testmeat photoblog

i was relaxing on a deserted beach on the island of mucara, taking the occasional photo and listening to my ipod, when 4 young boys appeared out of nowhere. they were aptly full of childlike curiosity, asking what these strange gadgets were and how they worked. one of them put on my sunglasses, took my ipod, and started listening to my music. another focussed on my camera, so i took a few pictures to show them how it worked. inevitably it wasn't too long before they wanted a go themselves. it was cute to see their wonder and fascination at these unfamiliar technologies. the delight at hearing sounds coming out of a small, rectangular box or seeing themselves displayed on the screen of my camera. it was a nice moment, until i realised that these young children were handling an expensive dslr and an expensive ipod touch a few feet above a sandy beach. i didn't want to be spoilsport, but i really didn't want them to drop my camera or mp3 player into the fine yellow sand. after what seemed (to me) like an appropriate amount of playtime i gently and safely reclaimed my possessions.

looking around at what else i had to play with, their attentions turned to my bottle of sun cream. i explained what it was, which they took as an invitation to squirt large quantities onto their hands and apply to their arms and faces. no problem i thought, it's probably going to benefit them in this hot sun, hell they can bury that in the sand for all i care. now, i'm not a young boy, so i don't know the intricacies of how they think, assess and make decisions. but for some reason after their arms and faces were fully protected, it was logical to progress to other areas of the body. to that end one of the boys, with a mischievous smile on his face, took another big dollop of sun cream and thrust his hands down his pants. the other three took a cue from him and proceeded to squirt the sun cream in their hands, before also thrusting them into their pants. i'll be honest, i did not feel comfortable with this development. no sir, not comfortable at all. i had a vision of some of the older islanders stumbling upon the spectacle, an old gringo with a camera in hand surrounded by 4 young boys rubbing cream onto their genitals. i'd struggle to explain and justify that scene in english, let alone in spanish. i reacted like any normal, responsible adult would in that situation. i gathered up my things, said a polite goodbye and spent the remainder of the day hiding in my room.

here's the original