Recession?

Money is tight. That is what we have all heard. It is on the TV and it is in the newspaper – so it must be true.

The price of houses is down – somewhere – so it must be the same here for me.

Times are tough… sort of… well maybe…

People still want their stuff.

My wife enquired about a product(and I think she bought a gift too quite a while ago) from the Bradford Exchange – which then brings a catalogue to our home regularly. It kind of gives you an idea of what people are wanting now.

I have shown one of the products that caught my eye. And I will file it under “I cannot imagine who would buy this”. An Elvis Cuckoo Clock!!!!
The script in the catalogue and also on the web site states…
Can it really be 40 years since Elvis®'s historic '68 Comeback Special? Now, a collectible Elvis Presley cuckoo clock pays tribute to the undisputable King of Rock 'n' Roll™! Elvis appears at the start of every hour to sing a part of one of his four timeless hits - "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel," "Blue Suede Shoes" or "Jailhouse Rock."

Enjoy Elvis for all time with this limited-edition Elvis Presley memorabilia, available exclusively from The Bradford Exchange. Showcasing famous Elvis images by artist Nate Giorgio, this cuckoo clock is crafted of solid wood with artist's resin attachments and a gleaming brass pendulum bearing Elvis's replica autograph. A whole lotta demand is expected, and you won't want to miss out. Order now!

Did I read that right? Elvis will sing at the top of the hour, one of his four timeless hits to mark the hour - "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel," "Blue Suede Shoes" or "Jailhouse Rock."

I cannot imagine why you would want this… except you may be over 65 and stuck in the deep past. Maybe you need a pilgrimage to “Graceland” where you will be able to….
"Get "all shook up" with the ultimate Graceland tour, which takes you inside Elvis' beloved mansion, through two museums, aboard the king's custom airplanes, and much more! The Platinum Tour includes an audio tour of the Graceland Mansion, where you'll hear an informative narrative, family memories from Lisa Marie, and commentary from the King Himself. Tour eight rooms of the main house, including the famed 'jungle' den, the racquetball building, original business office, and the trophy building. You'll go on a self guided tour of his two custom airplanes, the Hound Dog II and the Lisa Marie, commonly referred to as the "Flying Graceland." And for those looking for a sentimental time of remembrance, you'll have the opportunity to visit and place flowers upon Elvis' final resting place in the Meditation Garden."

It seems that people are now considering less long holidays with the money being tight – but rather considering fixing up the old estate by getting more stuff.

One local shop owner stated that people are now fixing up their homes and buying things they would not normally buy to make a “holiday at home” better.

Buying a 72 inch High Def TV will cost less than a trip on an Ocean Liner… and you can watch the activity that happens on the ocean liner from your lazy boy chair.

So the reasoning behind the Bradford offer… buy the tacky clock… and you not need to get all the way to Graceland. You can’t get to Elvis and his Shrine… but he can come to you – and EVERY HOUR sing a dumb song to you.

Recession fever… is real. When people catch it they do funny things. Now if I can just carve a Wooden Elvis Clock or something “Elvis—ee” I would make a fortune… maybe adding a few rhinestones would help too.

The fact of the matter is we likely couldn’t afford to buy the big vacations and the stuff before… anymore than we can do it now… not much has changed. It is just that we woke up and found that we should be directing the money that way now… and instead of giving the money away to someone else – buy something for yourself… NOW!

One strange thing is that “we” idolize a person like Elvis that lived in excess all the time. From what I know of Graceland it was the ultimate of Excess – and Elvis died because of his Excess.

Recession? Or is it Excess-ion?

~ Murray Lincoln ~
Source…
http://www.collectiblestoday.com/ct/product/prdid-104762001.jsp?_Bradford/_prod/_901+63/_/_/_/_&endeca=true&abbr=brad
http://www.vacationsmadeeasy.com/MemphisTN/activity/ElvisPresleysGracelandPlatinumExperience.cfm