Graceland ~ November 19, 1976

The evening of November 19, 1976

“A security guard soon emerged from the darkness and approached the driver’s side of the car. Terry lowered her window and asked, “What should we do?”

Smiling, the guard replied, “Try knocking on the front door.”

My sisters and I climbed out of the car, laughing at ourselves and the guard’s comment as our nerves got the better of us. Passing between two huge lion statues, we jokingly chanted, “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” in an effort to relax.

We walked up the stone steps to the front porch where Rosemary, always the bravest among us, pressed the doorbell beside the green wrought-iron front door. Expecting Elvis to appear at any moment, my earlier concerns about showing up uninvited resurfaced. I grew increasingly anxious, wondering, “What if Elvis really doesn’t want Rosemary and me here?”

“I hung back, letting Rosemary and Terry wait at the door. When it opened, George Klein greeted us, which surprised me. Naive as this may seem, because this was Elvis’s house, I expected him to answer the door.

George was the same age as Elvis, forty-one, and a friendly guy with black hair. It had been his Talent Party show that I once briefly modeled on. I didn’t say anything about this, because I didn’t think he would remember.

He introduced himself and then beckoned for us to follow him. Feeling like Alice stepping through the looking glass, I took a deep breath and entered Graceland for the first time.

My feet sank into thick, red shag carpet, which extended into the foyer and up a staircase with a gold-and-white banister and railings. George invited us into the dining room. Passing beneath an enormous, ornate crystal chandelier, I glanced to the right and saw a room decorated all in red with French provincial furniture.”

Excerpt Elvis and Ginger. By Ginger Alden