It was a detour, a spontaneous little cycle side trek, really. I was staying with photographer
Hank Somma (more coming later on him and how I was one of his models for a Harley project he did) who lives in Georgia, near Marietta where he had a spectacular exhibit of his work in summer of 2006. I had been attending the American Motorcycle Association convention geared towards women and held in Athens, Georgia about 90 miles away. On a motorcycle, a 400 and something mile ride is just considered the scenic route. Maybe it was riding in Hank’s convertible, or the retro music playing on the stereo, or just the sirens of the streets calling to me -- I’ve always had an affinity for Elvis, ever since I was drawn like a magnet to buy a record of his at a garage sale when I was 6 years old, so it didn’t take much to make me get up at 4am and head out to Memphis one morning.
I was thinking a lot of Sol Sisters because earlier in the year we took a trip to Vegas. We rode to what we call Winter Nationals which is a convention for WITW held twice a year (winter and summer) each time hosted by a different chapter. The theme was Rock N Roll so almost all of us dressed up as Elvis (each a representing Elvis in a different phase of his reign). Deb and myself dressed up like Priscilla. I was wishing my sisters/Elvises were with me on the way to Graceland.
Many people I chatted with along the way warned me that I’d be disappointed but nothing could be further from the truth. For me the town of Memphis and Graceland itself were larger then life and I was anything but disappointed. I’ve seen pics from Graceland on TV yet still to stand on patch of Earth (and funky dated carpet) that the King lived on was miraculous. I've been to some of the wonders of the world (Taj Mahal, Machu Pichu, Grand Canyon to name a few) and while they were are all magnificent Graceland had a “whole lotta hunk of love” and human quality to it whereas the rest of the wonders I’ve been to were a different kind of humanity experienced, a different timelessness altogether. I think Graceland actually preserves part of a culture more and on a personal level. Peru and India are quite amazing but I have no face or outstanding psyche to put with the wonderful landscape from ancient times. Elvis is a legend and Graceland connects you to a time when he was alive and how music influences us forever.
1 comment:
Great post, I am almost 100% in agreement with you
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