This is the first part of my story...

One could almost hear Viva Las Vegas playing in the air as the plane touched down on the runway of the lighted city.
Boarding the plane a few hours earlier, I was about to set out on a new adventure. Complete with overstuffed luggage and cargo, lugging it along the airport corridors, knowing full well that the other reason I was here, was because my best bud would be waiting in this massive building to greet me! Seeing each other for the first time in over two years, it was just like old times down on the farm... a big hug and then we both start jabbering a mile a minute, barely able to catch a breath before going on to the next story. Here we were trying to catch a shuttle, get from point A to point B- and still have conversation in between!

An hour later, tired, hungry and heavily weighed down, we finally made our decent into the hotel room, you could still hear the echoes of the shuttle driver mumbling as he turned around in the concrete parking lot. We had warned him the luggage was heavy, but I guess the necessity of a tip must have far outweighed the worry of a back brace!

Once into our room, we were still talking and trying to fit our past 2 years into a 3 day weekend, we were not without topics to discuss. Of course, we also talk via internet, and if not for such a thing we would never have met in the first place! Our entire connection had been born via internet communications, not only establishing a solid gold friendship, but also a partnership that would transcend many miles! Of course talking via internet was not an equal to a physical presence, so this was an opportunity that would be rare and far in between for us- we had to make the most of the precious time we had. Only had one other time presented itself to us, when we were able to spend a week together in Memphis a few years ago.

So the night would begin for us just as most people in other parts of the world would be getting ready for a full night of slumber.

Not bothering to unpack, we made our way to the hotel casino- were I promptly got lost, and would remain lost for most of the entire weekend! I learned early on that if I was to ever find my way without directions, then I only needed to retrace the steps of those that carried around tall mounds of whip cream and strawberries...retracing those steps would always lead me to a little deli area that was just inside the back door. Thus, I was able to move about freely, knowing that as long as their strawberries held out then I would find my way back to the doors!

The preparation for this journey had begun when it was announced that there would be an Elvis Contest taking place in Las Vegas, for Elvis birthday. There would be Elvis competitors from around the globe, competing for a chance at the title for this competition, winning this would be a ticket to some good exposure and recognition.

Ads, promotions and notices for the event soon adorned most Elvis internet sites and it soon became a frenzy to let everyone know that this was a competition not to be missed!

We were unusually excited, because we were also being given the pleasure of finally meeting and spending some time with a very dear lady, Kathy Westmoreland, who had become a part of our world and Junes circle of friends within the last couple of years. So it was going to be great fun to have her down to earth ways along with us for a short spell.

After meeting up with Kathy we began our "all night-all girls" slumber party which would finally come to an end when we discovered that the clock was indeed working and that it really was 5 in the morning! Closing our eyes only briefly, an hour to be exact... all of us were just too excited to waste any time sleeping!

Bustling around, which isnt all that quick when you have four women that need mirrors, bathrooms, showers, and hairdryers.... we attempted to organize the day and the Birthday Party that Kathy had planned for Elvis. (Watch for that in Junes article)

Later on that day as the competition time was approaching, we would have to get into the casino and set up our table of books and be ready to give our support to all the ETAs that would arrive. Thats what we were there for, to sell a few books, and to support the guys.(Of course to seeing each other was an added benefit!)

For the unsuspecting on-looker it would have appeared that Elvis had magically been cloned-many times! You couldnt see nothing when the bright lights caught the thousands of rhinestones in their glare... between them,jet black hair and sideburns it soon became obvious you were in the right place!

You could feel the excitement in the air when the doors were opened, and the emotions began to flood the room. You couldnt help but to become bound to the enthusiasm that would envelope you like a glove. People were there to see Elvis, or as close as one could get 25 years after his passing. There was no holding them back as they sat in their chairs screaming endlessly as the guys finished their songs one by one.

Their freshly shined shoes were soon scuffed and the once neatly pressed jumpsuits would soon be soaked on the Las Vegas stage, there was no doubt that they were primed and ready to Rock and Roll! Giving it all they had while on stage, they would have to impress not only the audience, but the judges that were in the seats below. This would be the one and only time they could make an impression so that it could be scored and tallied to determine a finalist- so if you messed up, you might as well call it a night- because they were there to win this competition and only those that sounded as close to the King as possible would make it to the finals on Sunday. All the others would have to go...

I guess thats were the problem started...