The "Greeter" of Laguna Beach left an indelible image

He had wandered the world, selling butter in czarist Siberia, fighting in France during World War I, walking the Appalachian Trail with his dog -- and strolling down Colorado Boulevard, unofficially bringing up the rear of the Rose Parade one year.

But when he got to Laguna Beach, Eiler Larsen was so captivated by it that he stayed and welcomed the rest of the world there.

Laguna Beach returned the salute, naming him its official greeter. In good weather and bad, Larsen would stand on South Coast Highway waving to drivers and pedestrians and booming out a big hello.

A block-longlane bears his name, and two life-size statues on South Coast Highway -- where he called out greetings for 33 years -- honor the bearded, wild-haired fixture of the quirky, artsy seaside town.

"They may think I'm crazy," Larsen once said, "but when a motorist comes to town, tired and weary of the traffic, and smiles when he leaves, does it matter what they think?" Larsen died in 1975.