Sign Man - To Twirl or Not To Twirl

Marty and I were out driving today, and noticed that there were an unusual number of people holding those advertising signs by the road. This began our discussion of how much we thought they would get paid to stand out in the hot Florida sun. Granted it is only March, and it is technically spring, but it is still sweltering out there in the heat of mid day. I decided to take some pictures of these sign men for my blog, and wanted to interview one of them. However, the traffic on this particular road is like a race track, and I thought better of the idea.

Instead I went home to the cool, calm of my home and did a Google search to see what a job like this gets paid. I found an interesting
Youtube video that shows what sign advertising (twirling) is and how it is really supposed to be done.

I also found a help wanted ad for a sign twirler in California. The salary for this one is not too bad if you are in need of a job and live in the area.

Apparently, most sign holders get paid minimum wage, but in other states, especially California, they can get paid more depending on how well they twirl their signs and who hires them.

The Liberty Tax sign holders only get paid minimum wage and, for the life of me, I cannot understand how they get them to dance around like idiots for that kind of money. The lady that does it on the corner of Palm Beach Lakes and Congress every morning seems like she is just having the grandest time. I'm not knocking it you see, but you would have to pay me at least 30 dollars an hour for me to hop around like a mad woman with a sign.

It must be a combination of the low pay and the searing sun, because there was no twirling going on today. The sign holder pictured above was at least standing with the sign. This kid seemed way more interested in who was texting him than doing anything else. I can't say I blame him in this heat. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.