Photos

The last day of 2005, and my last day in Merida. I was snapping a few final photos and thought I could catch this fellow without his noticing. How misguided.

I was totally busted. Whatever innocent front I was putting on, this guy wasn't buying it. I was taking his picture, he knew it, and he was damned suspicious about why.

Most people in Merida were enormously welcoming, even with my lens shoved into the private details of their their daily lives like some intrusive, alien eye. This guy didn't exactly make me feel unwelcome, but under his gaze I did feel I had something to answer for, something for which I certainly did not have adequate Spanish.

I mean, hell, can't a working man just stand against a wall and take a little waking siesta without being pestered?

Given my own trespasses, I'll have to remember to be especially gracious about it if a Mexican tourist ever decides to turn the tables and take my photo after I've spent a hard day at work... when I'm on the subway perhaps, or trudging up my street, longing to be in the sanctuary of my own home. Anything less than graciousness would by hypocritical.