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Over too soon
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Location: Blogs Live from Graceland |
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| Posted by: Susan Smiley-Height |
8/20/2007 9:07 AM |
ELvis Week is over. It went so fast! But we came home with plenty of great memories, which is how it should be.
West of Flemington
Monday, Aug. 20
Post-vacation let down
It's hard to believe it's all over. Even though it was so incredibly hot; even though we had a few "bumps" along the way; even though we spent way too much money - this year's trip to Memphis for Elvis Week was a joy.
Beyond all the hoopla, what it gave me was a greater appreciation for my mother. Soon to be 75, Tiger Harper can still rock out with the best of them. During the two back-to-back concerts on Thursday, she sailed right along, traipsing up and down steep stairs inside the FedEx Forum -- on feet that ache from two failed foot surgeries -- and didn't whine a bit as the decible level of the music went off the scale. Throughout the week, she was just a rock 'n' roll trooper.
And Mama was leading the pack Saturday morning when we arose at an ungodly hour to volunteer with the annual 5K to benefit United Cerebral Palsy. Hundreds of serious runners, along with hordes of fun runners, gathered at Graceland. The run begins and ends in front of the estate, and several participants paid homoage to the King by dressing in jumpsuits, wigs and his signature sunglasses (many with fake sideburns hanging from the rims).
We handed out 3,000 hot dogs as the runners returned to the plaza post-run. Health food my foot - they gobbled up those dogs like crazy.
Even though it was early (race began at 8 a.m.), everyone was dripping sweat in the heat. Near 10 a.m., Tiger, Sarah and I walked across the parking lot the Heartbreak Hotel to shower and dress for the trip home.
As with the trip up, we loaded up the CD player with Elvis and hit the road. Eleven and a half hours later, I dropped them off in Gainesville then headed southwest to my little farm out here in the boonies. On the final leg, we had listened to all but one of our Elvis stash of recordings, so we went ahead and popped that one in -- Christmas music. And why not!
Elvis Week 2008 was something else. These words come to mind: Hot, friends, fried food, souvenirs, media madness, tour buses, lines, sweat, ice cream, misting fans, blessed naps, late nights, headaches, airport, nice desk clerks, international fans, hand signals, tension, relief, hugs, whoops, standing ovations, surprise appearances, hurry, wait, magic, music, the man.
And yes, we're signed up for next year!
Kudos to my colleagues at the Star-Banner for a fantastic job! Now that I'm back home, I see all the print presentations they worked so hard to compile. Fantastic print and online presentations from beginning to end.
You all ROCK! |
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Comments (3)
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Re: Over too soon |
By JP on
8/21/2007 5:59 PM |
| Susan,<br>I really enjoyed your full report of Elvis Week. I was planning to go, but decided to go last April for my 57th birthday with my wife. We did not want to endure the heat and the crowds. It looks like we missed a lot, but we had an incredible time at Graceland and stayed at the Heartbreak Hotel for four nights. Thanks for TCB. |
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Re: Over too soon |
By Susan Smiley-Height on
8/22/2007 5:03 PM |
| Hi JP,<br>I'm so glad you got to go in April and am sure you had a much more pleasant weather experience. It was just so incredibly hot!!! and crowded!!!<br>The schedule was so packed, we just couldn't get it all in and riding home were talking about all the stuff we missed!<br>Even after all these years, we still enjoy each visit and always find something new and fun. Plus, we love checking out restaurants in Memphis and always gain about five pounds whenever we go there!<br>Thanks so much for reading and writing back.<br>Susan :-) |
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Re: Over too soon |
By https://somagui.zip.net on
7/11/2008 11:00 PM |
| Eu não posso ir porque conseguir o visto para entrar nos EUA é um saco!Já fui em 1997. |
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