They first appeared in books, later in the movies and television, then in toy stores.
Action heroes.
Bigger than life.
Put on this Earth to get the job done.
Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Tarzan, the Lone Ranger.
Well, now there's a new guy on the block.
Move over Indiana Jones; let's hear a big round of applause for Ed the Painter.
I was Christmas shopping at the toy store for some of the younger folks on our list, when all of the sudden...
There it was.
Right below Elmo! There stood Ed the Painter! Dressed in his paint-speckled overalls, brown boots and green shirt.
Right next to Bill the Plumber, Harry the Mason and Charlie the Builder.
Now I'm sure that Bill, Harry and Charlie were capable guys, but Ed the Painter just seemed like the real deal to me.
He's an action hero with a brush instead of a gun, and just like me, he's out to paint the world a better place.
At the checkout counter, a teenage girl said, "Do you know this toy is for 3-year-olds and up?", as she pointed to the side of the box.
I noticed her name tag and replied, "It's okay, Jackie, I'm buying this for myself, and I'm 36.
" She gave me a funny look and a lol.
"I'm a painting contractor here in Asheville," I assured her.
"Oh..
...
Then you're gonna have some fun tonight aren't cha?" she giggled.
Then Jackie got serious, "You know, I'm wanting to have my bedroom painted purple.
Could you do that?" "I sure could!" as I reached for my wallet to pay and hand her a Michael Dale Painting & Services business card.
As I headed out the door, Jackie yelled, "I'll have my mom call you!" I didn't really think I would hear from her, but sure enough, the next morning, her mom called and set up an appointment for me to give an estimate.
After I got home from the toy store, I immediately went to work, or should I say to play.
My wife told me I should keep Ed in the box and not open it.
Well, this wasn't a collectible.
It was an action hero that was meant to be played with.
And that's just what I was going to do.
I took Ed out of the box and set him on the kitchen table.
All of the accessories looked familiar to me, including a stepladder, brushes, roller, plus cans of primer and paint.
There was even a cute little drop cloth.
I decided I would just stare at him for a while; take in what a celebrity painter really looked like.
Ed was bigger than life and through him, I was going to be able to save the world, and that never seemed to come true in real life on the job site.
Then something caught my eye.
I realized that the gallon of paint thinner came up to Ed's armpit.
One of the paintbrushes was as long as him arm.
Come to think of it, it wasn't Ed that was bigger than life, it was his equipment that was so titanic.
Then it hit me that this wasn't any ordinary painter.
This was Ed the Painter: Super-hero tradesman.
Since he was super-human strong, he could use a giant brush to paint faster and make more money.
What would take me a week to do, Ed could do in a day! That gave him the extra time he needed to make public appearances and such.
I ended up painting Jackie's bedroom.
Dark purple on the bottom half and light purple on the upper half.
When I was painting Jackie's room, I set Ed the Painter on her dresser to give me some inspiration.
After Jackie's mom saw how great her bedroom turned out, she asked me to paint the rest of the house (not purple though).
Thanks Jackie.
And thank you Ed! I thought Ed and I would be together forever.
Anytime I was doing a paint job, Ed would watch over me to make sure I did everything perfectly and the customer was completely satisfied.
I decided that the future looked bright for Ed the Painter.
He would soon have his own cartoon and video game.
And I could be his sidekick.
Then it happened.
I came home from work one day to find my daughter's Chihuahua chewing up Ed! I couldn't believe it.
Ed was dead.
But then again, maybe he wasn't.
Just maybe he lived on in my heart, in my mind.
Every paint job I do, Ed inspires me to do the work of not just a tradesman, but of an artist.
Ed, I'll never forget you.
And if I ever paint your house, don't just thank me for a job well done, thank Ed the Painter as well.