Daryl Gay Nailed It

Dear GON,

I am 59 years young and have hunted and roamed the woods the majority of those years. In those days, I have read a lot of hunting stories and writings, including a ton of Daryl Gay’s On The Back Page life lessons. In the November issue, this paragraph pretty much sums up what our love of hunting and the outdoors is all about:

“My life has been lived in the woods; it’s where I’m at home. The first, soft, guided footfall inside a treeline is like no other step on this planet. the vibrance of life’s very essence manifests itself in a way experienced, not explained.”

Just a word of appreciation to thank you for capturing what it’s all about!

All the best,

Chuck Morgan, Resaca

Fishing Habit Led To Stage 4 Melanoma Cancer

Dear GON,

I know your magazine is already packed with a lot of good stuff, and you may not have space for more, but I would like to see an article warning folks about melanoma. I bought my first boat when I was 20. I have owned several more. I have spent hundreds of enjoyable hours  fishing on most of Georgia’s lakes, as well as ponds.

Because of this, I now have stage 4 melanoma cancer.

I have learned that this takes years to show itself. Mine started in a mole on my back. I never fished without a shirt on and always used sunscreen on the obvious places, but I now have melanoma. I would like to see more information on this in GON as a way to warn people about the dangers of being in the sun a lot.

Thank you.

Bob Bruce, McDonough

Freak Accident Involving Bungee Cord

Dear GON,

Just wanted to share my story in hopes to bring awareness to something people hardly think about. About a month ago, I was loading a doe I had just shot with my bow onto the back of my 4-wheeler. I was using a bungee cord, something that a lot of people use to carry deer back to camp, home or wherever. She slipped off, so I got off and pulled tighter to apply more pressure on her. When I did, the bungee came loose.

I was wearing my glasses at the time, and it struck dead center on the left lens of my glasses and shattered them and hit my eye. I lost sight immediately along with consciousness for a short duration.

As of now, a month later, I still have no sight out of that eye, and the doctors don’t know if I will ever get it back. I’ll never touch a bungee cord for the rest of my life, and I hope you could run some sort of story, even if it’s not mine, to warn people of this danger. I’ve been using them for years, but freak accidents happen, I suppose. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

Thank you for all you do.

Jonathan Wallace, Dawsonville

GON Social

GON Facebook: Bragg Clark, 7, took his first deer while hunting with his dad in Schley County.