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Shed a few tears, shared a lot of laugh's at the memorial service that CBS gave for Andy Rooney this morning. I am inspired beyond belief. Getting to know him and his girlfriend, Beryl, this past summer will always remain a highlight in my memory.

street acrobats in Central Park

~100 Strangers Project # 14

I met Chris Esguerra sitting in my window seat on American Eagle flight # 4610 from La Guardia to Atlanta early Christmas Eve morning. Usually I book the aisle, but thought that I might want to get a shot of the city right after take-off. Since it was early in the morning I didn't say anything, but he brought it up, "I think I'm in your seat." I laughed and said it really didn't make a difference , but that I might want to try to photograph the city. Well, we both figured that I could probably get a shot from where I was seated. A great guy, he got into the whole thing and as soon as we were off the ground, he started coaching me. "okay, it comes up pretty quick! get close into the window!" I did get a shot, which you can see below, but unfortunately, the plane never flew at an angle where I could get a solid dramatic shot of the cityscape.

So often I end up sitting beside a nervous hand-clutching novice, a pontificating blabbermouth, or a scary silent type. On a recent trip from Warsaw, Poland to New York, I sat beside a pint-sized beer guzzler who insisted on the window seat, climbing over me countless times to head to the bathroom. It was refreshing to have a "normal" travel mate. We had a great conversation while we both felt like talking, and he watched a movie while I felt like sleeping.

We took a quick photo under the fluorescent lighting in the tunnel between the aircraft and the terminal. It took a bit of editing to get it to look natural, as you can see by the copy of the original shot below.

Chris lives in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan where he designs kitchens for his business, Dream Design Group. He was traveling to Miami to be with his family for Christmas.

thank-you Chris for being a part of my 100 strangers project. all the best in 2012!

"This picture is #14 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at www.100Strangers.com