Perception Change

Day 2 of our K&M Road Trip. We decided to break up the road monotony with a stop at Graceland Mansion. Neither Margie or I were big fans of Elvis so our main motivation to go to Graceland was to be able to say that we did. We were sort of expecting a tacky 'Velvet Elvis' type home and looked forward to getting a few chuckles from it. That didn't happen. Yes, some of the rooms were over the top - but they were over the top with what was popular in the day. Lots of shag carpeting (even on the ceiling and side walls), mauve tiles in the bathroom, fur sofa in the jungle rooms and lots and lots of mirrored walls. It wasn't tacky at all - it was the late 50's and 60's style. The main house was smaller than you would expect of a huge star, but each room looked lived in and enjoyed.  Our biggest perception change was about Elvis himself. After listening to the biography and seeing Graceland - we came away with the feeling that he was a lot more intelligent and talented than we thought. Some of his actions made him seem very insecure. He always seemed to need his friends around him at all times. He even moved his family and friends to Texas where he did basic training and then to Germany when he was stationed there. A lot of his other actions proved him to be a truly kind, caring, and very polite gentleman. We left impressed and with a new found respect for the 'King of Rock and Roll'.