A Daily Sign of One Man’s Life Work

Look at the cars rushing past. Watch the world whiz by 48-year-old David Wilcox as he sits on his throne at the corner of Edinger and Beach in Huntington Beach.

It’s not that Wilcox speaks in such grandiose terms about himself. He’s not a king; he’s just the “sign man,” dispensing daily wisdom on a large placard for anyone to accept or reject.

He doesn’t wave his arms or shout at passing cars. He’s just there, day in and day out, sitting on a crate or his backpack until the spirit moves him to relocate.

Which is what he’ll be doing this weekend, having completed about 40 days at the Huntington Beach corner. From there, he’s thinking maybe the Tustin Ranch area.

Wilcox has become a bit of a local legend over the years. He’s got a valise full of newspaper clippings, most from community papers or school papers. He says he’s been at 40 Orange County street corners, never staying longer than a month or two. He stays all day, but he’s not complaining. He keeps himself groomed and clean and doesn’t ask for money. If you saw him in a lineup, you might mistake him for a golfer.

But he’s not. It’s not quite clear, even after talking to him, exactly what he is. The tendency, which he readily acknowledges, is to take him for a bit of an odd duck.

“But anyone who says I am won’t give a good reason,” he says.

Isn’t spending your days on a street corner enough reason, I ask.

“There’s no other way to reach people who don’t want to be reached,” he says. “In California, there’s a very large group of disconnected people who find it easy to hide behind the windshields of their cars driving to and from their TV screens. I sit at the gateway of their neighborhoods and reach people who don’t want to be reached.”

Efforts to pierce the sense of mystery don’t meet with much success. He says he grew up in San Diego and hints that he was involved in “the peace movement” and has been burned by friends in the past. Beyond that, he doesn’t give away much.

“If I told you I was a liar, would you believe me?” he asks, coyly. “What difference would it make if I told you to trust me?”

He positions himself near freeway onramps, a proverbial last stop for people who want to feed their mind with his daily message:

“You Won’t Even Be Able to Fool Yourself.”

“Above the Wing Is Heaven.”

And his personal favorite: “Why Am I Asking Your Question?”

He paints over each day’s message and then paints another for the next day. He gets his supplies, and enough money to live on, from strangers.

You never ask for donations? “I’m not the needy one around here,” he answers. “I’m giving something and it’s an important responsibility to give something people can help others with.”

Are most people supportive? “Most people aren’t even supportive of themselves. I don’t expect to be liked. I expect to give people something worth thinking about.”

And so, after about a half hour of trying to get at who David Wilcox is, it dawns on me that it doesn’t matter. He’s right when he says, “I’m not even a ‘me’ anymore.”

What he is is what’s on that sign every day. You can laugh at it, ignore it or digest it. You can chew on it or spit it out.

“Telling people what to believe doesn’t work,” he says. “I’m not preaching at them or labeling them. That’s why they’re willing to think about these signs.”

Can you handle a life like this, I ask. “Handle? What do you mean, handle? I’ve never been more satisfied in my life. For 20 years, I agonized over dead ends and being ripped off. . . . I couldn’t hope to be any more than this. This is what I always asked for. I prayed, ‘Lord, if this is the only way to reach so many people who don’t want to be reached, please don’t let me look like a jerk out here.’ I tell you, my prayers have been answered.”

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821, by writing to him at The Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail at dana.parsons@latimes.com.