Ernie Coombs

Who is my hero? I have been asking myself this question for quite sometime now. I was presented with an English assignment asking for an essay on my hero. "Oh dang" were the first words that came out of my mouth. A girl without a hero. What am i supposed to do?

I went to the first resource a sixteen year old girl could think of "her circle of friends."

One answer i received was Zac Effron. Yes Zac is really beautiful and fun to look at but i don't see myself basing my life around him to rise above the rest. Zac never gave me hope in my times of need.

Who did?

I had given up on advice from my peers and I turned to Google and received stereotypical answers. i was just about to give up hope and write an essay on "the girl with no hero" when i was given an email. The email's title was "Tickle me." A little odd, yes, but it made me remember a certain character from a CBC television show that i would always turn to in times of need.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mr_Dressup.jpg)

Ernie Coombs, also known as "Mr. Dressup," captured the hearts of many children as well as adults for his warm smile and life lessons through the magic of dressing up. He showed people that you can be whatever your heart desires if you have a little imagination and you put your heart into it. For 38 years we watched Ernie become many characters he had made up from his tickle trunk. Though he is no longer with us, his memory lives on through the children he made so happy.

Ernie first started his career as a Fred Rogers understudy. In 1963 he traveled to Canada to work for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation or the "CBC". He worked on the early version of the famous children show called "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood".

As the Mr Rogers show went to the states Ernie decided to stay in Canada and remain working on the CBC. He then started working on the show Butternut Square. It aired from 1964 to 1967. From there Ernie starred in the hit show Mr. Dressup that caught peoples attention right away and became Canada's longest running television program.

Mr. Dressup played a significant role in my life. Before i was in school i had a zest for life and I wanted to learn more. Mr. Dress up gave me the answers to many of my questions and problems. I have learnt, life is simple. It's only the people you put in it that make it difficult. By putting himself in a wonderful world of make believe made me want to become more and achieve. Well, mostly at the time i just wanted to see what was in his tickle trunk. But in the long run i am proud to say that Mr. Dressup is my hero and the memory of him will live on forever.