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For Elvis fan, royal treatmentBy J. NEALY-BROWN
© St. Petersburg Times, People in Memphis asked for Danny Murphy's autograph. Children hugged his puny body. Visitors to Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion wanted their pictures taken with the man bedecked in a rhinestone vest. Murphy, 45, is an Elvis fan from St. Petersburg, but some people thought he was family to the King. For four days in Tennessee, he was treated like royalty. He has cancer in his lungs, liver, stomach and connective tissue. He is too weak to work, but his desire to enjoy life remains strong. To make his longtime dream come true, friends and former co-workers collected money so Murphy could spend a long weekend in Elvis' hometown. "I had a blast when I was up there," he said last week after returning from Graceland. "It'll be an experience I'll never forget for the rest of my life for as long as I live." He has more Elvis souvenirs now: gold rings for each middle finger, a black leather cap, hound dog key chains, EP sunglasses and an Elvis Presley Boulevard sign. Murphy has spent nearly half his life washing dishes at St. Petersburg's Coney Island Sandwich Shop, a downtown landmark that has had chili dogs, milkshakes and all-business waitresses since 1926. And he has collected Elvis memorabilia and designed Elvis outfits to wear. In Memphis, strangers who were touched by Murphy's story donated limo rides and free food. A restaurant filled his request for mashed potatoes though they weren't on the menu. The Heartbreak Hotel upgraded him to its Graceland Suite. He took the first plane ride of his life after a push from Dorothy Harding, a former co-worker and mother figure who accompanied Murphy on the trip. He told her, "I don't want to sit by the window," and then he peeked over her to look outside. "He wanted to know what every little noise was," Harding said. After that, he was fine. At one Memphis stop, he spent two hours adoring a display of Elvis outfits. He got emotional as he documented the trip on a tape recorder: "I'm getting tears because this is the happiest day of my life." - Times staff photographer James Borchuck contributed to this report.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
