Sam Thompson, Bodyguard:
“One time, my sister Linda, my wife Louise, and I were with Elvis. We had gone down to Mississippi to visit the old Circle G Ranch and were driving back to Memphis in Elvis’s Stutz Bearcat.
As we drove along Highway 51, we saw a young boy, maybe 10 or 11 years old, sitting by the road. It was a hot summer day, and the air was full of dust. The kid was covered in it, sitting at a little watermelon stand.
Elvis pulled over—this was the middle of nowhere. The boy definitely knew who Elvis was, but he wasn’t going to show it. He acted like a serious businessman.
He just sat there, waiting. Elvis had to be the one to start talking. “How much are the watermelons?” he asked. The boy gave his price, and he wouldn’t budge, no matter what.
Finally, Elvis smiled, turned around, and said, “We’ll take the whole stand.”
That was the only time the boy’s face changed—he couldn’t hide his surprise!
Elvis bought every single watermelon and took them all back to Memphis. 🍉”