Standin' on a Corner in Winslow AZ

I'm a-standin' on a corner

In Winslow Arizona,

And such a fine sight to see:

It's a girl, my Lord,

In a flatbed Ford,

Slowin' down to take a look at me.
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Remember that great old 70s song, "Take It Easy," written by Jackson Browne and performed by the Eagles?

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Well, guess where we went today!

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Jacob wanted to spend Fall Break (a 4-day weekend) with an old friend from Camp Geronimo. He and Sean hadn't seen each other since July 2008, so they decided Jacob should spend this weekend with Sean and his family, who happen to live in Winslow, AZ.

We left the house at 9:30 this morning and delivered Jacob to Winslow at 11:15. Here are Sean and Jacob just moments before I gave Jacob a hug and drove away. He'll be home Monday night.

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Then Sarah, Dylan, and I drove a few miles deeper into Winslow, to the northwest corner of 2nd Street and Kinsley Avenue, right there on old Route 66.

Winslow is a small, windswept town that few people had heard of before the Eagles' song put it on the map. After "Take It Easy" became a hit, tourists began driving into Winslow, looking for the "corner" mentioned in the song. Citizens of the town chose a corner and worked together to create "Standin' on the Corner" Park in 1999.
Notice the eagle in the top left "window" above? Symbolic!
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It's a tiny little park, but wow, is it busy! We spent 30 minutes there, squeezing in our pictures between all the other photo-happy tourists! I didn't expect it to be so popular.

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At right are Dylan and Sarah with the bronze statue of a young man with a guitar. Some say it's supposed to be a likeness of Jackson Browne, but the official word is that he's just an everyman musician.

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I first learned of this park in 2001 and I've wanted to visit for years, but on those few times we've driven past Winslow on I-40 there was no time to stop and search it out.

Today we made time!

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Here I am with "Easy," as this young man has come to be known.

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He's a bit slim for my tastes, and he needs a haircut, but he dresses well and was very polite. (He was a little stiff, but I think he's just shy.) Everyone speaks highly of him. Such a nice, quiet young man.
Behind the statue is a mural painted to look like the windows of a furniture store.

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Reflected in the window is that girl in the flatbed Ford who slowed down to check him out.
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The mural used to be on the wall of a building, but now it's just a wall. The rest of the building was destroyed by fire in 2004.

A few years ago they added an actual flatbed Ford truck, which is parked permanently by that corner.
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Dylan tested the door. Sadly, it was locked so he couldn't explore the interior.

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Across the street was a beauty salon called the "Curl Up and Dye" salon. I love it!

After we said good-bye to Easy and climbed back into our car, we continued our journey westward. We had another stop to make before we headed back home. But that tale will wait till tomorrow.

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Until then, I'll leave you with this little hint: that's Dylan at right with his souvenir from the second half of our day trip!