Does 'The King' Live?

CNN reports that Andy Key of Mississippi has acquired the memorabilia collection that operates under the name of Elvis Is Alive Museum, and he plans to move it from its current location in Wright City, Mo., to Mississippi.

Key lives in Mississippi, and Presley, of course, was born and raised in Mississippi. Presley's mansion residence at the time of his death, Graceland, is in Memphis, attracting more than half a million visitors every year.

The new site for the museum hasn't been selected yet. Tupelo, Presley's hometown, is about a 90-minute drive from Memphis, and it reportedly is one of the Mississippi cities being considered. Other possible locations include Laurel (240 miles southeast of Memphis), Jackson (nearly 200 miles south of Memphis) and Hattiesburg (more than 250 miles south of Memphis).

Key says he is "open to the possibility" that Elvis never died, but apparently, he's not a believer.

Nor am I, but this report intrigued me for a simple reason.

I taught journalism on the college level for a few years, and the article reminded me of one student who came to my editing class one day wearing a T-shirt that looked like one of those commemorative shirts one can buy at a concert.

It said "Elvis Tour" on the front, along with whatever year it was. On the back, it had a list of cities and dates, such as the ones that sometimes appear on the concert shirts.

Normally, these lists will name the arena where the individual or group was scheduled to perform. On this T-shirt, it had things like "Kalamazoo, convenience store, June 4" or "Along Route 66, August 3, 2:31 p.m."

I wish I could remember more of the entries. Many of them were very funny, especially when you think of the "Elvis sightings" that have been reported in the media in the last 30 years. I seem to recall that one of them said something like "Denver, hiding in a men's room at a roadside rest stop, October 14."

I can't help wondering if the Elvis Is Alive Museum sells those shirts. If it doesn't, maybe Key will consider selling them.

You can visit the Elvis Is Alive Museum here. I visited it but I didn't find any information about souvenirs.