Neither Rain, nor Snow, nor 100-degree Heat Will Keep a Good Sign Twirler Down

Torie Spencer, 17, stood on the northwest corner of Newport Road and Haun Road in Menifee Friday morning, carrying a large yellow sign advertising a local auto repair shop. Wearing shorts, a tank top and a nice smile, she laughed as a young man in a passing car shouted out to her.

"I get that a lot," she said.

That may be, but what she gets mostly these days is HOT.

With the daytime temperature hovering near or above 100 degrees the last couple weeks, Spencer and other "sign twirlers" on Menifee's street corners are doing the best they can to keep cool. With just a water bottle and the shade of a traffic light pole, this recent Paloma Valley High School graduate is doing the best she can to advertise her employer's business while making sure she doesn't melt in the process.

On this morning, Spencer was the only sign twirler visible up and down a busy stretch of Newport Road. She has had this part-time job for a year, working 1-5 p.m. shifts during the school year and 8 a.m. to noon in the summer. She averages 3-4 days a week, making $10 an hour.

Is it worth it?

"It's good money," said Spencer, who enjoys having some cash for gas and spending money as she prepares to attend Mt. San Jacinto College in the fall. "But it is really hot. I try to find shade and when the sign gets heavy, I rest it on my knee. I'm just glad I don't work 1-5 anymore."

Spencer said during the heat of last summer, she decided to try something a little cooler, selling Cutco knife products. After two weeks of burning up gasoline with little sales, she decided sign twirling wasn't so bad after all.

"Yeah, it gets boring, especially since I lost my headphones," she said. "I just watch the cars go by and my mind goes a million miles an hour, thinking about stuff."

And yes, there are the shouts, honks and whistles from young men passing by. It can be annoying, but Spencer doesn't really mind. In fact, she met her current boyfriend when he approached her and gave her his phone number last summer.

"Usually I say, 'I don't want your number,' but I knew who he was from school," Spencer said. "I texted him and we went out. Now he's in the Marines, working on F18 planes at Lemoore Naval Air Station. I hope he'll be home soon."

Meanwhile, there are signs to twirl and shade to look for.