I Smile For the Camera Submission

The 4th Edition of Smile For The Camera takes its word prompt from the Ace of Hearts. What photograph do you consider "My Favorite Photograph," the one that has won your heart.

Choose a photograph of an ancestor, relative, yourself, or an orphan photograph that is your favorite family photo or that photograph you've collected and wouldn't give up for a King's ransom.

One of my most cherished photographs is this one. Stanley Edmund Beffort, my father. He was born in Salina, Kansas in 1935 to Edmund Robert Beffort (who died 2 weeks after my father) and Myrtle Mae Borgstadter. He passed away in 1988 at the age of 52. Being the eldest child, I was asked to say something about him. I remember waking up the night before the service, horrified that I didn't know anything about him. Not really.

My father was a sales rep for Samsonite Luggage and had a huge territory to cover. He left the house on Monday morning and we didn't see him again until Friday night. I don't remember him ever talking about his life.

About a month later, I received a box in the mail. It was from one of my father's brothers. Inside were photographs of my father from the time he was born until the day I was born.

OMG! My father had been a kid in the olden days! There was a picture of him on a pony, the yearly photos from grade school, etc. But this one is my favorite. I never knew that he was a towhead. He had dark brown hair when I met him. In this photo, he and my oldest son at the same age could be twins.

I now know that my father was not only a Boy Scout but went on to become an Eagle Scout. He graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Salina and went to K State University in Manhattan, Kansas where he met my mother. He belonged to Phi Kappa Fraternity while at college.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss him and wish that I had known him better.