Man gives up Elvis collection for true love

Some people are willing to sacrifice for true love.

Take Jim Curtin, for example. The Philadelphia man auctioned off hundreds of items of his Elvis Presley memorabilia collection over the weekend.

He did so after his girlfriend issued an ultimatum: Leave the Elvis clothes or I'll leave you.

The auctioned items included three Elvis concert suits and belt buckles, necklaces that the rock 'n' roll star gave to girlfriends and friends, and cufflinks received from President Nixon.

In all, Curtin had 600 cartons of Elvis memorabilia. But he decided to give it all up to win back his girlfriend.

He'll also be a whole lot richer in the wallet. Organizers of the auction estimated all that Elvis stuff could bring in $2 million.

You've got to admire a man who loves a woman that much.

While I'm happily married, I've never been backed into a corner where I had to give up some prized possession.

I don't have any Elvis memorabilia to safeguard anyway.

Our children have plenty of stuff. But they don't have to deal with true love yet.

A fourth-grader, Bailey wouldn't part right now with her collection of stuffed animals which practically bury her in her bed each night.

She might part with the grapefruit and oranges, but only if she gets over this juggling thing.

Over the weekend, she juggled oranges and grapefruit in the garage.

I found the fruit in a basket and put them back in the refrigerator. The next morning, I found the juggled fruit back in a wooden basket in the garage.

Joni suggested Bailey should juggle plastic balls rather than fruit.

Still, you've got to appreciate her initiative.

Bailey loves fruit, and clearly she's creative with it too.

As for our teenager, Becca, she wouldn't part with her designer jeans and other clothes. At her age, it's all about the fashion statement. She's not about to auction her clothes.

She would, however, readily give up Elvis jumpsuits if they happened to show up in her bedroom. Of course, she personally wouldn't be caught dead with an Elvis jumpsuit or anything resembling one.

Now if they were torn blue jeans, it would be a different story. But jewel-studded jumpsuits don't interest eighth-graders even as Halloween costumes.

It might, however, interest Malaysian officials who, according to wire service reports, are working hard to find a good tourist draw.

They've set their sights on "Bigfoot" as they plan another expedition into the jungles to track the mythical beast.

Malaysia has been gripped with Bigfoot fever ever since some fish farmers reported seeing three giant human-like hairy beasts in November at the edge of a national forest.

Tourism officials suggested the reported sighting could help draw tourists, comparing Bigfoot to the fabled Loch Ness monster in Scotland.

If only Malaysia had Elvis memorabilia, it could really draw public attention.

The sighting of Bigfoot may draw a few myth seekers, but I'm certain it can't compete with Elvis belt buckles.

Elvis is so popular even in death that one satellite radio channel plays his songs 24 hours a day.

The same can't be said for Bigfoot who, as far as we know, can't carry a tune or fit into a jumpsuit.

~ Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.