Tag Archives: Taxi

As I plug along on my 100 strangers project, I’d like to share with you a chance encounter I had with a very nice guy.

I was in Long Island City. I had just dropped off my car at the mechanic and I was walking towards the bus stop. I had my camera out because I just snapped a few photos of a 1919 Ford Model T outside my mechanic’s shop. A cab driver who was preparing to start his afternoon shift notice me and the chunky dSLR as he was getting in his cab. He shouted over to me with a smile, “Take a picture” and so I did. I asked his name. “Medet Fidan”, he replied, and shook my hand with a welcoming firm grip and a warm smile. When I gave him mine, he wondered what kind of name I had. I told him I was Greek, and so he squeezed my hand a little harder, and said with a sinister smile, “ohhh! I’m Turkish! We’re enemies!” Continue reading »