Aid David's Healing and Creative Comeback

My name is David Lord.

You might know me from the Skull Club, and art gallery and performance space I ran for 20 years, in the loft of Temperance Hall, at Spain and Rampart Streets. Maybe you came to the Fringe Festivals there. Maybe your friend the painter, or your friends' band, got a start there. It was a launching place for so much New Orleans talent. Some local musical legends played there, as well. It was that kind of place. You never knew who might show up.

Maybe you know me as a tour guide. Once the building was sold, and the physical Skull Club shut down, I began doing historical tours of the French Quarter, telling the stories of crime & influence, piracy & politics, occultism and the spiritual foundation of this amazing city.

In the final days of August of this year, I began to experience extreme sciatica. I’m told it is compounded by arthritis of the lower spine. It is constantly, excruciatingly painful and has made walking more than a few yards at a time impossible. Working as a walking tour guide, this has left me without employment until I can recover enough to walk distances without debilitating pain.

I’m an independent contractor and a gig worker. I’ve been unable to work for over a month now. The funds I saved to get through the slow tourism days of Summer are mostly gone. I certainly won’t make it through October. So I’m writing this to ask for your financial assistance.

Doctors (2 of them) tell me this can go away, or at least be managed, by physical therapy.

I’ve started doing that. But it isn’t free. Then there are subsequent doctor’s visits, x-rays, and there’s talk of MRIs. They tell me I could be up and walking in a few weeks or six months. Nobody really knows yet. Still, I really can’t walk, and I could be on the street in a month or so. It is, to say the least, a bit terrifying.

Any contribution you can make would make a world of difference to me.

I need to raise about $4,000 to cover rent, living expenses, medical bills, physical therapy, etc., to get through the next 60 to 90 days. I've tapped out immediate friends and relations. This is my only remaining recourse. I'm asking for your help.

It's about to be October, one of the biggest party months (and my favorite time of year) in New Orleans, and I am unable to work it. This was also supposed to be a launch date for the online version of the Skull Club, but I find even sitting in a chair long enough to write this message is challenging.

I want nothing more than to get back to work telling stories the streets of the French Quarter, working on writing the new books I have in progress, releasing some music I have on the back burner, and launching those podcasts. But this all depends on getting healthy and keeping the immediate bills paid. Any help you can offer would be amazing.

Thanks in advance,

David Lord