God Bless and so long

[jmckinley]

  To all of you I have never met God Bless to you all and may your days be smooth and bright and may your days be filled with peace and Gods Love. this will be my last post on this site. My hunting days have come to an end. The pain I endure everyday gets unbearable after each hunt and i can no longer tolerate it like i use to do. Injury has finally takenit's toll on by ole body. Car wreck 18 broken bones in my back and chest, 15 knee operation, crushed vertabrae in my back and 2 bulging disks (operated on ) have finally made me rethink my pass times and hunting has finally lost out.I have hunted man and boy for nearly 50 yrs and the day has come to stop. It's with a heavy heart that i admit to but ag and pain has caught up with me. God Bless to u all. If u want to email please do so at jessc5555@yahoo.com.  Jess

[jpshaw]

God Bless You too.  I feel for you giving up a pastime that you've had for that long.  I've had to slow down since a heart attack but my Dr. told my wife I can still hunt.

[Joel45acp]

Be good to yourself and Praise the Lord for everyday He's given you.  Take care Bro.

Jeremiah 29:11

[Blucollar]

Hate to see anyone leave with 50 years of knowledge!
You may not be able to hunt but, I'm sure people who constantly need advice (like me) would like to hear from ya from time to time.
May God bless you!

[fish280]

bless you, Jeff.
Joshua 1:9.

[Graybeard]

This is I believe the second time you've announced you were leaving over this. Last time you rethought the matter and decided that just because you're not gonna hunt or shoot is no reason to leave and no longer fellowship with the folks here whom you've come to think of as internet friends. Do as you wish obviously but not hunting or even shooting is hardly reason to not come meet with your internet friends and share stories and think of old happier times.

[Datil]

 Jess, I have to agree G B,Just because you don't hunt or shoot'
 is no reason for you to leave, Come around Every so often and visit.
 Take care, Marv.

[rex6666]

I am sure their are people here that would enjoy reading a few hunting stories
from time to time, around the pot bellie stove. i to have hunted and fished for
50 years. don't think i could just stop thinking about it or stop telling stories about it.
I sure wish you would reconsider.
GOD BLESS

[PHATINJUN]

Jess I agree with these other guys ...I thought a lot about this the last time you posted on this . The guys in my camp have all made a pact that even as we get older and more broke up we will not leave anyone out of the hunt much less not have them around the wood burner .There is no reason to not at least stay and chat...you may not be the type who brings up topics or starts conversation and being behind a computer and not face to face with you makes it hard for all of us to keep you engaged but if you would try to do that more often I am sure we could keep you occupied here. 50 years is a lot of knowledge to let slip away you may not think you have anything to talk about but some of us ain't that exciting either. You ain't dead yet so come sit by the fire and chat and if ya do check out we can still prop ya up in a cool corner of the cabin til ya start to stink in the spring .Peace Kurt

PS It's called depression and in this day and age it's very treatable talk to your doctor lots of people suffer from it without knowing I have gone thru it a couple of times and it ain't no fun but you don't have to live with it tell your doc. Kurt
PSS The only people who think it's normal are the ones who have never suffered.

[quickdtoo]

Jess,

I dunno what's goin on in your life, but this is the 4th time you've said good-bye in less than a year, as Kurt hinted at, depression can affect us big time, and leaving your friends here isn't gonna help ya, please get some professional help buddy, your family and friends need ya to get it together.

Tim

[oldrifter]

Jess The pain meds and not being able to do what you want too will work on your mind but you were put here for a reason and if you are still with us you are not finished.  I went through what you are talking about in 94 and again in 96 .  keep on going when I get down and ready to quit PSALMS 102.   I have been stabbed , shot, snake bite , mashed , and heard the doctor say I was dead.  When they bury me I may kick some dirt on them .  KEEP DOING WHAT YOU CAN
Look Up not down
oldrifter
<><

[creekbear]

As a reletive new member and as my grandfather (bless his soul)used to call us boys ,yung'uns i urge you to reconsider leaving . My heart goes out to you having to make a decision to give up not only a past time but a way of life that you evidently have cherished for years. Please dont let those years of knowledge and expieriences just lay by the wayside without passing them on to the younger generation. It is because of people like you and others on this wonderful site that knowledge is passed down the line. You have so much to offer. Our way of life is threatened enough by things we cant control, please dont let this decision have a further impact on it. Pass along the knowledge and expierince to the next generation ,who knows how long some of your stories may live and the impact they may have on someone you may never know. I for one wish that my grandfather was still hear so i could learn more from his  old-timer stories around the fire. Whatever your final decision is , I bid you good luck and peaceful days ahead.

