Missing My Friend Glen Solomon

I still can’t believe my friend Glen Solomon has gone to be with Jesus at the age of just 52.

I first met Glen on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2005 as I rolled into a campground on Chickasawhatchee WMA. We had coordinated a trip together so he could show me a thing or 10 about how to hunt public-land hogs. Little did I know I was fixing to get a crash course not only in hunting hogs but also in woodsmanship.

According to Glen’s GPS, we covered 10 miles in 2 1/2 days, but Glen’s never-quit attitude, and a hunting passion and a drive that I believe is unmatched, led to a pair of hogs, one of which was my first one from Chickasawhatchee.

“A day in the woods is never wasted,” he told me. “If nothing else, you can eliminate ground.”

I’ve been with GON since 1998, and I can honestly say that Glen is the man I’d rank as the No. 1 WMA deer and hog hunter I’ve ever known. That’s naturally why he was such a good fit to become a writer. This guy stayed in the woods all the time. If he wasn’t working, at church or with his family, then he was hunting or fishing. Ask anybody, they’ll tell you the same.

Just before Glen passed, I pitched an idea for him to become a GON online blogger. He was so knowledgeable and well-liked that we felt like his blog page was worthy of selling its own advertising space. From my understanding, Glen had several companies already committed to buying the space.

I don’t say this lightly, but Glen was a great writer who had a very special writing “voice,” one that some full-time professional writers don’t possess.

My opinion is that a writing voice is a God given talent, not something that can be taught. I joked with Glen that we were fixing to make him a rock star, but the truth is that he already was one in the eyes of so many who respected his woodsmanship and knowledge of Georgia hunting and fishing.

GON Editor Brad Gill (left) with a Chickasawhatchee WMA hog from 2005. The hog was well-earned and came with a serious education on hunting hogs and woodsmanship from Glen Solomon.

One character trait I learned very quickly about Glen was his very deep passion for Georgia hunting and fishing. His roots run deeper than any I know. Many of you reading this think you’re passionate about your hook-and-bullet sports. Heck, I think I am passionate about them, too, but I really believe Glen was on a whole different level. He told me recently, “It’s not a sport to me, it’s a way of life.”

Something else that made Glen even more special as a person was that while he’s the best WMA prowler I ever met, he never let on that he thought so.

We recorded a podcast in July, and he said, “I try to tell people I’m not a know it all. I just love to talk about it. If you get me talking about it, I ain’t gonna shut up. I just love it so much.”

Glen loved these two sports so much that he wanted others to enjoy it at the same level, too. He wasn’t shy about his “honey holes” and “sweet spots.” Go to www.gon.com/fishing/blackwater-redbelly-slam, and you’ll see what I mean. He listed 10 of his personal spots for GON readers to go and catch redbreasts. What does he gain from that? A giant blessing from sharing something he is so passionate about with others so they can go and enjoy it, too.

I think many sportsmen miss that point in life. Not Glen.

Most importantly above anything printed above, Glen and I talked about Jesus a number of times over the last 14 years. Glen knows Jesus, he told me about the relationship that he had with Him. Glen didn’t worship the creation, but he did worship the Creator. There is a difference.

Enjoy yourself at the foot of Jesus, and I’ll see you soon my good friend.

Y’all please keep praying for the family, especially his sweet wife Cindy, and their son Corey and daughter Candace.