12/04/2023
Every city in the world has its characters and notables, Baltimore is no exception. When we first bought our little Historic house on Aliceanna St in Fells Point, our friend/realtor told us about Kevin, famously known as “Buster”. Buster was one of those city characters, known and loved by everyone. He had been hanging out, sweeping, and cleaning the streets around our new little house on Aliceanna Street for years, long before we arrived. Keeping the street clean and tidy was his mission and was very proud of it. We never really knew Buster’s story. All we learned was that he was a US Veteran, perhaps suffering from PTSD after his service. He was, at times, loud and would startle you if you were not expecting someone yelling greetings in the street; however, he was always affable, very respectful, and willing to help. Once he saw us moving stuff into our new little place, he rushed to introduce himself, offered his help, and in a loud voice told us “I am Kevin, known as Buster (Bustah)” and that he was there “to serve and protect.”He said to “give me a shout if you need anything, welcome to the neighborhood!”
Every time we saw him thereafter, we would give him a small donation for his help and service to the community. He would not only make sure that the street was extremely clean, but he would also arrange the trash bins and dispose of any rubbish in front of our house. We would always see him in the security cameras, cleaning and sweeping the street without asking for anything in return. We made sure to always greet him and give him a little money for his efforts, he was always very grateful and would ask: do I deserve it? Did I earn it? He never asked for anything, and like I said he was extremely helpful.
There was a little dead tree in front of our house that I was planning to remove to beautify the street and make it look better, but Buster beat me to it. He removed the tree rocking it back and forth until it was loose enough to pull it out. This was no small task and required a lot of effort, but Buster was very strong and was happy to help his new neighbors. Sometime later, Buster found two dead wood box shrubs and decided to plant them right in the space where once was the dead tree located; when I first saw them I started to laugh, I thought it was hilarious… Buster, they’re dead! I told him… I know, he replied, but you can spray paint them green and they will look beautiful. I couldn’t argue with that!
My husband and I went to Home Depot and bought 2 American Green Boxwood shrubs and sea grass to replace the dead ones that Buster planted! Buster was so happy when he saw the new shrubs! I will take care of these babies and won’t let anyone steal them or mess with them he said, and so he did!
I have too many colorful memories about Buster to post them all here, but one that stands out is when a young doctor who was transferred from Hawaii to Johns Hopkins Hospital and was renting our house in Aliceanna Street while he and his young family looked for their own. He called us one evening to tell us that a “black man” was peeking through the window and he and his family were nervous. We checked the cameras and saw Buster placing a trash can right in front of the main door, nobody peeking in the window, we immediately jumped in the car to drive down to Fells Point to let Buster know that it was not okay to do that and that he needed to be friendly to our tenants. When we arrived, we noticed that behind the trash can there was a delivery package. A package that the tenants didn’t pick up and that Buster did not want for it to go missing. Buster placed the trash can in front of it because our tenants did not open the door to him when he was trying to tell them that there was a delivery for them. He did not know how else to protect the package; packages usually get stolen in busy streets like Aliceanna, so he decided that the trash bin was a good way to hide the package. When our tenant opened the door to us and found his package laying on the ground, protected by the trash can, he was completely embarrassed and remorseful that he did not open the door to Buster and that he alarmed us unnecessarily. Poor Buster, he was only trying to be good to these people! I felt guilty myself, my first thought was WTF Buster… you don’t put a trash can in front of someone’s door. Luckily I did not embarrass myself asking Buster for an explanation because I did not see him that night and I learned that Buster was only watching out for our tenants. However, I did learn a valuable lesson: “don’t jump to conclusions”
Kevin would call me his friend and family, at times, his Guardian Angel, I am so far from being an Angel!
Today, I learned that Kevin “Buster” passed away around Thanksgiving. This news broke my heart. I only hope he was warm, not in the streets, and that he was not alone. I will forever remember this man, who did not have much and was extremely generous. Kevin (Buster) I always saw you and you made a difference in our lives. Aliceanna Street will not ever be the same without you. We will miss you!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
God rest your soul, rest in peace Kevin, rest in peace my dear Buster!
