Flashback Fridays: Saturday Edition

I was looking through some old photographs that my sister had dutifully put together for each of the siblings and I came across this picture of my family on our first outing after my parents divorce. I want to say it was 1980. I remember this trip like it was yesterday because of all of the events that took place before and after this picture was taken.


We have a saying in our family...."The Beck Family Vacation...." and it means exactly what it says....forget about National Lampoon....it simple cannot compare!

This picture is of my dad, Aunt Betty, Uncle Harry, Grandma Adams (my uncle's mom), my brother and two sisters, and my Uncle Joe and Aunt Sally at my Aunt Betty's house in Virginia. (By the way...that's me holding my hands on my face for God knows what reason....such the little homo!)

I always loved going there for the hot month of August - but this was the first time my dad took us on his own (without my mother). The trip started out terribly with my mom standing in the driveway sobbing when we left. (I found out when I was much older that she absolutely did not want us to drive to Virginia with my dad but was forced by the court to allow it to happen). Anyway, once we were on the road and all cried out (we were crying because mom was crying) we started getting excited about seeing our Aunt Betty and Uncle Harry and all of our cousins.

All of us had money given to use by our Grandfather, and I being the little banker I was took an old tool box and taped little jewlry boxes (the kind you get when you buy a piece of cosmetic jewlry) to the bottom to make a makeshift cash register (how resourceful). Little did I know that by the time we got near Virginia all of my money and the money of my siblings would be gone. Somehow, we had spent all the money on the way there (I am still a bit clueless on this). Anyway, we were getting to a toll bridge and my dad asked us for money - well....none of us had any - and neither did he so we couldn't get over the bridge to get to our Aunt's (btw - there was no other way to get there....we were stuck!) so eventually as my brother was trying to look at the map to find a way around this toll, my dad stopped at a gas station and my brother (I think) got out and begged the attendant for the money for the toll - luckily a good samaritan was found and we were able to continue on our way....Thank you gas station man!!!

There is more to this story that I will relay in a later post...trust me it gets better!