What did you bring me?

Three or four kids are gathered under a tree alongside the road. The obvious leader is a girl, perhaps 9 years old. She’s clutching an armadillo in both arms – the animal is the size of a large cat and seems to be resting about as comfortably in her arms.

She’s smiling, signaling without words that she and her friends would make a very nice shapshot photo for tourists wishing to remember this tropical area of Mexico south of the capitol.

We’ve foiled her plan, though, by shooting while on the move – capturing this young entrepreneur on film as our truck rolls by. Using a movie camera does much more than capture a moment in time; it allows the photographer to capture transitions.

And the transition in this little scenario is rather remarkable. The incident was captured some 50 years ago and it has been a couple of decades or more since I last viewed it; but I remember both the day itself and the images captured on our family’s new 8 millimeter movie camera.

We were visiting a historic part of Mexico, an area that featured ancient ruins. It was a popular spot for tourists and the local residents had devised several strategies for separating visitors from some of their money.

A type of clay or other substance, comprised, in part, of volcanic ash, was used to create objects that had an air of antiquity to them – though they were pretty obviously being produced contemporaneously, the unique texture apparently made them popular among tourists.

When we arrived at one of the most visited sites, vendors gathered around in a sort of swarm, pressing their wares forward and making their pitches. Everyone was a target, even I – a 14-year-old with no money or interest in the products.

I noticed that many of the salespeople were actually younger than I. Perhaps their parents found the business to be a bit demeaning – it did seem to me to be almost a combination of sales and begging as the young people seemed to be appealing to customers’ charitable instincts as well as their interest in neo-ancient art.

The little girl with the armadillo flashed that smile and I was interested. She appeared to be truly friendly, interested in sharing her pet with passersby.

But when she realized we were stealing the product she was attempting to sell – namely, her image and that of the reptile – she became enraged. Her pretty face was transformed into a mask of hate and fury. She turned her body to block our view of the animal and shouted what must have been harsh words.

All she wanted, I realized, was our money. She was willing to pretend that she was interested in sharing something with us; but her only real interest was in making a buck – and that attractive smile was a sham.

She had fooled me. And I felt betrayed by my gullibility. I learned that some people pretend to be friendly while really only wanting something from me.

I didn’t go visit Niagara Falls on this trip, partly because for me it symbolizes the worst characteristics of tourism and the tourist “trade.” People have actually risked – and lost – their lives in an effort to gain fame by “going over” the falls; and hundreds of stores and stands struggle to extract dimes and dollars from the millions of tourists who pass through each year.

I get that old feeling at carnivals and county fairs, in Tijuana and, now, in Myrtle Beach South Carolina and today in Orlando, Florida.

I’m still planning to spend tomorrow in Disney World, but as I drove down to that part of town today – to check out the lay of the land – I got caught up in the world of “gimme.”

I’ll pay a fairly incredible entry charge to spend the day in an undeniably amazing place. And that’s fair enough.

But, in the context of that visit, I’ll be charged $11 for a parking space and will be offered all kinds of food and souvenirs at prices way beyond reason.

I wish the transaction between an excited guest to a region that contains something of great interest – be it a battlefield, national park or amusement park – and those who choose to make their living by selling products and services to those visitors.

It seems to me that there is a range of returns on investment that falls into the “fair to both parties” category and then there are transactions falling above and below that range.

That said, it would be nice to go back to Mexico and find that little girl. I think we owe her a dollar for those 75 millimeters of film we shot of her holding the armadillo.