                                                                                                           creekbear

[jmckinley]

  First and foremost I am not depressed,just in enough pain that I don't rest and it wears on u more than I can express sometimes. I went duck hunting on the Rio Grande Sunday and it darn near killed my old butt. i hurt in places I forgot I had.  Part of my problem Quick is not being able to get out and do the things i have always done and done mostly alone now at close to 58  it has gotten very difficult to do. I have always been a man with very few friends and now I can't do it alone much anymore and I have gotten PO'd because of my aching old butt. Call it what you want but without a friend that is a true friend my days in the field are number if not over. I love to hunt and shoot and I hate to give it up. Guys pain will cause to swear you'll never do it again.......that is until the pain goes away and out you go again. Now it jus takes longer for the pain to ease up enough to do it again. I have never been this frustrated in my life, I had to give golf up..heck I'm a 2 handicap because of my knees and back it just sucks. old age is for the birds at best. I do enjoy the stories and the folks I have met here and forgive my short fuse just 40+ years of pain make  cantankerous, this is an ole friend I wish would take a longer needed vacation.   Jess PS. pain pills do not work on me very well either.

[quickdtoo]

I can relate to not hunting without a huntin/fishin pardner, that's something I won't do any more and has made me miss a bunch of huntin and fishin, didn't get to hunt at all this deer season due to my pardner having surgery, haven't touched my fishin gear for over a year, my wife is wonderin why I spend $18k on a boat that hasn't been in the water for the last 18 months!!

And I've had my turn in the barrel too, year before last it was both of us, he had a triple bypass and I had elective surgery that put us both out of commission. But we're back at it as soon as we can, if I didn't have every one's experiences here to live vicariously, I'd be one sad puppy, let me tell ya, I'd much rather sit here and read about what others are doing, and share what I've done, than to cut myself off from all that live action!!

But a fella does what he has to, you're the one that has to live with the consequences of your actions, but it seems to me you're cutting your nose off to spite your face if you completely cut that part of your life off that you obviously enjoy so much. As others have said, do whatcha can, while you can, as my Doc said, if that hurts, don't do it.

Tim

[bigjeepman]

To each his own ... but when the time comes for my family to decide when to unplug the life support for me if it ever comes to that, they have been instructed to sign me off of GBO within the same minute. I'm just afraid I'll miss something.

I feel for your life that is filled with pain. The best friend any man could ever have (my friend Randy) sat in a wheelchair for the last 30+ years of his life due to muscular dystrophy before he passed away over five years ago. In all those years, he never complained to me about the life that he was chosen to have. He taught me many things ... to be humble  ... to give more ... to expect less ... and to never give up.


bjm

[McLernon]

Depression, I been there. For sure there's been some 'sage' advice about staying 'connected'. You can still contribute allot to this forum without leaving your house.

So please keep in touch with your computer friends.

Best wishes!!!

Mc

[Graybeard]

Jess I feel your pain quite litterally every minute of every day of my life.

I have arthritis so badly some times all I can do is just stop and hold the aching body part and wait for the pain to pass. It is so bad in my hands at times even trying to type on this keyboard is pure misery. The first knuckle on both hands trigger finger is bad really bad but the other fingers aren't much better. My left knee is almost to the point of needing replacement my right shoulder is way beyond that point but I don't want any more surgery and if possible I'm going to avoid it.

I take a lot of pain meds daily also and while I "think" they help they sure don't make it go away.

I have such a shortness of breath that I must sleep with oxygen but now that I do it does make life much better when I wake. I have the portable oxygen bottles as well for day time use and am supposed to be on oxygen 24-7 but I resist going to that as it just really doesn't fit so well into what I still want my life to be. But it really does limit my ability to get around and do the things I've done for so many years. I just can't climb those hills anymore.

I lost my long time shooting/hunting partner and best friend several years ago and since then hunting and shooting just don't seem to hold the interest for me it once did. Shooting and hunting alone doesn't give the same enjoyment it did when doing it with him. I do still get out some and shoot skeet because that's one type of shooting where you are never alone as there is always a squad of at least two so that helps. I have a range in my back yard but seem to use it little these days as I really don't enjoy shooting alone so much as with someone else.

