Help Larry Doyle!

"He don’t put a bolt to a nut; he don’t tell you the law or give you medicine. He’s a man way out there in the blue riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. And then you get yourself a couple spots on your hat and your finished." ~ Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman

“There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.” ~ Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Larry Doyle is not dead. He is very much alive, but he needs our help.

In the past few weeks, he lost his living space of 25 years. He was forced to give away many of his belongings. (UPDATE: Scroll down to read a comment from the man himself on the details of his current situation.) Then he broke his hip and lost the ability to help himself. He currently sits in a hospital bed facing an uncertain future.

Don't know Larry Doyle? You're missing out on a scholar of music and literature, a publisher of local authors, host of the monthly cultural gathering "Prose, Poetry , and Popsicles," a friend, and one of our region's greatest characters. If you ever sat in Crackskulls Coffee and Books in Newmarket when Larry was there, then you witnessed patron after patron tip a hat to him and excitedly pause for conversation.

Frankly we don't care what Larry does with the money. We just want to show him how much the community cares. He deserves it. Hopefully he heals, stabilizes, and graces us with his presence again very soon.

(Photo credit: Roger Goun)