Willie Eaglin grew up in Washington, D.C.. He left school at the age of 10 and became a shoeshiner at the airport. During Prohibition in the United States, he was caught selling alcohol and spent five years in prison. He was married twice. At the age of sixty, he became blind; to pass the time, he began making small rugs from braided rags, mixing various textiles. He now lives in a retirement home, spending his days making his rugs or smoking cigars with the other residents and drinking grape juice mixed with gin.
EAGLIN willie
