From Howard Whitehouse Vince Clyant just called to tell me of Drew Doyle's death. I wasn't surprised, but I shall mourn him in a cranky sort of way. He could be a miserable sod on the outside, but he had every reason to be, and underneath I always found him a decent and honorable man. He asked me to dinner with him at Historicon last year, after he'd bitched and moaned about the convention and the place he was planning to go to, and I couldn't quite face a night of it, so I made an excuse ('I'm eating with Bob Murch here, aren't I Bob?"). I know he'd have bitched and moaned all evening, and smoked foul cigars, and probably stuck me with the bill, but I should have gone. I just sort of thought he'd keep on for another year. He was a great terrain maker, too, and he and I shared many ideas, techniques and little tricks. For years he thanked me for introducing him to the delights of Durham's Water Putty! From Bob Duncan Friends, Bad news about Drew Doyle's passing. He was a genuine craftsman but, like Howard, I must say that he was indeed a strange bird. The first time I ever met him was late at night at one of the conventions. He was preparing to sleep on the couch in the hotel lobby so I took him to supper and shared my room with him. During our evening together he expressed any number of off-center notions -- and as I remember, one of the stranger ones involved his belief that America needed a totalitarian government. It was somewhat more complicated than that but it captures the gist. The next morning we were packing up to head home and Drew came to me complaining that he had not sold enough to pay for his gas to get home. There was a lot of hint, hint, nudge, nudge to his comment so I asked him to price the stuff that he had left. He did and I paid him. It was not a tremendous amount but it was enough for him to not only get home but also pay his gas bill that month. I didn't see him again for a couple of years but when I did he had a helper with him. I walked up and introduced myself to the helper. He said, "You are the guy who bought so and so from Drew a couple of years ago at Nashcon, right?" I told him that it was so. The helper then gleefully repeated Drew's comments about the occasion saying, "Drew says that you really screwed him on that deal." That was the last time I had anything to do with him. I would see him at conventions but I have to admit that I avoided him. Drew was not stupid and apparently he understood my reluctance to trade with him after that and he left me alone. Its a pity -- he did good work. I would probably have a dump truck full of his stuff by now. After he got sick several years ago, he would tell all who would listen that he was near death (and if they wanted some of his terrain they had better act now). And now, his prediction has come true. I hope that lie did not die alone but maybe that is the way he wanted it. He was a hard fellow to love and appreciate. One thing is for certain - his likes will not pass our way again. He was unique in every measure that I can think of. Back to Dispatch March 2005 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2005 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com