The Tale of Ezale

Easel fever seems to be sweeping the junking blogs.  First, Shara found the most awesome easel ever.  Then, Linda found a cute little easel.  During the mall closing, I found one too!  It's vintage, aluminum, and a table top model, which means it's also portable.

Isn't it cute?

My favorite part of the whole thing is the tag the vendor put on it:  Ezale.  Now, I'm not really one to make fun of the spelling issues of others.  I have enough of my own.  Hell, I had to look up whether the correct spelling is "easel" or "easle."  No, it wasn't the spelling that struck my fancy.  It was the word itself.

"Ezale" sounds to me like it should be the name of one of those older country ladies I went to church with when I was a kid.  Or one of those elderly aunts that you would only see at family reunions and such.  I'm almost positive that I knew someone named "Ezale" in those days.  If I didn't I should have.  It's such a good name.

That got me to thinking.  What if Ezale was an artist?  What if this was her easel?  What if that wasn't really a price tag, but her way of marking her easel so no one would take it?   What if Ezale was known for her paintings?  In a small town like I grew up in, everyone would know about Miss Ezale and her paintings.  I bet she could be found somewhere every day with her easel set up, making a new painting.  The story probably went like this:

Ezale took her easel wherever she'd go
From the warm summer beaches to the glorious snow

Ezale was an artist.  How she loved to paint!
She used to tell others:  "With no easel, I can't."

"The easel holds my canvas the way I like it.  Just so.
It helps me make paintings wherever I go."

I'm also thinking that Miss Ezale was a bit absent-minded, hence the need to add "for painting" to her tag, so she would not forget what she was supposed to do with her easel.  The whole town is still taking about the time she showed up in the park with her blender and tried to paint a picture with it.  There are even whispers about the little notes she has to herself all over her house, so she won't forget things.  ("Take your night gown off before you get in the shower" is a local favorite.)  Everyone knows that artists are a little quirky and eccentric, so nobody really questions it too much.  Miss Ezale is the town artistic genius and the local color all rolled up into one.  Everybody loves Miss Ezale.

Then I got to thinking a little bit more.  What if Ezale wasn't the painter, but the name the painter gave to the easel?  I name objects all the time.  Lots of other people do too.  That would certainly explain the price tag.  Ezale actually was for sale!  I think that the new story would go something like this:

Ezale is my easel.  She holds my canvas up for me.
She holds it nice and high, and I paint what I see.

She's my most faithful assistant, my dear Ezale.
Without her all my paintings would surely always fail.

I love my dear Ezale.  We shall never part.
If it weren't for sweet Ezale, I could not make my art.

Every item has a story.  Sometimes you know them.  Sometimes you have to make them up.  Don't tell me I'm the only one who does this.