[cabodream]

We hardly ever drive down the peninsula anymore, preferring to fly, but do remember seeing him back 12-14 years or so ago. Last time we drove down in 2016 we didn’t see him coming or going. Looked like he had a hard life and it may have caught up with him. Or his rich uncle left him an inheritance.

[boe4fun]

Not sure of the accuracy of this l, but I heard or read somewhere that he had to go back up to the states several years ago for some kind of treatment at a VA Hospital.

Last time we saw him he regaled us with his inventing the little pencil sharpener we used to use in school, songs he wrote for Elvis and coauthoring songs with John Lennon, his big ranch on Maui, etc. What a character!

[moto]

Another member here PM’d me with a similar story, hopefully he’s getting care somewhere.

I heard a lot of his stories over the years like he came up with the idea for the EtchaSketch and others. I actually think he enjoyed just talking to people and making them laugh.

[mx-rider]

Gotta Peso – that’s a character I had forgotten about. I only saw him a few times and we’d give him our change each time we saw him. I do remember the last time (maybe 10 years ago) we saw him, we were returning from Bahia de Los Angeles. It was the first and only real conversation I had with him and recall asking him his name 3 times; the first time he didn’t answer and the second time he gave us 2 different answers.

Asking him again he then asked me if I was with the FBI, making me wonder if he was simply hiding out in Mexico?

He seemed a bit apprehensive so my wife asked him if he had family back in the states that could help him and he said that he came from a wealthy family but they disowned him when he left home and took to the road when he was young. He then opened up a bit more and told us about some famous people he worked for in his life and something about Elvis and his plane, but it’s been so long ago I can’t remember exactly what anymore.

I do remember we gave him all of the pesos we had left on us and shared a good laugh about the guy on the rest of our trip home.

[moto]

A genuine Baja personality he was, always telling a different story every time you met him.

[McBaja]

Haven’t seen him in years. Maybe more than 10, not sure but it’s been a long time. Asked the guys selling gas in Cataviña about him maybe 5 or 6 years ago and one of them said that he got sick and some friends or family came to get him and took him back north.

We’ll probably never know for sure what happened to him, just as we we’re never sure who he was or how he ended up there asking for pesos.

[DB-Baja]

I remember one time he told me that among other things, that he came up with the idea for selling pet rocks. I laughed at him when he said that and so he pulled a rock out of his jacket pocket and asked me if I wanted to buy one? So I gave him a dollar.

Still have that rock sitting on my desk.

[Cruiser]

I heard that story but wasn’t offered a rock. I feel ripped off!

[moto]

Selling rocks to tourists in Baja. He deserves recognition for that amazing achievement, God knows how scarce they are down there. 😜

[bajajeepers]

I remember seeing a video interview somebody did of him many years ago – let me see if I can find it and I’ll post it.