Do you ever have one of those uh oh moments where you hear dueling banjos in your head and then you think about all of the movies you see where something tragic happens to the older Midwest couple when they stop for a bite to eat in the desert…maybe it wasn’t a movie maybe it was just my fertile imagination…but

We were following the navigation on my phone between Las Vegas and Sedona,Az…so we get to a corner and navi tells us to turn right….this is a gravel road in the desert for crying out loud. There was a “restaurant”-souvenir shop on the corner…this is a souvenir shop full of dirty shelves containing dirty shot glasses, dime store authentic Indian jewelry and indian dream catchers next to the little restaurant.

On the way in we pass a plywood sign advertising chili.

We are greeted at the dining counter by a young, blond girl 22 years old give or take 5 years…if you are picturing her chewing gum…she wasn’t.

WHAT CAN I HELP YOU WITH?

Something to eat…

He chimes in with a bowl of chili.

*far off look…..ssilence….OH WE HAVE CHILI ON THE SIGN. WE HAVE TACOs

He and I look at each other and say that 2 tacos apiece will be fine

For the next 40 minutes we sit at the counter drinking our soft drinks that thank god were in sealed bottles while she moves around the in side of the horseshoe of the counter humming, writing things on paper and scotch taping them to various bottles while we watched Karate Kid on the TV. After 40 minutes she asked if we wanted salsa, sour cream or guacamole..we both said sour cream….10 minutes later she came humming from the back with 4 tacos…guacamole, salsa and sour cream. We ate quickly and got the hell out of dodge..when we walked out of the restaurant, I was expecting to see our rental car on jacks, totally stripped.

all was well, we followed navigation down the dirt road, thru a desert village and over to the highway to go south With a memory filled with laughter and disbelief and a story to retell a thousand times as old people do.

Until next time….