100 South Mill Avenue

I had my first (ever) haircut at Ray’s barber shop. Please help in any way you can:

Dear Friend,

Last week I received an email about my good friend, Charles Boles.

Many of us in the community know Charles. He owns and operates Ray’s ASU Barber Shop in Tempe. The barber shop has been in the Boles family for many, many years. In fact, Charles’ father, Ray, was my dad’s barber… and I still head over to Ray’s for a trim, conversation and for the company of good friends.

I wanted to share the email I received about Charles’ situation in hopes of spreading the word throughout our small community of a friend in need.

Thank you for your time and continued friendship.

-Harry

From: John MacDonald []
Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2007 12:13 AM
Subject: Help Charles Boles & Family

Hello,

Folks like Charles Boles are the richest people we know. They are wealthy in love and friendship, and especially at certain times, those treasures are more valuable than anything in the material world. For Charles and his family, this is one of those times.

Charles, as you may know, owns and operates Ray’s ASU Barber Shop in
Tempe. The shop has been in the Boles family for more than 50 years, and was for much of that time owned and operated by Charles’ father, Ray. The Boles family has kept many generations looking good and, far more importantly, given countless thousands a place to relax and enjoy conversation every bit as important as a haircut.

(And you better take a number! But that’s another story.)

Our friend Charles was recently diagnosed with cancer. He had successful surgery Monday at

Chandler Regional Hospital to remove two masses from his intestinal area. He expects lab results back sometime early next, which will help determine the course of treatment. Despite a difficult time, Charles, his wife and two young children are doing fine — their spirits and their faith are strong.

It is with this faith in mind that we are asking your help for the Boles family. (We want to be clear that this plea comes solely from their friends in the  Tempe community and beyond, not from Charles or his family.)

Charles is a hard-working, proud, independent and successful businessman. But like all great barbers, he is paid “per haircut.” With cancer surgery and the upcoming treatment, it is possible he will be unable to perform his job for some time to come. In the meantime, he still must support his family. Until he returns, we will miss his quick smile, sharp tongue, skilled scissors and special friendship.

We need to raise money to help Charles and his family offset this loss of income, which could be substantial. The Boles Family Account has been established at Bank of America. The account number is 457006889784. You can contribute at any Bank of America branch. If you are a Bank of America customer and use “on-line banking,” you can contribute on-line via a fund transfer to the above account number.

We hope you will consider giving generously to a family who has been a part of our
Tempe community for generations. And PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO ANYONE YOU BELIEVE WOULD BE WILLING TO HELP THE BOLES FAMILY.

If you have any questions, please e-mail John MacDonald. Thank you very much for your consideration and friendship.

Sincerely,

Vanessa and John MacDonald

Tempe, AZ

Subscrbe here.

I write infrequently — never more than 10 times a year. I don’t write unless I have something entertaining or important to say. But in that case when I do write it is a long, rambling text message–typically with no regard to the edicts of Strunk and Whites Elements of Style. On the other hand, I don’t send attachments or banal coupons.

I look forward to stuffing your inbox…