Ism people

It seems the city mellowed out a bit this weekend.Maybe it’s due to the Super Bowl and people have been prepping pizza, chips, and beer for the 6-hour shouting and cheering fest. Whatever it is, there are plenty of isms to think back on to continue my rant. So, I’ll defer to a long-standing San Franciscism.

Down the street from us, near Fisherman’s Warf, there’s a man Bay Area residents fondly call “bush man.” No, he’s not a devout follower of our President.In fact, I don’t know his political views or any other views of his at all. The only sound I’ve ever heard him make is “EEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIOOOOOAAAAAAAIIIIIEEEEK!!!!”

Bush man sits by a garbage can day in and day out and watches the tourists walk by. He never gets scolded for staring because most passers by don’t even know he’s there. He hides himself behind a cluster of branches and crouches down so no-one can see him and, when a walker would least expect it, jumps out and yells. I’ve only had it happen to me once but that was enough to shave two or three years off my life from fear. Sometimes bush man attracts a crowd of eager onlookers waiting for his next victim. It’s like public installment art watching the reactions of startled victims. I’m sure bush man stories are being relayed across the country and globe.