I went to the Alamo today.

I have driven from west Texas back home to Houston many times, and I always pass the signs that lead to the Alamo as I go through San Antonio and remember the only time I had ever been there. I was only a child then. I keep saying that I will stop in and take a look again one of these times, but it never happens.
I still didn’t have time to go in and look around, but at least today I pulled over long enough to set up my camera and tripod. It was very difficult to navigate the one way streets with all the pedestrians without being turned in a direction you didn’t want to go for running someone down. But I managed to find the Alamo itself and then a $10 parking spots a couple of blocks away. I was only going to be there for a couple of minutes, but I paid the money and walked to the Alamo.
It took me a little while to set up my camera to where it needed to be pointed, and focus where it needed to be focused. Having done so I looked all around to find someone I could trust to take the picture while I walked away from a multi thousand dollar piece of equipment. I always told my children that if you keep safety, find a policeman. If you cannot find a policeman, find a mother with children. It’s usually a good bet.
I found a whole family! And the mother who was pushing a stroller had a Canon DSLR around her neck. She not only seemed trustworthy, but she seemed like she might know what she was doing with the camera.
I walked over to the Alamo I stood in my position and she took five pictures of me instead of just one. She really did know what she was doing because when I got back I realized the first one was completely out of focus. I asked her if I could return the favor. We traded cameras I put hers on my tripod and took a few pictures of her family. She seemed very pleased with the results.
It’s true that you can’t trust everyone but I really think you can trust most people. I could talk to a lot more strangers and make a lot more friends if there was only a reliable way to tell.