NAN SANDERS POKERWINSKI
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HeartWood
A blog about cultivating
creativity, connection and contentment
wherever you are

Last Wednesday Wisdom for January 2018

1/31/2018

12 Comments

 
On the last Wednesday of every month, I serve up a potpourri of advice, inspiration and other tidbits I've come across in recent weeks. On this wintry Wednesday, I've gathered up an assortment of thoughts about the season and the pastimes--reading, writing, music, laughter, gatherings with friends--that help us get through it.

And if all of that doesn't warm you up enough, I'm throwing in a winter getaway at the end: a little jaunt down to Memphis to recap our visit to Graceland a few months ago. Believe it or not, there's a connection here. Though this isn't something I would normally have on my calendar, I happened to hear on the radio that Elvis's birthday was January 8. So come on along to Graceland for a belated birthday celebration. You just might get a taste of peanut butter-banana ice cream. It's never too cold for that!

Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.
-- Victor Hugo, poet, author, playwright
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If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.
​-- Haruki Murakami, author
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What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.
-- John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

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Who wants to become a writer? And why? Because it's the answer to everything . . . It's the streaming reason for living. To note, to pin down, to build up, to create, to be astonished at nothing, to cherish the oddities, to let nothing go down the drain, to make something, to make a great flower out of life, even if it's a cactus.
-- Enid Bagnold, author and playwright
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My old grandmother always used to say, Summer friends will melt away like summer snows, but winter friends are friends forever.
-- George R.R. Martin, A Feast for Crows
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The real purpose of books is to trap the mind into doing its own thinking.
-- Christopher Morley, author
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Music brings a warm glow to my vision, thawing mind and muscle from their endless wintering.
-- Haruki Murakami, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

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What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world.
​-- Anne Lamott, author
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I want to watch the blue mist of the night come on, 
The windows and the stars illumined, one by one, 
The rivers of dark smoke pour upward lazily, 
And the moon rise and turn them silver. I shall see 
The springs, the summers, and the autumns slowly pass; 
And when old Winter puts his blank face to the glass, 
I shall close all my shutters, pull the curtains tight, 
And build me stately palaces by candlelight.
-- Charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du Mal
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There are more truths in a good book than its author meant to put into it.
-- Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, author and playwright

I'm not even going to try for a graceful segue, except to say, "And now, for something completely different . . . "
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The stone wall that borders the Graceland Estate was one of the first things Elvis added
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Now it's a tribute wall where fans leave inscriptions
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A whole lotta love and a fair amount of "I was here"
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Elvis paid $102,500 in 1957 for this home on nearly 14 acres
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The formal living room
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Elvis and his parents, who lived at Graceland with him
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Dining room
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Decorative accents in Elvis's media room
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The jungle room
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Before spangled jumpsuits, there were overalls
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Burial site in the meditation garden
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The full Elvis Experience includes a tour of the mansion, plus a vast exhibit complex
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In case you were wondering where to find a larger-than-life photo of Elvis getting a haircut, this is the place
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Inside, a collection of Elvis's cars . . .
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(including Caddies)
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and quotes . . .
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and cycles . . .
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and costumes.
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Oh, so many costumes!
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Gold record for "Heartbreak Hotel"
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And a few more hits
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He sold it, all right
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For those whose Graceland experience isn't complete without a hunka hunka souvenir Elvis
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Elvis liked his peanut butter and bananas in a sandwich fried in bacon grease. We had ours in ice cream (without the bacon)
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For an add-on fee, you can tour Elvis's airplane
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. . . and imagine you're flying like the King
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If you're totally into Elvis, you can even stay at the new Guesthouse at Graceland luxury hotel. We opted for this Days Inn down the street. Funkier, but still very Elvis-inspired, with a 24-hour Elvis movie channel and portraits of Elvis in the guest rooms.
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Even the neon rocks
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and rolls
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Of course there's a guitar-shaped pool
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And abundant photo ops
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Best of all, Elvis never leaves the building

All Graceland photos by Nan Pokerwinski
12 Comments
bex
1/31/2018 06:26:37 am

Oh, my gosh! I'd nearly forgotten the nearly life-sized Elvis in the rec room of the amazing beach house in Cape Canaveral where I stayed with my cousins. Believe it or not, he was easy to miss, what with all the stuffed fish and the 6' giraffe across from the door.

Reply
Nan
2/1/2018 06:25:51 am

How on earth did you find such a place?

Reply
Laurel
1/31/2018 12:18:19 pm

Beautiful photos! (colors so bright, I had to put on my shades) "I've reason to believe we all will be received in Graceland."

Reply
Nan
2/1/2018 06:25:16 am

Will Darwin be adding on a jungle room for you?

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Sally Pobojewski
2/1/2018 01:04:39 pm

Fascinating!

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Tonya Howe
2/2/2018 06:17:40 am

Dont know where you come up with these author quotes, but they're great! Especially liked Enid Bagnold, Anne Lamott, and Marie Ebner Eschenbach. Also, wow! really enjoyed looking into Elvis home, thanks! like that hat on Ray ♡

Reply
Nan
2/8/2018 08:45:01 am

Finding that hat was one of the highlights of the trip. We had a lot of fun playing around with it.

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Kathy link
2/3/2018 04:15:31 am

Really enjoyed the blog readings on this cold Saturday morning. I don't imagine I'll get to Graceland do that was a nice look.

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Nan
2/8/2018 08:45:32 am

I never thought I'd go there myself, but I'm glad we did.

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Janet Glaser link
2/3/2018 10:11:36 am

Every one of those quotes was my favorite one. LOL..I'd read one and think how well said. Then I'dread the next and think I like this one the best. On and on till I had said I like this one the best on each one of them!! I enjoy your Wednesday Wisdom.

How Graceland has changed since we visited it nearly 20 years ago. It was just the "mansion", the gravesites and I think a garage or some out building of some kind. The interior frankly looked "frumpy." I was not impressed and very disappointed. Looks like they have "glammed" it up. The museum is definitely a place for the Elvis fans. Thanks for sharing those amazing photos!!

Reply
Nan
2/8/2018 08:49:54 am

Interesting to hear about the changes in Graceland. I expected it to be frumpier and tackier, but the grounds were lovely, and the house was nicer than expected.

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Sue Schneider
2/5/2018 04:39:11 pm

Another winner Nan!

Reply



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    Nan Sanders Pokerwinski, a former journalist, writes memoir and personal essays, makes collages and likes to play outside. She lives in West Michigan with her husband, Ray.

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