Jun 22 2002
County Fair
I bet you were surprised that there was a love/hate yesterday, but believe me, hospitals are much like jails in the infinity of time and the uncertainty of when you’ll get out, which is your dearest wish.
Mom is home again and feeling much better. I am amazed by how much just having me here seems to have given her a positive attitude. I now have some idea of how celebrities must feel when they sign an autograph for someone: no big deal for the celebrity, very little effort, but the fan is thrilled out of all proportion. And although our relationship has been stormy since Day One (I set the tone by arriving butt first), when something like this happens, none of that matters. It all just gets swept away as if by magic.
She felt so much better yesterday that we went to the County Fair for a couple of hours. It was a lot like the one in Charlotte’s Web, and we petted baby goats, lambs, rabbits, pigs, and ducks. Unlike the Charlotte’s Web fair, though, this one had an Elvis theme and included items from Graceland, which had never before been seen outside of Graceland. There was the green couch from the Jungle Room, his desk and gold-plated phone, his briefcase with a phone in it, original movie scripts, his driver’s license, birth certificate, and several of his jumpsuits from the Vegas Elvis years. Yes, they are tacky, but magnificent in their tackiness, and also exquisitely made.
We had a blast.
We entered a raffle for one of Elvis’ very own Cadillacs, this one a powder blue 1976 model with gold-plated hubcaps. If I win it, my sister Megan has a brand-new car, a big American tank to replace her totalled little plastic car.
So short term, we’re OK. Long term, don’t know. But we’ll deal with it as it happens. We should know more next week. Thanks to everyone for your support and caring – it has really meant a lot to me.