Day 21. Graceland. Memphis TN

Day 21,  June 8.  To mile 3294.

Yesterday, we traveled from Carrollton, KY to West Memphis, AR.  West Memphis is just across the Mississippi River.  I had traveled across the Mississipi many years ago and had forgotten how majestic it is.  It is difficult to imagine that Memphis, TN is actually a port city.  In Memphis we saw the St. Jude’s Hospital for kids, a beautiful pink edifice, located on Danny Thomas Blvd.  That brought back a lot of wonderful memories of Danny Thomas, and his daughter Marlow, who married guess who?  Phil Donahue, remember him?  Once in our hotel, a very nice place called the Homegate Inn, we traveled back to Memphis TN.  The trip was only about  20 minutes but the traffic and lane changes were murderous.  We made it alive, obviously, to Graceland, Elvis’s last home and burial ground.

Graceland has always been on Jo Ann’s must-see list, which at this stage of our lives, we call a ‘bucket list.”  Elvis emerged as a star when I was about 10, and when Jo Ann had just hit her teens.  He was THE guy for girls her age, incredibly handsome, a little surly, with a great voice, tons of energy, and whatever else IT is.  He had IT.  He did not invent Rock and Roll but he sure put it on the map.  There was a huge crowd there, people of all ages and nationalities—literally from all over the world. 

Whatever you may think about Elvis, he certainly made a lot of people rich, including himself.  He was extraordinarily generous with his wealth, and treated his friends, family, and even strangers generously.  As successful as he was, I don’t think he was all that happy, despite the blast he was always trying to have.  There was something missing that the fame, money, and stuff couldn’t replace.  With that he joined so many other wonderfully talented people we have seen pass on – Janice Joplin, John Belushi, John Candy, Chris Farley, Jimmy Hendricks, John and Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Billy Holliday, Angela Houston,  Amy Winehouse, Momma Cass, Sal Mineo, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Michael Jackson, and on. 

In the gift shop you could buy all things Elvis—CDs kitchy trinkets, momentos, and books.  One book told how he was exploited throughout his life and even in his death.  You could buy the book for $21.95. 

I am happy to say Jo Ann was not disappointed. I am so happy that I was there to experience her sense of wonder as she relieved those amazing times.