The same feeling came back again on the day Priscilla lost her diamond ring in the tall grass at the Circle G Ranch. It was not many days after they were married.
One reason the loss of the diamond ring hurt so much was because Priscilla didn’t seem to realize she was a millionaire’s wife. She was the daughter of a military man, known affectionately as an “Army brat.”
Mike McGregor remembers it well. He had a leather shop out behind the barn at Graceland. He made some of the big jeweled belts Elvis introduced in Las Vegas. And he did some leather clothes for Elvis–especially vests in different colors. Mike took care of everybody’s horse down at the ranch–about 26 of them–and up in the barn behind Graceland.
I took care of everybody’s horse. But the horses I took the best care of were Elvis’ horse, Rising Sun, and Priscilla’s Domino. Elvis liked to race them. They’d go streaking up and down the hills. They’d go clattering over the wood bridge across the lake. They’d race all the way to the far side of the ranch and back.
Naturally, I tried to keep the boss’ horse in better shape than the others so he could win. The boss loved winning and I wanted him to feel good about his life.
But Priscilla would try to bet him every time they raced. Sometimes she would come out to the barn alone, and her pregnant with Lisa Marie. She’d grab a hold of Domino’s mane and pull herself up bare back. She’d ride off across the ranch like some kind of Indian.
One time, Elvis set up a big race. Priscilla took off her diamond ring and slipped it over the end of a bandanna handkerchief. She tied it around her neck.
They all charged off. When they came thundering up to the fence on the other side of the ranch, Priscilla suddenly grabbed her throat. She looked shocked. Elvis reined Rising Sun and wheeled him alongside Domino. “What’s wrong?” he said.
“The ring,” Priscilla said, feeling her bare neck. “My bandanna came off. The ring is gone.”
Elvis raised one hand like a cavalry officer and said, “We’ve lost Priscilla’s diamond. Go back slow and look for it.”
We walked the horses back slowly through the tall dry grass, trailing Elvis and Priscilla.
Billy Smith got off his horse and walked ahead of it so he could see down in the grass better. I jumped off. Then everybody got down and walked. At the top of the ridge, Priscilla stopped. Off to the right you could see the tall white cross on the other side of the lake, the thing that first attracted Elvis to the ranch.
“I think this is where it may be.” Priscilla said.
She slid out of her saddle and we all got down on our hands and knees and started poking through the grass. Before long, Elvis just sat down in the dry grass. He clasped his hands across his knees and looked off into the distance at the soaring white cross that dominated the skyline.
He patted Priscilla on the back as she crawled past him. “Quit worrying about it, Priscilla.” He said. “It was just a diamond. We can always find another one.”
Priscilla and the rest of us kept looking until it was nearly dark. Elvis got up and climbed into the saddle and hauled in the reins. “Let’s go gang. It’s not worth it.”
Priscilla was the last to give up on the search.
Then she got back on Domino and trailed us back to the stables.
She came out to the barn a few days later, all by herself. She wanted to ride Domino. “Can you bring her out, Mike?” She said. I unlatched the stall gate and reached up to get Domino’s saddle off the wall peg. Priscilla put that little hand of hers on my arm. “No saddle, Mike,” she said. She saw that worried look in my face. “Don’t worry, Mike. I’ll be careful.”
She walked past me into Domino’s stall, got hold of its mane and pulled herself up. She kicked its sides and Domino trotted out of the stall and hit the outdoors flying. Halfway up the ridge where she lost the diamond, Domino swerved. Priscilla’s knees couldn’t hold her on its back and she went flying through the air over Domino’s shoulder.
When they ran up to where she was sitting in a mud puddle, a streak on her cheek, Priscilla was laughing. Domino turned and looked at her, then walked back with a whinny. Priscilla got up and headed back toward the cottage with the bottom of her riding pants heavy with mud. As I watched her go, it struck me that Priscilla was having bad luck. She never did go back up on that “lost diamond” ridge, as far as any of us know. That lost diamond ring is still up there somewhere.
Charlie Hodge, “Me ‘N Elvis”
(note: It was Elvis who lost his ring. Read Priscilla’s comment here)
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