About the fifth time I came to the right/wrong location, it dawned on me ... "Elvis Presley Boulevard" must have just recently been named as such ...
That, I realized, could also explain another strange thing I was seeing....
a timely repost
Down on one particular part of Presley Boulevard was a large mansion-like house with a giant .... and I do mean GIANT creche in front of it. Life size. Bigger than life size. And as gaudy as they come. This was the christmas season ... I had just spent christmas in Louisville ... so the creche made sense. But it was so big!
I have to admit my curiosity got the better of me, and at one point when I knew I needed to turn around (oriented finally to the correct direction to find my cheap hotel) I turned into the gated driveway of this mansion. When my old VW Type 4 square back pulled up into the driveway, I saw a man standing there waving at me like he new me. So I paused for a moment. And he waved me over.
Well, that was a bit strange, but what can I say. I got out of the car and walked over the the big iron gates, drawn by curiosity and drawn in by the strange man who seemed to be holding a few slips of paper. As I approached, he thrust out his hand to shake mine ... through a gap in the partly opened iron gage ... and introduced himself.
"Vesper Presley. ...." Then quiely, somberly, ".... I was his uncle...."
And with that he pressed his business card in to my hand. And closed the gate. And I drove away.
Elvis Presley died on this day, August 16th, 1977.
Although Graceland was the sight of thousands of mourners at the time of Presley's death, and later (to this day, I believe) became a major tourist attraction, I think I arrived on the scene during a lull in the action: Winter, months after the funeral, before the honky tonk shops selling plastic Elvis dolls with clocks in them set up all over the neighborhood, before the 10 anniversary, the 20th anniversary, the 30th anniversary, and so on. But Vesper was still there like a trooper greeting the faithful.
And I'm not even a fan, really.
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I was never an Elvis fan (I prefer Roy Orbison - haha) but despite what some people say, he was talented and indeed one of the great entertainers of his era - well, as far as singing on stage goes anyway; I hear his movies are used in a variety of "enhanced interrogation techniques".
I was actually a little relieved when I heard he had died. I had never been a fan or enjoyed his singing, and to me he was mostly this boring guy who turned up a lot in bad films shown on TV during my childhood.
Looking back, I think my callous attitude might have been fostered in part by bitterness over the earlier loss of younger musicians whom I regard to this day as greater talents, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Jimi Hendrix among them.
I thought at least the press would stop carrying those embarrassing stories about his physical and mental decline, and those pilgrims to his residence would have to find something better to do with their lives. Obviously I got that wrong, and each year has only cemented Elvis Presley's godlike status.
I was shocked and dumbfounded by the hysterical reaction to his death, as I was to be again in 1997 when Princess Diana died. These were not people I had ever come close to respecting in life, and the fact that many other people did had just never occurred to me.
Ah, I almost forgot. This looks like an appropriate point to mention "Dead Elvis" by Australia's "Doug Anthony All Stars". Surely there must be some audio bits out there on the big bad internet - I think it's worth listening to.