A Sign of Home

The Lehigh Valley has many distinctive landmarks. There are the Civil War monuments at the very center of Easton and Allentown not to mention Bethlehem Steel's blast furnaces. For long-time Valley residents, though, the giant heads of Manny, Moe, and Jack - the Pep Boys on MacArthur Road are a welcome sign of home.


Alas, the Pep Boys have suffered the ravages of time. Wind and weather have eroded their visages. Last week, repairs were made, and Manny, Moe, and Jack once more smile down on the Lehigh Valley's main shopping drag in their full glory. I've not seen the 2012 version of MM&J. The originals sported 1940s hair styles and glasses which is appropriate since Pep Boys began just after WW II. Was this Pep Boys chance to update their corporate image to the new millennium? Do the new Manny and Jack sport Justin Bieber sweeping hairstyles? Does Moe now peer down through designer rimless eyeglasses? Moe's original perfectly round glasses are sort of hipster cool, but today's hipsters are probably not Pep Boys' target clientele for discount tires.


Resist the temptation to update Manny, Moe, and Jack's look, I say. George, Tom, Teddy, and Abe up there on Mount Rushmore do not get a makeover every fifty years or so to fit in with current stylistic trends. Those outdated haircuts and glasses on MM&J scream tradition and home.