I took the first tour of the day on January 2, 2013. It was like 9:30 in the morning or something. I was the only person on the tour. Literally.
And since it was the first tour … I had the whole place to myself. I lingered. I snooped. I zoomed in.
And yes I lay down on his bed on the plane. Sue me. I was alone on that thing. Nobody behind me, nobody in front of me.
I also walked out onto the lawn to get behind the “Merry Christmas to All — Elvis” sign they always hang up from the trees – just as he hung it up back in the day, with lawn ornament reindeers underneath. I wanted to see it from the other side, from the house side looking out at the street. And so I did.
I was all by myself there. In general, I controlled myself. I didn’t touch anything I was supposed to touch. I didn’t run upstairs. You know. it’s a family home, not a museum. Yes, I did lie down on the bed, but it’s covered in plastic. Listen to me JUSTIFY.
This was my second tour – and my first tour had also been around Christmas – so I “visited” the same decorations I remembered from the first time. The salt and pepper shakers.
The terrifying monkey.
The poinsettias in the Jungle Room.
And since I didn’t have a crowd jostling around me I took as long as I wanted.
It was a cold frosty day. I stood out back looking out at the property, with all the horses – descendants of Elvis’ horses – grazing quietly, wearing blankets. You could see their breath coming out in clouds. I stood out there for half an hour, leaning on the fence, watching the horses. There wasn’t a sound.
The arms on the chair in the jungle room are scary. I do like that glass peacock thingy. Your story reminds me of Ian Hunter’s description, contained in his Diary of a Rock Star, of when he and the guys in Mott the Hoople jumped the fence at Graceland when they were on tour in Memphis for the first time. Graceland is high on my list of places I must see.
Okay catching up on old comments now after the holidays.
So many people took pilgrimages to Graceland – before it was even a tourist place – when he still freakin’ lived there! I love those stories. I think Rob Argent from the Zombies has a really good one like that.
The chairs in the Jungle Room for sure scare me – and it looks like the furniture probably comes alive at night.
I love how the place has almost been kept like Elvis could come home at any minute and find it just the way he left it. Those TVs!
Merry Christmas to you and yours, dear Sheila. I hope 2021 is your best year ever. Drop me a line. I’ll figure out this Facetime stuff yet so we can chat.
PS reading “How To Be A Movie Star” and am spending my Christmas curled up on the couch embroiled in decades-old scandals that could apply today if you just fiddled with the names of the players. Golden Age of Hollywood my ass. I hate that phrase. It’s like calling Weinstein’s reign “the Golden Age of Sexual Predation.” Ugh. We so need to talk. 💚
EMILY. We do need to talk. I finally read Say Nothing – have you? (silly question?) It was great to see Carrie and Anthony walking through those pages, speaking their truth!
speaking of Elvis’ TVs – one of the TVs in the downstairs rooms with the yellow decor – is perpetually playing Elvis’ favorite movie, Dr. Strangelove. It’s playing there right now probably!
// Golden Age of Hollywood my ass. I hate that phrase. //
It made me laugh when tabloids were busy trashing Lindsay Lohan constantly for … getting too drunk at a party? For being wild? For … partying? Really? and all of that “Hollywood today is so out of control” … I mean, let’s talk about LANA and what HER life entailed! Come on.
I will drop you a line! would love to connect!
I have fun explaining to people the experience of Graceland. You’re driving along and stop in a neighborhood and walk into someone’s house. And there you are, someone’s house. You expect someone to walk out of the bathroom with the toilet flushing, holding a newspaper.
People build it up in their head like it’s a mansion or Hearst Castle, but no. It’s a house, just one with a big driveway.
// It’s a house, just one with a big driveway. //
So true. It’s not even a museum. It’s just a house. I think people are surprised too at how small it is. Those downstairs rooms are really small! It’s very charming. And yeah, it feels like someone could just walk in from the next room holding a cup of coffee. Especially that KITCHEN.