cussin’, man you better watch out! I‘ll tell you stuff that’ll make your feet want to get up and leave.

E: Have you ever had to fight out here because people get pissed off at you?

Bushman: Man, look at my charisma shine through.

E: Who is your favorite target?

Bushman: Oh between a black woman and a Chinese man. It’s hard to pick one.

E: How did you come up with the “bushman” idea?

Bushman: I worked for the city for years and hauled a lot of trees away. Really I was scared cause every time you pick up the trees there were rats and snakes that would stay in there. And then one day my grandfather whooped me on a tree. He took me out to that tree and beat my butt boy. And the tree has been in here (pointing to his heart) ever since. I think they just cut the tree, they had named it the tree of David ‘cause I was the only one who ever got a whoopin’ on that tree. And they just cut it down the other day.

Em: Did they send you any of the limbs?

Bushman: No, my sister got ‘em.

E: Is your family still back in Indiana?

Bushman: Yes.

E: Are you a married man?

Bushman: Once upon a time, all my children are grown now.

E: How old are they now?

Bushman: From 30 to 22.

E: Any grandbabies?

Bushman: The youngest one is about 3 months. My last daughter just had a baby not too long ago and that finished it off.

Em: Do they ever come out here to watch you?

Bushman: Yeah, I’m peepin’ around the corner right now to see if I can hide from them now. Hahaha

E: Do they live out here?

Bushman: I got one that stay here and one in Oakland, them the two closest ones, the rest are back in Indiana and Illinois. But when they call, you know, I am back there.

Em: Do you ever come out in the rain?

Bushman: It done rained on me, hailed on me and snowed on me all at the same time. Years ago. Even through the earthquake and everything, I am out here. It don’t matter, you know.

Em: Are there a lot of people during those times? I imagine in bad weather people don’t come down here that much.

Bushman: You know, sometimes on a rainy day, that’s where you make most of you money. Me and one little robot guy down there, he went back to the army, but me and that little guy, man, we would stay out here day in and day out, I don’t care what it’s doing. But he would drink beer all day. I smoke, I get on the weed.

E: You don’t drink anything?