My back hurts so much some times all I can do is sit or lay down and even then the pain is almost unbearable. I've got acid reflux that requires a pill daily and several bottles of antiacid weekly on top of the prescription meds. I take five different meds to control my high blood pressure and another to help relieve the prostrate which was measured at 3.5 times normal size.

I'm now 62 and will turn 63 in March. Getting old is not for the faint of heart for sure.

These days coming here and sharing my stories with others and reading theirs is about the only way I can still live the life I have loved so much since I was about five years old. That Christmas I got a bb gun and have been shooting and hunting every since. I still manage to get out from time to time but rarely these days and yeah I ache for many days afterward when I do it.

But that's no reason to give up coming here to read and share your stories even when it gets to where you or I or anyone else in the same boat as us can no longer go out to shoot or hunt we can still do it here vicariously thru the younger guys still able to go out and do it and we can still share with them the wisdom we gained in all those years of doing it first hand.

[jmckinley]

Bill we must be related I feel the same. I just don't need O2 at night and the only meds I'll take for pain is aspirin. I'll stick around just to bug you once in a while!!! I have sold my rifles and still have my shotguns which I'll always keep. If I get another rifle it will be a Handi in 25-06. I have made my mind up to stay with birds and just leave big game to the kids among us. The only big game i will consider is Goats. Warm weather and on the flats, that I can handle...I think! I'll do that until I just can't manage the walking anymore. Plus we maybe going back to Germany or England again and go to work for the USAF or the USA. My wife as a Social Worker , me as a Community Recreation Director. Good time as my kids are grown and we can travel again. Seriously I'll stay put because of the people who make up this extended family called GB Outdoors. Thanks guys for your replies, it got me thing of what is possible and not what I can no longer do.    God Bless, Jess

[lonewolf5348]

I myself know what it is to go threw pain I wake up in the morning and I must be more stiff then a iron board.The old saying when you play you pay.I did post after 10 years of neck and upper back pain I did flip the coin.I am 61 now had the surgery on Dec: 5 feel a little better seem each day a step forward some day seem three steps back as far as old friends I don't have many left not that I am anti-social but when the pain starts to flair up I could sit in a room and closed the door just don't want to around anyone.My wife of 43 years has put up a lot with me not only having 2 disc removed but also have  arthritis  of the spine added to the pain list.
I think my self there are days jumping on the forum and reading different post and added post seem to add a helping hand.
I just gave up smoking I can't tell you how many time I tried to drop the bad habit:I been smoking for more then 40 years and I tried it all but after the surgery it was cold turkey I have not has a cig: or nicotine in my system since the surgery so as of today 23 days I am a lucky person the cig; have never gave me any health problems.
I still love to shoot still love to hunt don't hunt like I use to but I still get out in the woods on good days thank god they have something call a Quad to make it up the mountains.I hope this year I can get back into shape after the surgery heals
Remember every day above ground is a good day. jmckinley stick around just to bug us once in a while!!!

[Mac11700]

 Forgive me if this sound cynical...but...

You choose the path you walk down...and not wanting to do it alone is strictly a personal choice. Hell..I have friends...but prefer to go it alone over hunting with someone else to worry about...GPS units keep you from getting lost..and if you worry about getting hurt when alone in the woods you missing out on many wonderful adventures..I enjoy watching the dawn of every new day...watching the land & animals wake up around me...without having someone interrupting my solitude I long for the time when I can get away from the hustle & bustle of the big city life and strike off into the woods by myself...

If your pain limits your mobility...don't go as far as fast as you used to.....If your depressed...then learn to give thanks for what you have gotten to do...and ask for strength to do things you haven't yet..Learn moderation and and how to pace yourself..Exercise and start eating healthy...and most of all...loose the self pity attitude...and start fighting for what you want to do...Life doesn't owe you anything...it's just life...so make the most of it while you can in the time the good Lord has allotted you...It's your choice to quit...Life doesn't care one way or another...your the only one who has to...and you have to want it bad enough to make it work for you...not against you..Being alone isn't as bad as never having time to yourself...day in...day out...24-7...You have folks to talk to here...if you don't there...get a good hunting dog...they fill the void..and don't talk back

Mac