Fresh Paint

I remember working with my old friend Schleupy the house painter.

There was something renewing about giving an old house a fresh coat of paint, even a new home.

I can still smell the new coats as they were applied. They did their job and gave new life to old or bare wood.

It's quite the opposite of 'whitewashed sepulcres'. That's just a coverup of something rotten. Cheap material at that.

Often, the painting was in line with other renovation or the building of a new house.

Like any kind of construction work, especially the craftsmanship Schluepy displayed and I tried to, it's not as easy as it looks.

I thought I knew how to paint, then I met Schluep. He asked me to show him what I could do. He quietly stopped me and said he'd show me a little something, in that raspy guttural voice. Come to think of it, his voice resembled the Scarecrow's from Disney lol.

It's also quite tiring. An outside job with rollers, though simple with just brush window trim, gave me quite a workout. I ached all over the next day, so badly I had trouble getting out of bed. I did though. What choice did I have? I had a job to do. Of course, after that day, the pain was less and so on til the job was done.

It was always a great reward to clean up and go out for drinks and dinner after a good day's work. It was a suitable reward. Well, the money was good too!

Frequently the painting was the crowning achievement of a team of craftsmen. Each brought expertise to the job and made something completely new or something old new again.

Aluminum siding just doesn't do it for me. And simply because a lot of people have it, well, I see a coverup -s-. The old painted wood is still there, underneath, old paint pealing, the wood unnurtured. A good paint job preserves the wood and the variety of colors suits many a temperament.

One woman wanted her house painted bright purple. The customer is always right! Besides, it's her choice. She complimented Schluepy saying, 'Don't it just shine!' The man knew how to please!

That fresh paint smell always cheered me. I don't keep a can handy -s-, but I still like the smell of fresh paint.

It reminds me of working hard, good times, craftsmanship, friendship and preserving something for the future.

I needn't say more.