F.F.F.

This photo makes me smile every time I see it. I have it framed in a special frame that has “Joy” engraved on it. This picture of me & my Daddy was taken in August 1987 in Colorado… I was 15 and about to start high school.
We stopped to let my Mom use the restroom…as she was “indisposed”…my Daddy and I made “our” own travel plans. Mom had us on a scenic route of Colorado back to Texas but Daddy and I decided we wanted to go to Four Corners…I think I even remember saying…”it is a chance of a lifetime”. (Four Corners is where New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah meet to make a perfect corner – it is the only point in the United States where the boundaries of four states intersect.) When Mom got back in the car after snapping this picture…she decided to get in the backseat and take a nap…perfect timing for me & Daddy to put our plan into action! We drove away from the majestic mountains and tree lined forests and wonderful cool weather only to end up in the desert - which was hot & dry and some of the ugliest terrain you have ever seen!
Well…you can only imagine what my precious Mother said when she woke up from her nap and looked out the car window! I did not know such words existed…much less would come from my sweet Mother’s mouth!
(In her defense…it was quite awful. We were on a Navajo Reservation and there was not a rest area for hundreds of miles. When we finally found a small store there was a HUGE sign on the front door that stated “You must purchase at least $5.00 in products from this establishment before you can use the restroom”. I think Mom & I bought $20.00 worth of stuff!)
Once we got to Four Corners it was anything but spectacular! It was…like I said…in the middle of the desert…dusty…and hot. There was a small marker everyone was standing around which marked the spot. (I should post that picture however none of us were smiling…but each of us was standing in a different state…at the same time…in the same picture – once lifetime!)
I have fun memories of the trip. My Mom did get me back. She bought a blue spruce pine tree that I had to share my backseat with…and it poked me all the way back to Texas!