Fort Bulis
My encounter with the Wildman
Topiary Fort
My fort was equipped with all my cool stuff. Listed in order of how much I wish I still had it: Tasco Periscope, Military Canteen, Aviator Cap, Big Bird wind up swimmer.
Items I still own: Swiss Army Knife, Compass, die-caste car, figurines.
10
Visiting my great grandmother was a weekly occurrence from age two to eleven. It was great. Even though she lived in a small apartment it was always an adventure. We would walk to Big Bear Market across the street, rent a movie from video world, and she would always let me cook meals. She allowed for me to have atonomy and always encouraged my creativity. Her apartment complex was a Spanish style towering two story with red tile roof and tan stucco walls.
The landscaping was curiously manicured with the various olive, bottle brush trees and other shrubs trimmed into reticular topiary. I’ve always loved plants and trees and I would play in the green space just outside my grandmothers apartment. Over the years I too trimmed and trained the growth of one of these bushes. Carving out the interior to allow me to crawl up inside. I even had a space for windows and a sun roof. I had a shelf and can telephones and a parascope, but I binoculars and other small adventure related accoutrement. The bush was mostly intact over the years, but it is now been so trimmed back it is hardly recognizable.
Ryan Bulis age 7, 1989
