Postcard From Graceland

You know how sometimes you hear stories about a thing or person for years and you begin to build it up in your head until it's pretty much larger than life? Then when you actually see it or meet the person, you suffer major disappointment. I'm afraid such was the case with me and Graceland.

I'm not a huge, go-nuts fan of Elvis; never have been. A long time ago, there was a girl I wanted to impress and since she was an Elvis fan, I bought a couple of expensive tickets for us to see the King of Rock 'n Roll in person when he came through town. He came out to the strains of Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra" – the theme from Stanley Kubrick's 2001 and began singing. The crowd went wild, especially the girls. I looked around confused. He sang a few songs then wiped his sweaty face with a white towel and threw it to the audience in our direction and this rather quiet, sedate young lady I was with turned into some kind of ferocious, get-in-my-way-and-you-die primeval beast! She got that towel and I became a little bit scared. She hung on to that thing for the rest of the night, guarding it like a mother bear with a cub. The concert was pretty good and my mission was accomplished as she was duly impressed. We didn't last, but I have no doubt she still has that towel.

Of course I had heard about the home of Elvis, the mansion known as Graceland; the rooms, the grounds, the parties that went on there. After his death, it became in my mind a sort of shrine, a bigger-than-life edifice. A while back, my daughter, who knows about Elvis but is not a big fan either, for some reason wanted to visit Graceland. The wife wanted to go also, so what the heck, let's do it.


Living Room

We arrived in Memphis on a Thursday evening with tickets for Graceland the next day. We drove by it on the way to our hotel and I have to say, it certainly didn't look like much from the street. Even the surrounding area was past its prime. The street in front, Elvis Presley Boulevard, was full of potholes and needed repaving. Not a good first impression.

I'm not sure exactly what I expected, but the next day, we parked in a lot & took a van across the street to the house. After waiting until our ticketed time, we were escorted inside. I guess I had expected the rooms to be large and ornate rather than the small, shag-carpeted glitzy kitsch-filled rooms most of them are. I'm sure they were cool back-in-the-day when Elvis was there and I'm also sure I had built the place up in my mind so much that anything less than spectacular was bound to be a bit disappointing for me. The house is over 17,000 square feet with 23 rooms, but throughout the tour of the rooms we were allowed to see, I just could not get over how small they were.


The TV Room. Yes, that's a strange
monkey on the table.

The 13-acre grounds were rather impressive and the Trophy Building where all of his jumpsuits, gold records, movie posters and awards were on display was very impressive. I spent more time there than I did in the mansion itself. His airplane, named Lisa Marie, was also cool to go through. The Meditation Garden, where Elvis, his parents, and grandmother, Minnie Mae Hood Presley, are buried is very nice and serene. Visitors are usually naturally quiet when visiting. Across the street is a museum of Elvis memorabilia that is certainly worth visiting. And of course, there is also a gift shop where you can purchase all sorts of Elvis-related souvenirs and mementos.

The kitchen where Elvis had his fried peanut
butter & banana sandwiches made

In spite of the disappointment over the rooms, the visit was worth the price of the ticket (at the time of this writing - $47.50 for adults, $42.75 for seniors and students, $22.50 children 7-12) if it doesn't put a strain on your budget, mostly just because it's cool to be there and tell your friends you have.

One place I would not recommend eating at is Marlowes Ribs and Restaurant on Elvis Presley Blvd. Our experience seems to be in the minority though as the place gets a number of good reviews. This is supposed to be one of Elvis' favorite places to eat, but if it was, they must have served him a lot better food than we were. My wife's plate of sliced beef was nothing but a big glob of fat and my daughter's chicken tenders were served cold. When we complained and sent them back, the waiter acted like we were being entirely unreasonable and a pain in his neck. A different waiter brought them back a while later and apologized, but the wife's brisket was still half fat and rather gross. Plus the place is in an area where we didn't feel very safe after dark. You may very well have a totally different experience than we did, but we'll never go back there.

