Poem for this day: The Greeter

||| BY BRUCE HANNA |||

“The GREETER!” — joy is stronger than fear of “the other”
(the surprising onetime largess of conservative Laguna Beach)

Southern Cal. beaches in the ‘50s
Beach Boys
Rte. 1, South Coast Highway
Orange County… Disneyland… REPUBLICAN stronghold
sybarite heaven’s self indulgent luxury
not yet constricted by folks holding their money tight
I got mine — roll up the drawbridge
origin of John Birch Society

yet… from the ‘40s to the ‘70s
if you were driving north on Rte. 1
at the “Laguna Beach” town sign most days
a tall shaggy-haired bearded vagrant
in bright red shirt, slacks, and sandals, maybe a flag
would lean into the road, supported by his cane,
look you in the eye… smile, wave, and yell:
“Hello-oo”, “Delighted to see you!”,…or “Are You Alive?”

Whomever you were, you waved and smiled back
because the force
of simple warmth and joy was catching
and it infected you with the jollies…
if you were new, you’d think “Who and what was that?”
EILER !
Eiler Larsen, Town Greeter of Laguna Beach

Born: Aarhus, Denmark March 1890
enlisted in U.S. Army January 1918, wounded
greeted in D.C., once got a wave from “Pres. Hoover”
heard about Laguna’s “Pageant of the Masters”
cast in “The Last Supper”, moved to Laguna in ‘42
worked at The Pottery Shack
life-sized statue on the sidewalk outside
conservative snobs tried to stop him in 1959

Laguna Beach newspaper took an informal poll
88% wanted him to GREET ON!
then Mayor appointed him the “unofficial town greeter”
then a client provided rent-free room, others meals
on Valentine’s Day, 1964, then Mayor made him “Official Greeter”
one winter he walked 80 miles to Palm Springs and began greeting
police escorted him out of town
Died: Capistrano Beach, CA March 1975

Words of Wisdom from Eiler Larsen—
“My mission of friendliness” is a special duty,… “It’s my spirit.
It’s a gift from God that few men have.” Reflecting on his life,
he said: “Some people have millions of dollars and no friends.
I’ve got practically nothing and thousands of friends who drive by to greet me!”

Bruce Hanna. 11/9/20
( based on excellent references on Eiler Larsen at Wikipedia and others )

MORE:

• https://www.latimes.com/visuals/photography/la-me-fw-archives-laguna-offical-greeter-eller-larsen-turns-80-loud-and-strong-20190312-htmlstory.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiler_Larsen