Photo by: gLangille
This is Chris Doyle. He was known as the Clyde Street Pirate. You could see him panhandling outside of the Clyde Street Nova Scotia Liquor Commission seven days a week. Chris died this week after having a heart attack. We look at the people like this and think that they are storyless. We gloss over them. We don't know their names. This man's name was Chris. Chris lost his hearing at age three. He wasn't formally educated but attended schools for the deaf and was self educated.He wore a patch because he lost his eye when he was struck in the eye in a freak accident.He grew up in Halifax, has three brothers. His father was a policeman and his mother was a housewife. He was married and had two daughters and had a job. He was divorced after 13 years of marriage. Moving away from the town that he lived in with his wife he came back to Halifax on his own. Deaf and missing an eye Chris couldn't find work so he started to panhandle. He earned $20 a day and shared a 2 bedroom apartment with a friend. I write about Chris because he has a story and his story matters. My husband gravitates towards men like Chris and the first thing he does is ask them their name. This was a man with a name and a story. The next time you see someone like this remember they matter to God and they have a story and had dreams that for some reason just went wrong. Pray for Chris's friend who is deaf himself and must try and make it on his own.
"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy..." Psalm 82:3-4
