To the Editor:
My dad is a 78-year-old gentleman who has battled many years with cancer, diabetes, polyneuropathy and all the horrible complications that go with these issues including amputation.
He’s an amazingly strong individual and with the help of my Mom, he has recovered his strength to the point that he decided to go hunting this year. Hunting has been a passion of his since he was a boy. His idea of hunting consists of sitting in the woods with his wife and enjoying any wildlife that may come by. Taking an animal is not the priority, being together is.
He obtained permission from his neighbor and with that, on Oct. 22, his grandson and I placed a small hunting blind, close to their house, in a corner of a remote field. We brushed it in and anchored it down in preparation for opening day.
The following week they made their way out to the blind to familiarize themselves with the location and to place a note on the entry stating, “This blind belongs to a 78-year-old, single amputee, disabled vet. If you feel that you’d like to use it, please respect and leave it as you have found it,” followed by their phone number.
Mom called me to mention that they visited the blind and that Dad’s face lit up with delight in anticipation of opening day.
They planned on using the blind in the afternoons as mornings are very arduous and difficult to prepare for the average day, let alone for an early morning hunt.
Opening Day, they gathered their gear and made their way down to the blind. Upon arrival, they found the blind had been vandalized. Supports were removed from their interior pockets, broken in half and thrown into the field. All the brush had been pulled from their anchor pockets and the blind ripped from its location.
They were able to drag it back to the original location and piece it together in order to sit for a short time but the damage was done, physically and emotionally.
To the individual or individuals responsible, I feel sorry for you and your pitiful existence. For someone to feel they can extract an ounce of enjoyment from an act such as this is sad.
We will try again in hopes that you have some sense of compassion, respect and ethics and allow an elderly gentlemen and his wife to enjoy this simple rite of enjoying the outdoors and what it has to offer.
Shame on you.
Eric Scherer
Jefferson
