I’ve only been to Tennessee once. That was in 1995. Billie and I flew into Nashville, stayed with a friend for a couple of days. Then we made our pilgrimage. In our rented Cadillac, we drove down the 40 to Memphis. Graceland. Sun Studio. Beale Street. The cradle of Western Civilization.

Pictured is the Elvis Shrine that has grown next to my desk at work. It started as a simple Elvis doll, which I bought at Graceland. A co-worked decided Elvis wasn’t properly housed, so he constructed the shrine you see here. Immediately, other staffers began adding their Elvis-related items. The shrine still grows. The latest additions come from Bob Benz, another one of those Knoxville-based bloggers, and also a boss of sorts.

Being a boss of sorts, when he suggested that I need to make a trip to Knoxville, it wasn’t long before I was booking a flight. I’ll be in Instaville later in May.

No time, this trip, for a quick swing down to Memphis, but I will be flying into Nashville. Unfortunately, I’ll be on the company chit, so I won’t be able to rent a Cadillac this time. Somehow, it seems downright sinful to drive through Tennessee in anything other than a Cadillac, but I guess I’ll manage.