The Power of Elvis: Still Bringing People Together

One of the unique things about life is the power of friendship and the things that bring people together. People find common interests and friendships form sometimes overnight and sometimes over time. Those friendships then move beyond the common interests and a deeper bond is built because of that.

With big things like music, or more specifically Elvis Presley's music, it's very easy to find a common ground between people. It's not uncommon to hear stories about how Elvis brings people together. We've heard of marriages that started from a passion for Elvis' music. Two of Elvis' childhood friends, Guy Harris and Sam Bell, who never met until the last 15 years, formed a friendship over having the same childhood friend. Even young girls in the 1950s that started the Tupelo Elvis Fan Club became friends because they all admired the young man so much.

This past Friday, August 28, My Tupelo got to experience that firsthand. The Convention & Visitors Bureau manages two Facebook pages, My Tupelo and Elvis' Tupelo. Our Elvis' Tupelo page is everything Elvis and consists of Elvis videos, images, chat, and more. We have several people that very regularly comment and engage with us. Three ladies in particular, Bonnie (Virginia), Janis (New York), and Donna (Florida), never miss a post and honestly, are some of the biggest Elvis fans we've encountered.

These ladies began chatting on our Facebook page and soon began chatting off the page. A friendship had blossomed. The ladies decided they wanted to meet and see Graceland & Tupelo, so they picked some dates and made travel arrangements. Unfortunately, Donna had to back out, but Bonnie and Janis still made the trip.

They visited Graceland on Thursday then came to Tupelo on Friday to experience the real "Elvis' Tupelo," but decided they wanted to meet the people that had brought them together. They reached out to us a few weeks prior to see if it would be a possibility, and of course, we couldn't say no! Before these die-hard Elvis fans saw the Birthplace or anything else Tupelo had to offer, they dropped by the Convention & Visitors Bureau to say hello.

When people talk about touching moments, this was one of them. We were able to visit with Bonnie and Janis for a little while. We talked about Elvis, their trip so far, and what they could do in Tupelo during their stay. Their excitement for experiencing Elvis' Tupelo was contagious. They reminded us of how fortunate we are to work and live in an area where the world's greatest entertainer experienced his formative years.

Before heading out to see the sites, we grabbed a group shot with these awesome ladies and sent them on their way, after a big hug, of course. When they left we stood there in disbelief for a minute, because it was refreshing to see that Elvis is still touching lives and bringing people together. Had it not been for a simple Facebook page, these ladies might never have started that friendship or even experienced their Elvis trip.

We were reminded that it's the little things in life that mean the most. Something as simple as friendship often has the most meaning. From there, experiences and moments build that friendship and help it to grow. Janis described the situation best through the popular song sung by Elvis, "The Wonder of You," when she quoted "I guess I'll never know the reason why, you love me like you do, that's the wonder, the wonder of you."