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A few weeks after the initial bout of sightings, walking past Terminal and Main, I caught sight of these two stickers... One old, one new. This area's been frequented by our boy. An area to keep track of, it seemed to me.

 

A bit of a dry spell ensued, as no new sightings cropped up. Only a few e-mails trickled in, though some were informative. These from Wendi Yost... "I'm 25 yrs old and I live somewhere between Patterson and Joyce station. I see the Repent Sinner stickers and graffiti all along the BC parkway (the trail that follows the Skytrain) and in Central Park. I have a hunch that if the "idiot on a bike" theory is true, then I think I've seen the guy on the walkway from the Telus building that leads to Central Park, but I didn't see him in the act. My hubby is a security guard and he works downtown. He says he's seen this same guy on his bike downtown. This leads me to believe that this guy rides his bike all along the BC parkway quite frequently. I've also noticed the Repent Sinner signs are dwindling, possibly because bikes are now allowed on Skytrain". ...and later... "Sorry, I don't have a good description of the "idiot on a bike". He didn't strike me as an idiot, more like a bum. (Mind you I never spoke to him). I would definitely know him if I saw him again because he really stands out. Best description I can give: -possibly very old -dirty, unattractive -rides a bike -lots of junk on his bike umm... might kinda resemble the homeless guy on the 1990s movie Dennis the Menace. You know, very stereotypical hollywood homeless guy. Scary and mean looking (but probably not as armed and dangerous as he looks), bad teeth, long hair, bad stench". I subsequently got this from an old acquaintance, Asha Kydd "I am totally all over the Repent Sinner thing, but I honestly don't think that even an army could track this person(these people). I have been watching for nearly six years now without anything more than a small colection of Repent Sinner cards. I have actually collected cards that were brand new, as in within no more than a couple hours of being laid down. It is ever so difficult to track".

 

And then came December 3rd. Walking down the street near Terminal and Main again, and I saw some fresh spoor:     Pretty standard fare, really. Obviously fresh, and plentiful to boot. Little did I know, the hunt was about to take on a new dimension. For even as I was taking these pictures, the following article in the Vancouver Sun was being read by countless Vancouver-area literates.   "Repent sinner" crusader takes on mythical status. Scenes from the city as told by Sun Staff "Have you been struck by the mysterious Vancouverite who's come to be known as Repent Sinner?" Repent Sinner's calling card can be found everywhere throughout Vancouver. I've seen or heard about them being dropped on sidewalks, left on benches, inserted into mailboxes, plastered on windshields, stuck to poles. Repent Sinner's cards are devilishly simple: a small rectangular piece of cardboard covered on both sides with the hand-written words, "Repent Sinner". The lettering on one side of the card is invariably in black, the other side in red. The letters are written with a truly "magic" marker, since they don't bleed in Vancouver's dampness. Repent Sinner, a clearly hard-working crusader, leaves behind scores of cards at a time. A friend recently said he saw Repent Sinner cards being scattered by an old white man with a beard. Others disagree, saying the author is an old Jamaican lady. Whatever the case, "Repent Sinner" is taking on mythical status. My son recently found a bunch of websites devoted to the evangelistic phenomenon, some bent on "The Hunt for Repent Sinner". Speculation on the sin-battler's identity is running rampant. Clues are confused. The most graphically engaging "Repent Sinner" website may be the one established by David William Littler, a 25 year old Vancouverite from Toronto who, who says he's the founder of the non-religious, free-thinking "Church of Stuff". Check out Littler's site at http://www.bjorn-comic.com/hunt.htm with your help, maybe he'll solve the mystery. -Written by Douglas Todd. Sun Religion Reporter. Well. Anyone who knows me knows that I feed off of attention like the rest of you monkeys feed off of food. This enlivened me enormously, and, mopre importantly, netted me some worthy accounts via e-mail.

 

And that very day, I got this from Karen Kolenda: "my favorite repent sinner sighting was along a stretch of broadway where he(she) had inserted a small cardboard repent sinner in the small flat space between the the two dials on a parking meter. each meter for a block had been repented. i was also sternly questioned at the u.s.border as to the meaning of the red tape repent sinner affixed across my steering wheel. good luck with the hunt!" "Repented". I love that. I think I'm going to adopt that verb in all future accounts. This came from a fellow named Mark; clearly a fellow hunter, and a dedicated one. "hey god king, I've been collecting Repent Sinners for years now and have a collection of probably a few hundred of these things, all different sizes and formats. Has anyone collected the prize yet ? I have more than enough to collect.If you like I can photograph some of my collection to send to you or perhaps we could even get together sometime so you can pick my brain and check out what ii have. I don't think that it is a group of people cause the printing is far to consistent". I have every intention of talking further to this guy and getting some pictures of his masterful collection of Repent Sinner works. Maybe we could start a gallery for these things. But! The best was yet to come! This enticing account comes from someone named "C. Barton". I assume it's the masked avenger known as Hawkeye. "Repent Sinner Guy is a older bearded white guy named Roy. I know him from seeing him around New Westminster and spotted him dropping a Repent Sinner (a nice wooden one) when I was walking behind him down 4th Street a couple of years ago. In the past I have seen Roy coming out of a rooming house (or group home?) on Royal Avenue at the foot of 2nd Street. This house has now been gutted. He may still live in New Westminster, and may possibly be found around dinnertime at [a location which I choose to keep discreet] where I heard he is fed most nights on the house. The rumour is Roy underwent a colostomy years ago, and that is why he always wears a buttoned-up bulky overcoat. Summer before last when the weather got real hot I heard some people who knew him (from the Windjammer?) got together and bought him a nice, long lightweight shirt to wear instead of his winter coat". Subsequent e-mail between "Clint" (as I'm calling him, until I learn otherwise) and I resulted in this: "I have heard that although Roy will talk to some people sometimes, he is a quiet guy who may not be quite 100% there in the mental department (though not at all to the extent of the descriptions of Jamaican Lady). Some emotional trauma that never went away, or slightly autistic maybe? I don't know - I haven't spoken with Roy personally. Maybe he and Jamaican Lady know each from some facility they were both at and he keeps her card supply topped up. When I was walking behind Roy and saw him drop his little wooden sign to the sidewalk he appeared to be trying to do so very surreptitiously. Maybe if he's not all there he wants people to believe God dropped them off personally, in which case he won't want to admit to being involved in any way. I would think a person would have to follow him, catch him at it, and then even after confronting him with a photo or whatever still be prepared for him to deny it. On the other hand maybe he won't. Who knows. In any case I will try to talk to a guy tonight who I know he has gotten Roy to talk a couple of times in the past and see what he thinks". Roy. His name - most likely - is Roy. Oh, I am so all over this. Tomorrow night, I think a visit to this location is in order. Expect some news soon.

 

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