One Who Waits

One Who Waits (played by Floyd Red Crow Westerman) is an 256-year-old Spirit Guide who helps Ed find his parents.

Summary
Despite no longer needing to eat, he still loves to smell food.

He can be seen by other Native Americans such as Marilyn Whirlwind. Other supernatural abilities include forging job applications and jamming doors.

Later, he gets Ed hired at the same same construction company that his father works. Ed learns that he has half siblings.

Episodes

 * "The Big Kiss" (2-2)
 * "Duets" (4-13)

Quotes

 * "The Big Kiss" (2-2)

One Who Waits (to Ed): A great search is one of the most important events of a man's life.



One Who Waits (to Ed): It's important to begin a search on a full stomach. ... One Who Waits: How are the hamburgers? Ed: Not bad. One Who Waits: What are the hamburgers? ... Shelly: Ed, who are you talking to? Ed: One Who Waits. Shelly: Oh. Ed: She can't see you. One Who Waits: White people can be blind. Ed: Why? One Who Waits: Because I...I'm dead to them. ... One Who Waits: Tell your friend there's only one thing to do when you lose your voice to beauty. Ed: What's that? One Who Waits: He must find the most beautiful girl in the village and capture her spirit. Ed (to Chris): He says you're supposed to find the most beautiful girl in town and sleep with her if you want to get your voice back. ... Don't look at me. He said it.



One Who Waits: Do you believe that all things in nature are alive, Ed; the sky, the trees, the rocks? Ed: Oh, yes. One Who Waits: Good. ... One Who Waits: This looks like a good spot. I think we'll find some answers here. Let's ask. Ed: Ask who? One Who Waits: First I'll ask the wind. Spirit of the wind, who are Ed's parents? Ed: What's it saying? One Who Waits: Shh...the wind doesn't know...or the wind doesn't want to tell us. The wind can be stubborn. There's no use trying to force it. We'll ask the water. Ed: Yeah, let's ask the water. What now? One Who Waits: First we ask; then we listen. Tell us, spirit of the water, who are Ed's parents? Ed: Well, what does the water say? One Who Waits: We've got a little problem here.



One Who Waits: Do you recognize this place? Ed: I don't think so. One Who Waits: This is where you were welcomed into the tribe. There's an old saying that if you come back to the place where you became a man you will remember all those things that you need to be happy. Ed: I don't remember anything. One Who Waits: That saying never did make sense to me...but I thought it was worth a try. When the men of the tribe brought you up here you were three years old. ... One Who Waits: Each man told you a story of the tribe; a history. They didn't expect you to remember everything. They just wanted you to hear the words. And when they finished, they picked you up and handed you man to man so that you would know|each one of them was your father. Do you remember? Those are your stories. And those men are your fathers. Ed: Are we getting anywhere here? One Who Waits: Oh, yes.



One Who Waits: Hey, Ed. This doctor--he thinks too much. That's his problem.



Ed (holding his hands up in front of a television showing a crackling fire): This is nice. One Who Waits: Almost warm. Ed: Yeah. One Who Waits: I fell in love here. Ed: Here? One Who Waits: When it was a field. A long time ago. I was about your age. I'd just come back from three days hunting. Three days alone with the trees. I looked up, and I saw this beautiful woman coming out of the woods on a horse. I recognized her. She was one of the young girls of the tribe. But I never realized how beautiful she was before. She didn't see me. She thought she was alone. She got off the horse and let the horse wander around the field eating grass. She just stood there and watched it a smile on her face. After a while, she got up and clapped her hands and the horse come back to her, and she got on and rode away back into the woods. Ed: What happened to her? One Who Waits: I married her. We had kids. Ed: Does this have anything to do with my parents? One Who Waits: No. It's just something I remembered. I'm tired, Ed. I think I'll go to sleep. Ed: Do you sleep? One Who Waits: Not really. I just close my eyes and lie on my side. Old habits are hard to break. Ed: You want me to turn off the fire? One Who Waits: Leave it on. I like it. It keeps me in the mood.



One Who Waits: You've got friends, Ed. That's a lot. You're gonna be all right. Just remember to keep your eyes on the road. It will lead you where you want to go.