By Nicole Matheson

Anyone driving on McCulloch Boulevard on any given day, has probably spotted the jovial walker always wearing green with a cheery smile and a friendly wave.

This is James Hudson from Hollywood, Calif., here in Havasu visiting family. He has become a familiar sight on North McCulloch Boulevard, and many who see him honk or wave in response to his friendly salutation.

“I’m trying to decide if this is where God wants me to be,” Hudson said in a quick interview outside a local store. “My brother has lived here for over 30 years. I visit him every once in a while. But my mom just moved here in 2019 so I come visit her.

“Everybody is so friendly here,” Hudson went on. “You go anywhere else and nobody’s even close to as friendly as here. So I’m like, alright God, is this where you want me to be?”

Howard walks a couple of miles from his mother’s house on Whaler Drive down to Bluewater several days a week. “I’ve gotta get my exercise, you know? I’ve got a long ways to go.”

His career, he says, is in the trucking world, but he thinks he has another calling. “I feel my calling is an evangelist. It’s just the way that I am. When you have a calling, you can’t escape it. If you try and be anything else, you’re miserable.”

James Hudson poses for a photo outside of a store. Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Hudson has found a local church to be a part of but has been to several, saying he prefers a more personal experience. “You kind of get to know people a little bit better that way. I just like fellowship. I think that’s basically it.

“Somebody said on TV, ‘Well what makes up the church? Is it the building or is it the people?’ There we go. So that’s what God told me one day. He says, ‘Jim, the people are your church.’ ”

Hudson spreads kindness in more areas than just McCulloch. “I go to Rotary and sit there at the lake and I say, ‘Have a nice walk.’ I don’t preach to anybody, I just say, ‘Have a nice walk.’ ”

“I see you everywhere, man, and every time I see you, I lay on my horn,” said a customer at the store during the interview, who preferred to be called just Brian.

“Every time I see him, it puts a smile on my face. Because he is like, so into it, you know?”

“Well, may as well be friendly,” Hudson chimed in. “Why not?”

“He’s awesome. I can always tell when he is walking down the street because I hear people blowing their horn as he’s walking by.”

Brian lives in the same neighborhood on Hudson’s walking route.

When asked why he always wears green, Hudson said it is his favorite color. But the most standout, consistent thing about Hudson isn’t his clothing but his sunny disposition.

“I believe God is in control of everything. Even the things that we think are bad, they’re not really bad because He turns it around for his purpose.” Hudson said. “So pray that God would have me where he wants me to be.”