I was standing beside our next stranger waiting to cross an intersection when she stepped into the street a little too early and came rushing back with a giggle.
Meet Allison aka “Allison from the Bronx”.
What brings you to Charlotte? “Actually, I wanted to come to the strip clubs. {laughs}”
Did you find any good ones? “I did. I found one, but I was too shy to ask the girls to dance with me. So, I’ve got a load of dollar bills on me. I might go there tonight and try again.”
“I came here twice before, but I didn’t have a good time. I think it was partially because I was with my mother and she’s a lot older, she’s elderly, so she doesn’t like to do a lot of stuff. And I keep hearing that Charlotte’s poppin’, so I just wanted to come back by myself. I created an itinerary for myself to do things, and I’m actually having a really good time.”
“Yeah, I do this a lot. I travel alone. I went to Phoenix last month, and I found this cute little blues club called Char’s Has The Blues. It was amazing. I went skydiving. I mean… I did everything. I went to a really cute African restaurant, a Guinean restaurant. I’m the type that… I’ll just book a flight and figure it out later.”
“My next trip is in Ouray, Colorado which is supposed to be the Switzerland of America. It’s a little town in a valley about ten blocks long, and it’s surrounded by the San Juan Mountains. Dope.”
Is there going to be enough action you? “Um… probably not, {laughs} but, I’ll figure it out. They have hot springs… I love hot springs. I’ll figure it all out.”
I have a feeling that you will…
What advice would you give your younger self? “Don’t be so gullible. My mom was really overprotective. She really didn’t brace me for the reality of the world.”
Technical Notes: I had photographed Allison in front of a sculpture and was starting to worry that it wouldn’t look good. I asked if I could take one more shot from a different angle, and that’s the one I picked.
Dan Russell-Pinson 