anniversary. (Note to Sister-you look way cuter in these pictures than I did. I look like a little boy whose mother wanted a girl so bad so she dressed her kid up in this ugly, blue frock. Mom was looking hot in her headgear. What's with the headgear? Sister was not happy that day. Good land, I have the same, evil smile on my face here that my kids give each other when one is in a bad mood and the other is making fun of it. Heh) ANYWAY, this was before the house was opened, but, you could stand in line for hours, walk up the driveway and walk by his grave.
I went again in 1983, not long after they started letting people in the house. I remember being so surprised with how small the house is. I mean, small in Elvis, King of Rock 'N Roll, American Icon terms. I went another time in about '87 and saw Aunt Delta taking her poodle out to potty.
Mr. Smiff and I went to Graceland on our honeymoon in December of 1989. The house decorated, as the Kang had it done, at Christmas was cool but that trip, what I remember most about it was that was the first time Mr. Smiff ever heard me fart. We only dated 6 months before we married and I had this horrendous gas around wedding time because I thought I was obese (size 8 is SO fat!) and had been drinking Slim Fast like it was going out of style. (That stuff gives ya gas, in case ya didn't know) and that morning we were going to Elvis', I let one slip and I was MORTIFIED. We got over that pretty quick and now is a main source of entertainment.
Back to the Kang....one of the things I like best about the whole Graceland tour is the airplanes and that big room that has all his clothes and trophies and stuff. The thing that got me is they had some of his tennis shoes and they were those Tretorn shoes that tennis players used to wear. They were about a size 11 or so and I remember looking at those and the shoes making me realize Elvis was a real person. He always seemed bigger than life in his capes and sideburns and what not but his shoes...the way they wrinkled from wear looked like the shoes in my Dad's closet. He was a real guy. And here all these people come traipsin' through his house, looking at his shoes. Kinda crazy when you think about it.
Oh well, I hope the Prime Minister has him a good time.
5 comments:
I KNEW it. Woman start to pass gas after you marry them. And people wonder why RUABelle and I have been happily unmarried for 15 years.
Re: Graceland. I loves me some shag carpet on the ceiling. It's like a snapshot of cool to me.
The Elvis thing has always freaked me out. He and my dad are/were the same age. They were in the Army at the same time, in Hawaii at the same time and had kids at about the same time.(They never met) When Elvis died, it really stressed me out about my dad's own mortality. I can't imagine the King puttin' around at 71 now. Of course Lisa Marie's life has turned out quite a bit different from mine as well.
The Elvis thing has always freaked me out. He and my dad are/were the same age. They were in the Army at the same time, in Hawaii at the same time and had kids at about the same time.(They never met) When Elvis died, it really stressed me out about my dad's own mortality. I can't imagine the King puttin' around at 71 now. Of course Lisa Marie's life has turned out quite a bit different from mine as well.
mama and her ever present ciggie
:-)
our moms would have been great buddies.
My dad is a gambling man. Not in the traditional sense, but he used to service coin-op recreational machines, if you know what I mean.
He also worked on jukeboxes.
When I was a kid, he tells the story of going to Graceland and fixing the Kang's jukebox. I apparently, in my small glory, went with him.
I don't remember, but its a cool story nonetheless.
Don't know if the Kang had slots, but if he did, Dad worked on them too.
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