Past Caring

I was so happy that Facebook had put me back in touch with people I'd lost touch with over the years. I'm now able to look at the vacation pics of school friends that I'd probably only see once every five or ten years at a class reunion. I see pics of their grandkids. Sometimes it's hard to believe that so many of us are grandparents. Facebook also makes it easier to keep up with family who don't live nearby. I've also been able to maintain contact with people I've worked with. This is the upside.

But there's also a downside. Facebook is probably the biggest purveyor of fake news and click bait. Without question, we are a nation divided. Some people want to blame Trump. Other people want to blame Obama. There is nobody to blame but us. I've read stuff coming from both sides that's absolutely outrageous. (I believe there's also an undocumented correlation between the level of outrageous and improper grammar and spelling). I know that most of the people who are commenting on these articles have not even bothered to read the article because way too often the headline and graphic/photo have absolutely NOTHING to do with the content of the article. I have seen way too much of this. I am annoyed and every now and then I'll call it out. But not often, because for some reason - and I'm still trying to figure this out - I am worried about what "other people" might think. "Other people" whom I no longer have daily contact with. "Other people" whose opinions no longer matter to me (and in many cases, never did matter to me). "Other people" whose critical thinking skills are suspect. Maybe I lost touch with some of those people for really good reasons, not just chance.

 As anyone who knows me is aware, I am a liberal. I did not vote for Trump. However, I have friends and family who did. Even though I may never understand their rationale, I still love them and will try my best not to offend their sensibilities. In turn, they are trying their best not to offend mine. I will never call someone stupid or direct pejorative language at them just because they disagree with me (at least not in a public forum). However, if you persist in sharing articles that are not from reliable sources of information and which promote division rather than unity, I will be calling you out or blocking you. If you choose to call people names because their thoughts and ideas are different from yours, I will be blocking you or unfriending you because I don't need or want people who are that small-minded in my life. I am doing my best to "love my neighbor" - even when (perhaps especially when) my neighbor is more interested in being hateful. But loving people does not mean that I need to accept everything they say and do. And at this point in my life, I am past caring what anyone other than my God and my husband think about me.

Graceland

We visited Graceland ten or more years ago. It was such a fun visit. The house was trapped in 1977 and when you went into the "trophy room" they were playing Elvis music - Jailhouse Rock, as I recall.

So different now. There's a big welcome center where you can stand in line to buy your choice of ticket. (Several options available - the option we chose gave us entry into the house and grounds as well as the exhibits, but not the plane.

After buying your ticket you start out by lining up (again) to see a short five-minute film. When that's over, you are provided with an electronic tour guide and headphones then herded outside to stand in the cold rain for nearly 45 minutes (in our case) to wait for a shuttle bus to drive you across the street to the house.

Once there, you are instructed to exit the shuttle and line up on the sidewalk. Then you are summoned over to the front porch where an employee gives you a bit of information on the house before you enter. (A decade ago, you just wandered across the street and went in.) When you first go in, it's a bit crowded because everyone who just got off the bus is now crammed into the house and looking at the living room and dining room. The rooms are roped off. You can't go plop down on the couch, which is understandable. But it was interesting to learn that Lisa Marie's family still uses the house for holiday celebrations, such as Thanksgiving.

The house is much the same as it was on the previous visit except for the "trophy room". All of the gold records and awards have been removed and replaced by family photos, which was nice. (I'm one of those people who enjoys looking at other people's photos.) And there's no longer music playing because everyone has headphones.

Once you get to the offices and racquetball court, the crowds thin out a bit. The memory garden is the burial site for Elvis, his parents and his grandmother. There's also a memorial for his twin brother who was stillborn.

When you've completed the rounds you can board a shuttle to go back to the new complex. There are a number of buildings with different exhibits. One building contains all of his cars. Another houses movie memorabilia from his films. Another showcases all of the costumes he wore during live performances. There is an area dedicated to his military service. Another building had all the gold and platinum records on display. There was one exhibit I didn't quite get. I think it was intended to show how Elvis had influenced other artists. The display included a name and photo of the artist and either a guitar or an outfit that the particular artist wore. I'm not convinced that Elvis was much of an influence on Dolly Parton. I think she'd have worn sequins even if he hadn't. And I'm not seeing it with Ricky Nelson, either. And whoever put that exhibit together ought to figure out the difference between Ricky Nelson and Dave Nelson. They are not interchangeable.

Then there was a theater showing a documentary film. I don't know how long the film was. We watched it for about 30 minutes. During that time people were coming and going. No start times were listed. It appeared to be about a Las Vegas show. There were clips from the rehearsals, interviews with the casino management, and fan reactions. It was enlightening. You could see from this film what a talented performer he was.

They have also installed several restaurants. Home-style cooking, a diner, and barbecue. Can't speak for anything other than the barbecue. It was good, and as expected, overpriced. But being a Texas girl, I will probably always prefer Texas-style barbecue to Memphis-style.

There were also plenty of places to spend your money. Every building and room in those exhibit halls included a gift shop, except for the theater. You couldn't walk 100 feet with out coming across one.

This is all still new and I hope they improve it because as it is right now, I wouldn't actually recommend it because of the way they herd people around. It was cold and rainy when we were there. Standing outside waiting wasn't adding anything to the experience. I can't imagine it will be better when it's hot and humid. They probably need to send people off into the exhibits to explore a bit when there's a long wait for the shuttle. Hopefully they'll fine-tune their process, because even if you're not a die-hard Elvis fan he was (and is) such an iconic 20th century personality. And seriously, who can listen to Jailhouse Rock without a little toe-tapping?