I met Sally a few weeks ago...imagine the situation...
A busy day near the market Downtown. She was stopping passers-by and asking for money, she was saying she hadn't eaten for a few days.
I actually believed her when she told me this story, she looked in a bad way and appeared to be very 'challenged' in many directions.
Her nails were in the most disgusting state, layer upon layer of paint had been applied and I don't think they had been cleaned off for months.
I took her aside and gave her the money she was asking, enough for a slice of Pizza. She really was gratefuland was happy for me to take a few pictures. I then told her that I would like to photograph her and would pay her for the session.
She was delighted and wanted to know how much money there would be... I told her enough to eat for a week. We agreed to meet later that day in the park.
Sally wanted so much to please her new banker that she came with yet another coat of thick silver coloured paint which was already peeling because it couldn't adhere to the greasy nails.
We sat and talked, it was very interesting and at the same time very sad, I won't go into the stuff she told me but I came, once again, to realise just how lucky I am to lead a normal life with people I love and who love me.
It took 20 minutes at least to remove most of the layers of paint, it just wasn't possible to remove it all... and still the nails were in a dreadful state.... I thought of taking her back home and getting a bowl of hot water and detergent and soap and really cleaning her up, but I think even my patient wife would think I'd crossed the red line here.
There's so much more to tell... but enough of the story for now.
Sally has such Nail Potential, she's not even aware that her nails are long, she just likes to see colour at the end of her fingers.
