Some Angels Wear Hats

There are angels we don't always recognize. Not because they're hiding, but because they rarely draw attention to themselves.

Today I met Eduardo in downtown Petaluma.

At first, I noticed the hat. Then the tie. Then the way he carried himself. The kind of presence that belongs to another time.

We started talking. Eduardo is from El Salvador. He's a barber, a painter, a lover of The Beatles, and a devoted follower of the World Cup. He owns more than 35 hats and a camera collection that would make Ansel Adams smile.

As we talked, he told me he was never very good at math or history. Then he showed me his paintings. Let's just say God gave him different gifts. His artwork is extraordinary.

But what stayed with me wasn't the paintings, the cameras, or even his unmistakable sense of style. It was his kindness.

In more than twenty years, I can't remember meeting a stranger who left such an immediate impression on me. The way he welcomed conversation. The way he listened. The way he spoke about people. The way he carried himself with a quiet grace that seems harder and harder to find these days.

I know the local paper and others have told Eduardo's story before. But this wasn't their story. This was mine, and I bet there will be more to share.

A few unexpected minutes on a Petaluma sidewalk led to a visit to his studio next to Petaluma Pie and a conversation with a man I'd never met before, but probably would have walked right past had I not stopped to say hello.

One of the gifts of Rivertown Portraits has been discovering that some of the most remarkable people in our community are the ones most of us rarely take the time to know.

They're all around us. Walking down the sidewalk. Standing in line for coffee. Sitting a few stools away in a barbershop. Quietly making the world a little better than they found it.

There are angels we don't always recognize. Sometimes they wear hats.

Today, I think I met one.

His name is Eduardo.

~Roger