The infamous Jungle Room

So go to Graceland, get your picture taken in front of the famous gates, and enjoy your visit, just don't go expecting it to be the Taj Mahal!

Marlowes

Inside Marlowes

Postcard from the Texas Munster's Mansion

In these days of cookie-cutter houses in boring subdivisions, there are a few folks who are determined to be different. Take the McKee family for instance. To say they are fans of the old TV show The Munsters would be a bit of an understatement. And when it came to their family home, they certainly thought outside of the coffin!

Just outside the town of Waxahachie, Texas, the McKees built a near perfect modern replica of the Munster's mansion. Since there are no specifications for the TV mansion, the McKees watched all 70 episodes of the series multiple times to come up with what they wanted. Theirs is not as run-down and creepy, but it does have a dungeon, an electric chair in the living-room, a secret passageway, a revolving bookcase and a fire-breathing dragon named Spot under the stairway.

Each October, the McKees open their home and host a Halloween party with proceeds going to local charities. Al Lewis (Grandpa) and Butch Patrick (Eddie) have attended past parties. The rest of the year, the house is viewable from the street. It is the McKees' home so keep in mind and respect that it is private property. To see 1313 Mockingbird Lane, go to the actual address 3636 FM 813, Waxahachie, Texas.

Buried In A Ferrari

There are fascinating cemeteries all over America. A walk through any one of them can be like a living history lesson, taught by those who preceded us and who know where we are all headed. Some cemeteries have given rise to legends of hauntings and curses, while others are of interest simply for the offbeat tombstones to be discovered in them. Each of these tombstones tells a story and every graveyard we whistle as we pass by offers reminders of life’s triumphs and tragedies to anyone who takes the time to read the inscribed words. Sometimes they are words of warning or advice. Some tell tales of earthly woe, while others are actually lighthearted and inspiring.

(public photo)

Many “tombstone tourists” are interested in visiting the resting places of famous people or places which have interesting stories attached to the dearly departed. An interesting story is what has drawn thousands of visitors to the grave of Sandra West in the Alamo Masonic Cemetery on Center Street in San Antonio, Texas.

Sandra was a Beverly Hills socialite and the wife of wealthy Texas oil tycoon Ike West when he died in January 1968.  After she inherited over $5 million (almost $36 million in 2017 dollars), she had the family lawyer draw up her will and in that will, she requested to be buried wearing a lacy nightgown inside her favorite powder-blue 1964 Ferrari “with the seat slanted comfortably.”

(public photo)

For the next 9 years, Sandra partied and lived large with the rich and famous in Hollywood, going through almost half of her inheritance. The excesses of her life style reportedly affected her health and she died in 1977 of an overdose of prescription pills. Upon her death, it was revealed that her brother-in-law, Saul West, was to receive $2 million if he saw to it that her wishes for burial were honored. If he did not, he would only get $10,000. Her brother-in-law went to court fighting the demand, but after a judge ruled the will valid and in force, Saul suddenly decided to carry out her wishes.

1964 Ferrari 250GT - worth about
$2 million in 2017

Two months after her death, embalmed Sandra and her prized Ferrari were flown to San Antonio to prepare for the unconventional burial next to her husband’s grave at the historic cemetery. A large wooden box 6 feet by 8 feet by 17 feet was constructed. One end was left open and the Ferrari was driven into it. The engine was turned off and the keys were left in the ignition. An undertaker dressed Sandra in a lacy, semi-transparent white nightgown and after the driver’s side seat of the Ferrari was reclined, she was placed on it. The box was sealed and hauled to the grave site on a flat-bed truck. On May 18, 1977, with 300 people looking on, a large crane lowered the box into a hole measuring 10 feet wide, 19 feet long and 9 feet deep. After being place in the middle of the hole, a redi-mix truck buried the whole thing in 2 feet of concrete to discourage grave robbers.

Over 300 onlookers watched the burial
proceedings. No family members were present.

Husband and wife are spending eternity side by side in section 1-2 of the cemetery.  Sandra's simple grave marker doesn’t give a clue to what is underneath.