Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Demons

Disclaimer: I'm not trying to dish dirt or besmirch anyone, have nothing against Gary Sitton.

From Guns & Ammo-
"He was a respected and trusted friend..." --Lee Hoots
"...Gary was kind in the extreme to women, children, and..." --Ashley Emerson
"...and Gary was always affable and pleasant to be with. Like all of us, he had a few demons to deal with, but he always handled them with style. ... He'll be sorely missed on [a] personal [level]." --Garry James
"...fought his demons ..." --Craig Boddington
"He was a generous man ... and a fine friend". --Bart Skelton
"... we became close and then closer. ... I admired his ... kind heart, and we shared some common frailties." --Penn Baggett

From the thread in Ask The Gunwriters -
"... he had his own demons to deal with. Sometimes, he dealt with them well and sometimes not so well. Had it not been for those demons, he would have risen to the top of the heap and stayed there as long as he wanted to do so. ... More than that, he was a good man and a trusted friend." --Turp


As far as I know, I have no 'demons'. What are we talking about here?
How can they be classified as demons while at the same time he was 'a respected and trusted friend, kind in the extreme, affable and pleasant, sorely missed on a personal level, generous, a fine friend, admirable, with a kind heart, a good man and a trusted friend'?

I make no friendships with dope-heads or serial murderers, I don't admire wife beaters, I don't trust alchoholics,
I don't respect pedophiles, I don't consider schizophrenics affable, etc. -- so how bad could these 'demons' have been if everyone wanted so to snuggle up to him?

Yeah, I noticed the references too and wondered what the writers meant. Seems like everyone wanted to speak ill of the dead but didn't want to say it out loud, so instead they left hints at something dark. I guess at some level we all have some demons, but I'd think it somewhat cheap to mention one's faults while memorializing them.

Indeed.

Or to start a thread of this nature.

I wasn't suggesting that the bits in G&A should have expanded on the subject; I'm asking now, here.
I could eulogize my Mother-in-Law, praise her cooking, her efficiency when organizing the Library book sale, etc., without saying I trusted or admired her. I'm trying to understand how bad these 'demons' could be, considering what else was written.

JMac, I'm not interrupting the gravesite service with a bullhorn here. When someone writes Sitton's biography, as has been done of others, it'll all be aired out. I can stand to hear about the warts of heros.

I do not know what was meant by those who wrote of Mr. Sitton's demons, but anyone who believes that a talented, productive person of good character cannot have demons obviously knows nothing about mental illness.

Paul

Pain either emotional or physical is almost always found behind great talent. Suffering is part of what defines a person, some will fold and wallow in self-pity, others will find motivation to create something of value.

Personally, I tend to find people that haven't had to endure some sort of personal hardship shallow and boring.

On a lighter note in regard to speaking about the dead....

A gangster's brother dies, and the gangster is looking for a minister to conduct the funeral service. For some reason, it is very important to this man that his brother be eulogized as having the qualities of a saint, despite the fact that he was well known to have all of the sociopathic behaviors of a full-fledged member of a notorious crime family.

The gangster offered large sums of money to various men of the cloth in an attempt to buy a eulogy to his liking. Finally, he came across a priest, who looked him directly in the eye and told him that he would be happy to do this service, and that he appreciated the large donation to the church.

On the day of the funeral the gangster was mortified when the sermon began with the priests stating that barring a highly unlikely salvation moments before his gory death, the man they were there to place in the ground was almost certainly burning in Hell as a just result of the wicked life he had led. The priest then looked the red-faced gangster in his eyes again and added, but I will say, that in comparison to his brother... this man was a saint...

+1

macrabbit, all,

I won't speak for the others but I will speak for myself. When I wrote that Bear had demons to deal with, I was referring to depression and insecurity. Sometimes he handled those maladies well, and sometimes not-so-well. Even though most will agree, as we have seen from a couple of threads, he was perhaps the finest writer in the outdoor field since O'Connor, there was one person that didn't accept that fact - Gary Sitton.

Maybe if these accolades had come to him before he passed away, rather than after, they might have helped erase his insecurities. That would perhaps, in turn, have eased his bouts with depression.

Tom

http://images.clinicaltools.com/images/depclinic/screen/phq9.pdf

A truly sad thing is how often depression goes untreated due to the stigma that is often associated with mental health issues. It's true that some depression can be in reaction to life events that are your own darned fault ie, "Gee I'm really upset they repossess my car, I only missed four payments" or," this really sucks I am losing my house, my boat, and most of my gun collection in this divorce! My wife is really over reacting about those three or four little affairs at I was having. It's not fair!"

A predisposition to depression that is not associated with in acute loss is now thought to be largely a biochemical predisposition to the condition. This doesn't make people with depression, poor helpless victims of their genetics.... all of us are born with some weak links. Just like someone who discovers that they have diabetes can manage their illness very well with proper medication, diet, exercise and attitude....someone who is able to identify that they have a problem with depression is very likely to be able to be able to either greatly reduce or eliminate their symptoms with proper care.

The above link is to a fast and accurate depression screening tool.

2ndwind,

Thanks for an informative post. The only caution I would add is that, while self-screening can be useful, a person who believes they may have a mental illness should consult a qualified professional for an accurate diagnosis and treatment. And while true depression, like many other mental illnesses, can often be treated successfully, that doesn't necessarily mean a total cure. It can still be a life-long struggle. My attorney and one of my physicians, both fine men, had to give up their practices due to depression. I know a law professor and more than one LEO who have struggled with it. And you are correct about the stigma and stereotyping, even by people who should know better. I once attended a seminar on employment discrimination conducted by a lawyer. When I pointed out the hypocrisy in his telling a Prozac joke, he reacted like I was, well - nuts. He just didn't get it.

Paul

Some other greats with similar "demons":

Abraham Lincoln

Merriwether Lewis

RSY

Good posts Paul and 2ndW... many a creative person is afflicted with depression and Gary Sitton appears to have been one. Looking at O'Connors photos and reading his stuff over the years I've often wondered whether he suffered such too... Eleanor certainly did.

Mr. T-Squared,

Well said. Now, about you, the only thing I don�t like is that I can�t find enough of your articles to read. Your articles on custom rifles are great. Thanks�Bill.

Again, if any publishers are reading this, I WOULD BUY A COPY OF HIS COLLECTED WORKS IN A HEARTBEAT!

Thanks, Tom, that's the clarification I needed.
They being that class of 'demons', I can now understand how the statements of the writers are not discordant.

Ditto on 2ndwind's notion I'b be more than happy to buy the collection of BACKTRACKING he did for Peterson's.

In some ways Gary Sitton reminds me of John Steinbeck who upon accepting a major award starts his acceptance speach with "Many of you sitting in the audience are more worthy of this than I..."

Some how they can't hear what we're saying, the voices of the "demons" just drown us out.

While I was in the military I took several educational courses
and one of them was on depression and mental illness, it
really opened my eyes on the subject and I think that the
medical field has come along way on the treatment of these
areas. I read somewhere that Native American tribes would
try to help members with mental illness, rather than shun them.

RSY Another that can be added to the list is Theodore Roosevelt, he fought frequent bouts of melancholy. His brother Elliot (the father of Eleanor who was the husband of FDR) also struggled with depression as well alcohol. It seems to be a price or cross one must bear to attain greatness, some able to bear the load easier than others. I think Great Talent comes as either a curse or a blessing, again some able to bear the burden easier than others.
Chet