Al's Edit:These photos were all included as one with yesterdays, 3rd July, and not stopped and rebegun under today. They have been now. I'll gradually insert quotes from Al Wertheimer to go with the images which will also help me put them in the right order eventually.
'Elvis '56 In The Beginning' by Alfred Wertheimer wrote: “Good morning, Colonel, how are you today?”
“Good morning, Wertheimer, see you made it. Sit down, have some breakfast.”
He always called me “Wertheimer.” He said it like a sergeant says “Atten-hut.” The last time I had been known as “Wertheimer” was during my two year stint in the army four years earlier. This time I didn’t say, “Yes, sir.” I said, “I think I will.”
The Colonel pulled the paper in front of his face and continued to read. After the black waiter had taken my order, I looked over the front page. The headline of the Knoxville Journal declared “Integration Tied to School Bill.” The secondary headline read “Hungary Declares Independence.” It was July 4th.
I tried following the lead story but the Colonel lowered the newspaper so that he could peek over its top. He was about to say something but, instead, quickly jerked the paper up in front of his face and whispered a command.
“Wertheimer.”
“Yes, Colonel?”
“Listen to me. Ask me a question, any question but just call me Colonel and say if loud. Now.”
With a full voice appropriate to addressing a chief of staff, I declared,
“Uh, well, now, Colonel . . .
As I said “Colonel,” | heard a snap behind me. Two crew-cut paratroopers in parade dress, their pants tucked info gleaming black boots, stood at attention with a smart salute. The Colonel dropped his paper, returned a casual salute and directed, “At ease, gentlemen, at ease. Have a good breakfast.”
They answered in unison. “You, too, sir.”
The troopers proceeded up the aisle to a table. I could see the light in the Colonel’s eyes as he looked over the edge of the paper. His day had started out right. I didn't learn unil later that the Colonel's title had not been earned in the armed forces but was an honorary title bestowed by the govenor of Tennessee in 1953.
On his way out of the dining car, the Colonel took one more opportunity as he passed the paratroopers. “Enjoying your breakfast gentlemen?”
“Yes, sir. Have a good morning, sir.”
“You, too, ya hear.”
'Elvis '56 In The Beginning' by Alfred Wertheimer wrote: We pulled into Chattanooga shortly after seven o'clock that morning. There was an hour left to kill before we changed to the day local to Memphis.
In the lobby of the train station, Elvis wandered over to the newspaper stand to survey the collection of men’s magazines, comic books and movie pulps. Modern Screen caught his eye. Without saying a word to the two young women behind the counter, he brought the magazine across the lobby and borrowed a pen from Junior, who always had a shirt pocket full of pens, and wrote on a page in the middle.
On top of the stacks of candy bars, Elvis laid open the magazine to what was now an autographed story about himself. He turned and looked at me, as if to say, watch this. To the two women running the stand, he said, “That's for you.” They looked at the photos, then at Elvis in his suit, white shirt and tie, and again at the photos. The woman at the cash register said, “Are you Elvis Presley?”
Elvis rubbed his hands together and said casually, “Yeah, I'm Elvis Presley. That's me.”
He pointed 1o hus pictures. They took turns looking curiously at the magazine while they served other customers. The woman at the register looked as if she didn’t know whether to say thanks or ask for a quarter.
Elvis said, “You buy any of my records?”
She answered cautiously. “Yes."
He grinned. “That's nice. That's for you, honey.”
She gave him a half-hearted thanks, stll not convinced that he was Elvis Presley. Elvis nodded and walked away, happy that he had started his day right.
While Elvis finished his breakfast in the station shop, the rest of us waited in the main lobby.
'Elvis '56 In The Beginning' by Alfred Wertheimer wrote:A porter walked by. The Colonel rose from his seat, raised his cigar hand and called, “Eh, Portah? Portah?”
The porter, a tall black man in his forties, replied with grace. “Yassuh.”
The Colonel reached his hand into his coat pocket and pulled out some bills. They were folded, so it was unclear how many dollars he held. Using the cash between his thumb and forefinger as a pointer he instructed the porter.”
Portah, you see these bags here.” The Colonel pointed his hand at some luggage near the bench.
“Yassuh."
“We're going on the eight o’ clock train to Memphis and it should be here soon. Could you toke these bags?”
“Yassuh.”
“And there’s some musical instruments out on that handcart on the platform.” The Colonel pointed the money at the door. “And youl see a teddy bear with them, a large teddy bear. Just make sure that they all get on that train.”
“Yassuh.”
"You do that now, ya hear?”
“Yassuh.”
“And if you need some help, that's fine, you get some help.”
“Yassuh.”
The porter pulled over a small handcart, picked up the load of luggage and wheeled it out the door. The Colonel tucked the folded bills into his coat pocket.
A voice over the public address system garbled destinations. I heard Memphis announced. On the plattorm, Elvis, D.J., Junior and Bill gathered around Scotty and his pocket calendar and discussed upcoming dates. The number thirty-five day local to Memphis coasted in, and as Elvis climbed on first, I saw the Colonel marching up the platform with the porter at his side.
“Now, Portah, did you make sure that all of the luggage got on the train?”
