Have You Seen the Muffler Man?

Going to visit Dad at the hospital in Escondido on and off for the last few months has made me appreciate all the good memories of growing up there. On my trips to and from, I would try to take different routes to see old haunts and trigger memories. The boys and I have stopped to check out Joor... the giant muffler man who has been standing watch at the corner of Juniper St. and Valley Pkwy. since I can remember. (Ok, I just read he has been there since 1967) At Christmas they used to dress Joor up in a Santa Suit. I was disappointed to see they didn't do that this year. (and I just read that he needs a new suit that costs $5K, so they haven't had a new one made and Joor hasn't dressed up for the last 2 years.) I told the boys about the Santa suit and just pulled his picture up on the internet with the suit on. Joey saw the picture and yelled "David, he DOES wear a Santa suit!" And if I recall correctly, he wore a Hawaiian shirt in the summer when I was a kid. The boys really got a kick out of him.