In the late 1990s, the Boston University campus police, extending their authority over an increasingly gentrified Kenmore Square, exiled Mr. Butch to Allston, a neighborhood of Boston west of the Square. Mr. Butch sought refuge from the elements wherever he could by sleeping in U-Hauls, the homes of his many friends, a practice space where friends' punk bands played, and occasionally in ATM lobbies. He had low income apartments from time to time, but he never enjoyed the trappings of it, such as he “didn't want to buy trash bags”. Many people do not know he actively chose and enjoyed his lifestyle. He often played his guitar and penny whistle, peppering his dialogue with the phrase “in a kind way”. Many saw Butch as a sage, or a prophet, and he was known to commune on the sidewalks with college students, other homeless people, and those seeking his advice and friendship; Butch was kind-spirited and not known to be an "aggressive panhandler", choosing instead to have a smiling Rastafarian demeanor.