“Yassuh. I got one o’ the other boys ta help me.”
“That's good. That's very good.”
The Colonel mounted the car. The porter stood patiently on the platform. As he turned to face the porter, the Colonel reached into his coat pocket and, with a closed fist, laid the payoff in the grip of the porter’s hand.
“Thank you, Portah.”
When the porter unraveled the folded money, he discovered it was a single dollar bill. Saying “you” like it was a curse, he sarcastically replied, “Thank you, Suh.”
The sarcasm was wasted on the Colonel. The porter shrugged it off and joined the other man who had been helping him.
I had heard that the Colonel was a man of his word. It seems he took that quite literally. He hadn’t signed any contract with the porter.
'Elvis '56 In The Beginning' by Alfred Wertheimer wrote: Elvis spent the morning reading Archie comic books, looking out the window and combing his hair. At one point, tired of the comics, Elvis fidgeted and nervously pumped his leg. The conductor wandered by and asked him, “You nervous, son?” Elvis looked at him blankly and said, “Yes, sir.”
'Elvis '56 In The Beginning' by Alfred Wertheimer wrote: After consuming two orders of Southern fried chicken picked up in Sheffield, Alabama, Elvis took a stroll with his teddy bear, a hefty panda the size of a chair. Haltway down the aisle, he found a couple of prospects. One was a brunefte in a polka dot dress; the other was a blonde in a flower print. Both were in their early twenties. The blonde had
his atftention.
“Hi there, how are you?” Elvis asked her.
With the proper distance of a Southern lady, she replied, “We're pretty fine.”
Elvis leaned on the seat in front of them and presented his furry friend. “l want you to meet my teddy bear.”
She smiled politely and obliged, “Hello, teddy bear.”
Elvis pressed on, as if he were the host of Romper Room and she was his guest. “Teddy would like to know your name.”
She played along. “My name is Cindy Lou.”
The brunette had been watching this exchange with a mild skepticism, looking as if she had heard some lines before, but this beat them all. Elvis turned his charm on her.
“What's your name?”
She answered matter-of-factly, "My nome is Ann.” Out of courtesy more than curiosity, Ann returned the question. “What's your nome?”
“My name is Elvis.”
Now she was curious. “Are you Elvis Presley?”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, there’s a photographer.”
That made it a fact. Ann didn’t know what to do. “That's nice.”
Elvis tried to move things along. “I'm going home to see the folks. We'll be doing a benefit tonight at Russwood Park. You going to Memphis?”
The blonde now spoke. *No, we'll be getting off before Memphis.”
“Too bad you can’t be there. It would be nice to see you.”
“We sure would like to be there.”
“Maybe I'll see you later.”
They both smiled graciously and said good-bye.
Elvis wandered up the aisle with the teddy bear on his hip and took a drink from the water cooler. As he walked back down the aisle, he held the, teddy bear in front of him. As he passed the two women, he moved the teddy bear 1o his side, and like a ventriloquist with his dummy said, “Hi, y'all” as he breezed on. The brunette peeked around the seat to see if Elvis looked back. He didn’t. The two giggled. It was hard to tell if they were laughing at him or his joke.
'Elvis '56 In The Beginning' by Alfred Wertheimer wrote: On the other side of Grand Junction, Tennessee, Elvis woke from a catnap. I was seated across from him, reading Life and keeping watch. The Colonel was across the aisle, an unlit cigar in his mouth chatting with Tom.
It had been like musical chairs the entire trip. You had your seat as long as your body filled it. Otherwise, it was fair game, and at this point, I was in the seat the Colonel had occupied earlier.
Elvis got up and leaned over to me. With his eyes, he toId me to keep quiet. He grabbed the Colonel's hat from the luggage rack above me and obscuring the hat with his body, sauntered past the Colonel into the hallway toward the lounge. I was ready for a soft-shoe number. Wearing the hat at a rakish tilt, Elvis paraded down the hallway, exaggerating the Colonel's imperious drawl, “Now, y'all, y'all hear this. Now y'all make sure...”
The Colonel didn't get it. He wasn't paying any attention. He was busy gabbing.
Elvis returned the hat. The Colonel interrupted himself, looked at the hat, realized it was his, stuck it on his head and carried on where he had left off. Elvis looked at me and threw his hands up. Better luck next time. I thought about suggesting a paratrooper outfit but kept it to myself.
'Elvis '56 In The Beginning' by Alfred Wertheimer wrote:As he approached home, Elvis tucked his shirt in, straightened his tie, combed his hair and washed his hands. There weren't any paper towels.
'Elvis '56 In The Beginning' by Alfred Wertheimer wrote: At a stop in a rural suburb of Memphis that wasn't much more than a grass field turning yellow and a signpost that read “White,” the Colonel let his boy go with a pat on the back and instructons to say hello to his Ma and to be good. Elvis swept his hair back and stepped off the train carrying only his records.
We pulled out in the direction of downtown Memphis. Elvis, still dressed in his suit and white knit tie, drifted through the burrs and foxtails, wondering which way to go. When he reachecd the sidewalk at the edge of the field, a black matron gave him directions. With a wave to us, and a smile that could be seen for a hundred yards, Elvis walked home alone.