Graceland after x-mas

Photo: Siw Haugnes. Pictures can be used, as long as source is given.

We were on the spot right after the ticket office opened at the Graceland visitor center. Must say: We were bussed from the ticket office across the street and into Graceland, a distance of 500 ft (150 m)!

Graceland mansion was surprisingly little flashy and glaring. The house was quite moderate in size and the interior not kitch at all. The season was quite apparent, with a Christmas tree and Christmas decorations all over the place.

For some reason more than half the foreign awards in the trophy room were from Norway, such as these seven from good old "Arbeiderbladet" in the picture below.

Anyone knows why? Mail me on the webmaster info at the left.

There have been taken and published so many good professional pictures from Graceland that I see no reason to add many of my own. Especially since it's obvious that the auto focus in the kit lens has the "moody blues".

The jacket I bought I haven't got a picture of.

A few oddities:

The tractor in the picture below has been at Graceland it's entire life. It was retired at an age of 50 in 2009.

Elvis also had some fancy snowmobiles. As there's rarely snow in Memphis, they all were converted to lawn mobiles, such as the orange one in the picture above.

Elvis had a comeback show in 1968 with a show that was broadcast on tv all over the (western?) world. One of the exhibitions in the visitor center was dedicated this show. A little skeptical I let Arild persuade me to enter it.

What a surprise. Yes, there was stuff from the show, there were the playlists in different stages, there were costumes and chairs. BUT, there was also a long summary of the year, with events that were quite special.

The occupation of Czechoslovakia, the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, manned trips in space and much more. And My Lai, the massacre that only ended when three helicopter pilots from US Army forced their helicopters between the killers (US soldiers) and the fleeing civilians.

1968 was a special year in the the development of the western world, that you can also hear in the song Elvis ended his show with. The summary made a great impression on me.

Note: The picture to the left is from Wikipedia and labeled ©1968, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.

Confession: I have both an Elvis mirror, Elvis bust, appx. 20 Elvis records, the 68-show and another one on DVD and a scarf.