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Hi everyone - firstly let me just say thanks to all of you that has emailed me so far. It's been a bit hectic and sorry I haven't yet managed to reply - I will do so once I get settled on the organised part of my trip.
On the second leg of my bus journey to Memphis I encountered Michael Crawford, a 52 year old guy from Ohio. He was quite funny and managed to keep me awake chatting from 11pm to 1am so I must give him a mention for that! He was very well spoken and a complete gentleman (which is a miracle on Greyhound buses). He had half moon glasses like a school teacher. He drove and delivered trucks for a living, had 2 daughters and a son. He told me I reminded him of one of his daughters, which I don't know if that was a compliment or an insult!
I had previously decided to book a hotel near Graceland for my stay in Memphis mainly because there were no hostels at all and because Graceland is the reason you visit Memphis in the first place. I gambled on the Days Inn and it paid off.
After sleeping in single beds in hostels I found myself with not 1 but 2 double beds, TV, Fridge, Microwave, Bathroom, Safe, 2 Desks, 2 Chairs, Iron, Ironing board and a kettle...I was thinking about moving in permanently!!! There was also a guitar shaped pool, 2 channels of non stop Elvis movies and Elvis FM - what more can a girl ask for?
I spend my first day in and around downtown Memphis (as Graceland is 10 miles away). Most notable sights was the Peabody Plaza where at 11am the resident ducks take a lift down from their penthouse pool to the lobby and return back up at 5pm (these are the feathered variety I am talking about).
The Gibson guitar factory where you can see first hand how they make electric guitars.
Beale Street which essentially is a street full of bars and clubs, including the famous Coyote Ugly bar. It is also the venue for the assasination of Martin Luther King, who from his hotel window called down to a street musician to play his favourite tune and was promptly shot to death by a sniper.
Sun Studios is the recording studio where Elvis made his first record
and also home to other artists such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash (if you don't know who they are....then shame on you). Apparently the owner of Sun Studios sold Elvis to RCA records for $35000, which at the time was the highest ever paid for a recorded artist. One can't help wonder after Elvis's phenomenal success whether someone somewhere was kicking themselves.
Its hard to describe Graceland. At the time when Elvis bought the property ($100000) it would have been described as a mansion. By todays standards I would describe it as a large bungalow with land. As you enter the front door time has indeed stood still and I must admit in an era when tastes could be descibed as somewhat dubious. Shagpile carpets, mirrored ceilings, glass tables, dark wooden furniture, brown velour and leather sofas makes up this incarnation. It has to be said that it is all quite sedate compared to todays stars milionaires lifestyles shown on MTV. Only the TV and Jungle Rooms go towards showing off some of that opulence I expected to see.
The trophy room is ceiling to floor filled with gold discs and Elvis's achievements - it isn't
until you see this room that you really start to appreciate how much impact he had on the music industry.
Elvis is buried at Graceland with his parents, the constant stream of flowers, toys and cards being placed around this area is quite overwelming. There are also museums showing Elvis's collection of cars, planes (complete with gold plated seat belts) and concert costumes. The souvenir shops sells everything you would want and a few things you wouldn't....I can't help wondering what he would make of it all today......most probably have moved to Hollywood! I do think that stars who die early, at a young age, perhaps wouldn't be as popular had they still been alive today.....would we be as enamoured with them if they were balding, fat or perhaps just a little bit strange (like Michael Jackson - he outlived himself years ago!).
I take my final journey to New Orleans, by Greyhound, during the day which gets even more surreal by the minute. A guy in his 20's sits beside me, he is carrying a bible with him. Immediately he annouces that he is a minister and asks me if I have read the Bible. Well I have 2
alternatives - I either get into a religious debate with him and admit that I am a non believer or I lie.....I took the latter option and bluff my way through saying I read it years ago. This turns out to be a wise decision as he ends up being a psycho. Firstly he sits beside me chewing tobacco and spitting into a polystyrene cup at regular intervals, obviously this doesn't qualify for being a psycho, but then he starts having an argument with the guy behind us, accusing him of kicking his seat. Now what happened to the moto - turn the other cheek ? Also how could he possibly direct others in the way of God at the age of 20!!! He has absolutely no life experience!!!!
I do have some weird thought myself whilst sitting on the bus (perhaps it's catching)....for eample - when you drive through a time zone, you must get to a point where one house is in one zone and the nextdoor neighbour is in another. What happens if that person works in the other zone? Also are TV programmes repeated...is Eastenders on in one house at 8pm but in the neighbours house
at 9pm? Ok I have far too much time on my hands....I'm off to do something more usefull like count the holes in the ceiling!!!
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