A friend and I stopped there on a road trip. It was interesting in its garishness.

I liked his music, didn't particularly admire the man. I have seen pictures of his home and I don't think we would have seen it featured in Architectural Digest or on the Home and Garden network. LOL. I am sorry for the way Elvis died and that no one was able to help him with his prescription dug addiction.

and 33 years ago today, my dad passed away...

Today is also the 11th anniversary of when I found out I was going to be a mom for the first time.

Dh is very distantly related to the Presley's. His great-grandmother was a Presley. When Elvis became famous, the family asked her if they were related. Her comment was that Elvis was "some of that Mississippi trash".

Dh and I ended up in Memphis for our first anniversary. I thought Graceland was interesting. It's small and nothing like what I would think a mansion would look like.

I went with an old boyfriend to Memphis and to Graceland, on our way for me to catch a plane in Philadelphia for Germany back in '84. I remember how small it was and tacky. I also thought it was odd that Elvis and his parents are buried right out front in the yard. At least that's what I remember...in a circular area. I have pictures but don't feel like digging them out.

32 years ago today my DD was born.

Linda

I remember the day he died....doesn't seem that long ago. I liked his music. I've been to Memphis but never had any desire to see his house.

I remember how I heard-I was in my boyfriend's car, he was driving me home from work. He's been my husband for 31 years. I can tell you about when Reagan was shot and about 911 if you want to know.

And don't forget to celebrate by having Elvis's favorite peanut butter and banana sandwich. I remember shortly after his death, someone asked his cook/housekeeper how exactly he wanted the sandwich made.

She said it had to be made with two slices of white bread, TOASTED, creamy peanut butter and ripe banana. The "secret" was that the bread had to be toasted and then the sandwich was grilled in butter, just like a grilled cheese.

I've made them like that many times and they are better that way.

Sue

Thirty three years ago today my youngest son was killed by a falling tree while we were camping. It was two weeks before his eight birthday.
Today is always a difficult day for me.

I too never cared much for him but did like most of his music. Very few people of whom I'm a fan, very, very few! But many whom I'm a fan of their work, creativity, ideas or the like. Never listened to Elvis music that much but of course it was on the radio all the time so you couldn't avoid it and when I was growing up, TV and radio were the bigger entertainments available. No computers, ipods, cell phones, etc.

I was on a "circle" trip through Canada and NW US when he died. I still remember all the stations doing their tributes and playing his music as we went from region to region. Search out a new station and there was another tribute. My buddy and I were talking about all the music and so much was different. Not like the Wacko Jacko tributes that are pretty much carbon copies of each other. Elvis recorded a lot more songs than I had realized. When we had started out we kept hearing all this Elvis music and it took a while before we heard that he died.

I've often heard that Graceland was a "rather modest" place. I've seen only a few pictures and yes it's big by many standards but nowhere near as palatial as so many stars homes of the time. Not much compared to the Beverly Hillbillies' but looks like it might have a bigger c-ment pond.

But then again, Elvis isn't dead is he? I heard he works at a McDonald in Michigan. No wait, he's in the CIA... No, he's... oh well, doesn't matter. It must be true though... I SAW IT ON THE INTERNET!! :)

And remember Johmmy Carson said "If life were fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead."

I've always been an Elvis fan and I always wanted to visit Graceland when he was alive and thought maybe he would come to the gate and greet his fans. I've never had the chance to go. Elvis was the best. My family was on our way home from Six Flags over Georgia when we heard the news on the radio. It was hard to believe.

never was an Elvis fan

Just curious, I have heard that Graceland is not a very large house. For those of you who have been there how many SF would you guess? Marcia

Cynic brought up a good thought. I wonder where the Beverley Hillbillies house is, if it's a real one. That one looked huge. Love to see that one.

But then the Ponderosa and Southforks looks huge, and I don't think they are.

I'm not any good with estimating square feet, but Graceland is indeed surprisingly small (nearly claustrophobic with the line of visitors I was in). It doesn't compare at all to the giant spread a superstar would have today! I like Elvis a lot but we found the site as a whole tacky and depressing. As is typical, they field you through a store on site selling Elvis memorabilia/junk.

A Google link to some outside shots of Graceland. It's certainly not a 2 bedroom ranch, and the columns make it appear huge but looking at it from the air and comparing window sizes to an "ordinary" two story colonial, it seems large but not gigantic.

A lot of indoor views of Graceland here

Here's what it says on about.com. 'The house grew from 10,266 square feet to 17,552 square feet as Elvis Presley added more and more rooms.'

Inside the actual mansion, they only allow you to go on the main floor and downstairs. The upstairs is off limits. The kitchen and dining room are smaller than mine and styled like everyone else's from the 60's. IIRC, they had dark paneling and a kitchen table that probably only seated 8-10 people. The hallways and stairs were kind of narrow. He had several different living areas, but none were humongous. They seemed like the typical size of most houses. The only thing really over the top was the decorating.

Here is a link that might be useful: Graceland