Fight at the Plaza

In the Plaza Grande. Quito, Ecuador, Pichincha. 12:45 PM. Watching people. Tourists. Shineboys. Drunks. Police. Tourists. Tourists. Cameras. Presidential Palace. Munkey, Jodi joke about barefoot or sandalded shoeshine as we´re approached. Shineboy I, 8. Offers with a wry smile to shine Munkey´s bare feet. Shineboy II, 11. Walks by. Punches I in back. I takes offense. I punches II in the neck. I and II fight. The fight is in the face. Neither drops his shinebox. I yell. ´Ay, yay, yay...tranquilo.´ My stomach hurts. It hurts from the punches. We see a kid. The kid is rich. His pants don´t touch his shoes. His sweater proves he´s a skinny nincompoop. His glasses don´t argue. His age is similar to the pugilist, II. Their age is the only thing similar about them.