The 22-Year Friendship

Ch. 57: He's Gone

During the first week of August, Elvis brought up the idea of having our daughters, Lisa and Samantha, spend a week at Graceland together before school started. My daughter Samantha was best friend's with Elvis' only daughter, Lisa Marie, and they constantly brought up the idea of a summer getaway. Elvis' ability to take care of two children was questionable; he was unable to take care of himself physically, mentally, and emotionally. Knowing this, Priscilla and I became very skeptical about this idea. On the other hand, my husband James wasn't too concerned about our ten year old traveling to Memphis with no parental supervision.

Elvis said to the room full of parents, "It's not going to be too much, trust me. Sam and Lisa are sweet angels who are well-behaved."

Priscilla fired back, "Elvis, it's easy for you to say it's not going to be too much because people help you with everything.You have your own physicians, cooks, maids, babysitters, and bodyguards. You rarely leave your room! How will you know the girls will be taken care of properly?"

Elvis assured all of us that our children would be taken care of. "This is how I think of it. The more help, the better! Everyone who works for me is fantastic, and their services never disappoint me. They are much like family, and they are accommodated. My personal chef Mary-Lou will make sure the kids will have food everyday. Lisa's nanny will watch the children 24/7."

"It's going to be like having two daughters at Graceland. I'm not totally concerned because Samantha is quiet and polite. But, I have an idea. My eldest son William can accompany his younger sister to her trip to Memphis. He is a very reliable and responsible young man who can watch Sam and Lisa a good amount of time. However, it will be very difficult to persuade a 16-year old boy to babysit two girls!

My husband James decided to chime in his opinion about letting our son go to Memphis.

"Will has had football camp these past few weeks. I'm sure he will enjoy a short vacation before school starts again. It should be fairly easy to persuade him to go to Memphis."

    I said, "I will not allow Samantha to travel to Memphis without a trusted guardian. If her older brother says no, then unfortunately she can not go. James and I will have this discussion over dinner with Will,"

    Elvis thought of a clever way to make an offer a teenage boy couldn't resist.  "If he is reluctant to come to Memphis, just let him know that I will pay him twenty dollars an hour. Not only will he be responsible for watching Sam and Lisa, he will also be expected to help the Memphis Mafia with certain tasks. He will still be able to have fun while he is in Memphis! He's only a sixteen-year old boy, you have to loosen up a bit."

    Later that night, me, James, and Will discussed the summer trip to Memphis. It was actually fairly easy to convince our son to accompany his younger sister to Memphis. He liked the idea of Elvis paying him for his work and assistance with the girls.

Elvis decided to give me a call during the early morning hours on August 14, 1977. He had trouble sleeping, and had already taken a couple of sleeping pills. It was evident that he drugged up since his speech was slurred and he began to rant about his failed marriage, his problem with drugs, his relationship with his current fiance, and his mother's death. Speaking of his mother's death, it was the 19th anniversary of her passing. Lately, our conversations were kept short since I couldn't handle his incoherent self.

The morning of August 16th started out like any ordinary day. I woke up and started making breakfast for the children, while my husband got ready for work. My mother was visiting from Southern California and was already drinking her cup of coffee while watching the news on the television. It was eleven o'clock and I was waiting for a phone call from Will. Him, Samantha, and Lisa were coming home from Memphis in a couple hours, and I needed to know what time to pick them up from the airport. When the phone rang, I was surprised to hear my daughter's voice. However, I could tell something was wrong by the tone of her voice.

She said, "Something bad has happened to Uncle E."

My heart sank. "What do you mean something bad has happened? I'm sure he is alright. Where is your brother?"

"He's in the room with everyone else. Me and Lisa are in her bedroom, and are not allowed to go in there. We were forced out of there."

In the background, all I could hear was Lisa saying, "My daddy is dead, my daddy is dead." Sam passed the phone to Lisa, and I tried to tell her that everything was going to be OK. Here was this naive, innocent, 9-year old who was very certain that her father was dead. Was Elvis OK? All I could do was hope for the best and attempt to comfort Lisa until everything was resolved.

I suddenly heard a male voice in the background. It was my eldest son, William.

He frantically said, "Mom, listen to me. You need to catch the next flight to Memphis. It's an emergency."

In a worried tone I asked, "Is everything OK, Will? You're scaring me."

"Elvis is unconscious and he doesn't look good. Some of the Memphis Mafia said his body was cold. Vernon called his personal doctor, and the paramedics are coming as fast as they can. I was put in charge of the girls."

"Will, keep the girls away from the bedroom. They can not find out what is going on until further notice. I am going to try and pack as quickly as I can. I will try to get a hold of your father and let him know what is going on in Memphis. Remember, do NOT let the girls into the bedroom, especially Lisa. I will catch the next flight to Memphis, and have your Uncle Michael pick me up from the airport."

I immediately hung up the phone and ran to the bedroom to pack. My mother jumped out of her seat and followed me. In a panic, I began to throw random articles of clothing in the suitcase. My mom could sense the fear from my eyes. She took another look at the suitcase and realized where I was headed; Memphis. I told her about the phone call I received from my two children and Lisa. I kept repeating to myself that Elvis was OK.

I asked my mother, "Is it possible for a 9-year old to know if someone died?"

She let out a huge sigh. "I believe that a child's knowledge about life is underestimated in certain situations. Children know when something devastating occurred, and an adult should explain to them what happened. It should be taught to kids that life isn't full of sunshine and rainbows; the rain and sun comes and goes. If Lisa said that her father is dead, then I suggest to prepare for the worst."

I was able to pack all of my belongings and dress myself in fifteen minutes. Before heading out of the house, I firmly told my second eldest son, Joshua, to make sure that his younger siblings didn't watch any television or listen to the radio. He was puzzled, but I told him to give his father a call if he had any questions.

I got in my car and raced to the airport as fast as I could. During the drive, I debated if I should listen to the radio or not. I finally got the nerve to turn it on and a song by ABBA came on. For three minutes, I forgot about everything happening. After the song ended, the radio host came on and reported the news I didn't want to hear.

"This just in, singer Elvis Presley has been rushed to the hospital from his home in Memphis, Tennessee. More details will be reported throughout the day. We are praying and hoping that The King of Rock n' Roll is OK."

I arrived at the airport, got my ticket, and boarded the plane with no disturbances. I was mentally and physically exhausted, so I decided to take a nap. When I woke up, the flight attendant offered me some lunch and asked me for my autograph. I must of slept throughout most of the flight because the flight attendants announced that we were fifteen minutes away from the airport and would be landing shortly.

As soon as the plane landed, I became anxious. I needed to get off this plane immediately and find out what was happening with Elvis. I got off the plane and searched for my brother Michael. I spotted him and he had this stern look on his face. I sensed that something was really wrong. He grabbed my bag out of my hand and quickly escorted me to the car.

I kept asking him to tell me what was going on. No one was telling me what was going on and I was becoming impatient.

"The children called me earlier and expressed their concerns about Elvis. Will demanded me to fly to Memphis right away. What is going on?!"

Michael let out a huge sigh and shook his head. It was silent for about five minutes until he decided to finally tell me.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but Elvis has died."