People Feature: Kelly of Oakland

People Feature Series #2

He was somewhat shy, looking down at the pail he was working on, filling it with paint and mixing it with water so the paint would be fluid and feed the liquid into a hose. He was part of a painting crew commissioned to paint a house in Oakland. There were some eight painters on site, yet Kelly stood out from among them. Perhaps it was his white jacket that says “Manhood”, a strong statement from a quiet man. Perhaps because being an extrovert, I am drawn mostly to introverts, and Kelly certainly appeared so.

When I took this photo of him, I told him he has a nice look about him. He immediately blushed, and looked down as he did in this picture. The first thing he told me after I complimented him on his look? That he was 58 years old. I told him you look as young and fit as ever! He smiled and blushed even more.