A Picture is Worth 5 Euro (Each)

(A story from Rome, Italy, in Early September)

This story is about a man nicknamed "Drunk Roman Legionnaire on Leave in the Countryside," and he clearly deserved it. While wandering through Rome after being awake for 30 hours, myself and some friends tried to get into an archeological site by walking through the exit instead of the entrance. While attempting this, we were approached by a man dressed as a Roman Legionnaire, and he said: "I have two things to say: first, this is the exit. Second, would you like a picture?" Thinking that because it was our first day in Italy it would be a good memory, I said yes, and was surprised that when I tried to hand my camera to a friend to take the picture, the soldier intercepted it and told us to go stand by his friend, another soldier about twenty yards away. So myself and three others walked down, and this legionnaire, the drunk man from the opening sentence, began telling us how to pose. He told Nick: "F--- you boy, get down" but Nick wouldn't, so he grabbed his ear and started to move him down (apparently it was vital to the photo). That is why Brian is on the ground in the picture, because he didn't want to push the guy.

After the photo was taken, he asked each of us: "Boy, Bush or Obama?"
Brian said: McCain. Wrong. "F--- you boy, get down"
I said: Obama. Wrong. "F--- you boy, get down"
Joey said: Neither. Wrong. "F--- you boy, get down"
Nick said: Obama. Still wrong. "F--- you boy, get down"
So with the four of us piled up, he put his foot up and said "George Bush is president!"
Which is wrong, but it was a lost cause.

So then his friend, who has taken some pictures, mostly of us standing there, returns our cameras and says: "5 Euros" (aka $7.50). I thought, well it was my camera and idea, maybe the guys can pay me back a bit, so I handed him 5 Euros, the first money I spent in Europe. Then he turns to Joey, Nick, and Brian and says 5 Euro. Short story shorter, we pay a combined 20 Euros ($30) for this picture, and story.

The End