I had a coffee 'date' with Eric, stranger #457. See him HERE. I arrived first, on a beautiful Sunday for outdoor dining. While waiting, I saw Daniel at a nearby table and decided to 'get some work' done prior to meeting Eric.
Daniel is 17, and a student at Suncoast Polytechnic High School in Sarasota. I am embarrassed to admit that I had not heard of it. Suncoast is a magnet school, with a majority of students taking advanced placement courses. Daniel also takes courses at State College of Florida. He hopes to attend nearby New College, on a career path to naturopathy.
Daniel is well read and thinks deeply about environmental, biologic, and political affairs. He is not shy about expressing his opinions. When Eric arrived, the three of us had a lively discussion. I said to Daniel, “I'll bet that you are near the top of your class.” He gave a small smile and shrugged, “I'm in the top 25%.” Yeah, that means that he's in the top 75% too, but I doubt that adequately describes his standing.
He was interested in the project, and we quickly became Facebook friends. Not surprisingly, I am too old to understand the cultural context of most of his posts. But he did use one of my images as his avatar, which always gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling.
As an aside, I got to play with Eric's Leica, a first for me.
Bob