Zig and Zag.

It started off like any other night shoot. That was until a former priest from Medellin, Columbia decided to take an uncomfortable interest in me and more importantly my camera. I am a pretty big guy and would like to think of myself as being pretty capable of self defense. But when you are standing in a dark side street taking pictures in the middle of the night and a man approaches you and asks if you have a gun, you tend to get a little nervous. He made no threating gestures and I couldn't pick up anything overly ominous about his words. No, it was his eyes that did the talking, and they were focused on my camera. So there I am wondering to myself how fast I might be able to run with all my gear, which I figured I could make it about a block and a half before he caught up. I kept listening to his story of hardship all the while looking for an escape route, either though negotiation or sheer adrenaline aided speed. Finally after what seemed like twenty minutes of awkwardly proposed schemes to get a little cash which included: Him selling my camera to the nearest pawn shop, or the aforementioned question about whether or not I was carrying a gun, which he wanted to use to rob a business, he got to the point of it all. "You got seven fifty so I can stay at a hostel?" I quickly grabbed the two dollars I had in my left pocket and told him that was all there was. He took it and quickly disappeared back into the alleys. I figured it was a small price to pay considering what I had to loose in my camera bag, plus I really hate running.