17th December
"Just got off the phone with Gene. He is 3.5 miles outside of Atlanta and plans to meet with the Governor tomorrow (12/18/03). He indicated that it was getting cold, but thankfully he hasn't had to sleep outside one night since he left New Jersey.
As to his route: he will take US 19 from Atlanta to Thomasville, GA then US 319 to Tallahassee, FL. He anticipates that it will take him about 3 weeks to make that leg of his journey. He did say that he wants to spend a few days in FL to rest his horses as well as himself. He said that he is looking forward to some freshly squeezed orange juice.
For you Mustang people -- it sounds that Gene may be receiving a pair of Mustangs in the near future. It sounds like there is a pair in the wings that meet his requirements. If so they will be road trained and then a rendezvous for Gene to take possession will be arranged.
Gene didn't mention this, but if any of you are looking for organizations to which you can contribute, you might consider the Philip Scholarship Fund, Pensacola Christian College, 250 Brent Lane, Pensacola, FL 32523. This is the fund that Gene is sponsoring through contributions from interested followers of his present journey. It is a 501(c) 3 tax exempt organization so all contributions are tax deductible."
Mark Davis
Thank you for this update, Mark.
And thank you again for all the help you have given to Gene,
including taking those photographs of him in Washington DC. The
Georgia towns Gene will be traveling through are: Griffin,
Zebulon, Thomaston, Butler, Ellaville, Americus, Smithville,
Leesburg, Albany.
20th December, Thomaston, GA
"What a privilege it was to meet such a wonderful individual as Gene Glasscock. I had no idea that when this man on horseback walked into my antique shop and asked to use the phone, that he would leave with me being a better person for it. My wife and I were so touched by his journey and the reason for it. We will remember Gene Glasscock in our prayers.
He is the kind of man that I hope to be."
Sam and Tamra Granger
23rd December, Thomaston, GA
"My wife and I were very surprised after meeting Gene on Saturday to go to church and have him speak to our Sunday School class on Sunday morning. He is absolutely the most humble man that I have ever met. We met him back at our store on Monday morning 12-22-03 and saw him off. He was leaving Thomaston GA, heading south toward Butler. God Bless You Gene."
Sam Granger
Sam has sent us a lovely photograph of Gene, Frank and George - click
here to go to that page. Gene is now heading towards Florida, after which he will be riding to Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.
24th December 2003
"Gene just left on his way to Ellaville, GA. We picked Gene up on Hwy. 19 at the intersection of Hwy. 80 on Monday, December 22nd. We had the pleasure of his company for two nights. We just dropped him off 6 miles south of Butler, GA. Our family had such a good time talking with Gene. He really is a blessing. It was nice to do something like this for Christmas. Hopefully George and Frank's shoes will hold up for a few more days. We gave Gene a new orange vest since his old one got a tear in it. Hopefully it will keep him safe. Take care Gene... we will keep you in our prayers (and George and Frank of course)."
Joy and Ken Schall, Byron, GA
25th December, Americus
"On December 24th, Neal and I had the opportunity to welcome Gene into our home for our Christmas Eve Supper with our families. He arrived at our home with Ken and Linda Adams from Ellaville who were housing Gene, Frank and George for the night of the 24th. The next day, which was Christmas Day, Gene rode from Ellaville to downtown Americus where he toured the Historical Windsor Hotel until we arrived with the trailer to take him and his horses back to our house for the night. We called the local newspaper man who came over to "get the scoop" on Gene and why he was traveling by horseback. We really enjoyed Gene and the boys, and wish they could have stayed longer. Our Haflingers really got attached to the boys overnight. We trailered his horses back to the hotel the next morning and sent Gene off on his journey.
We admire his courage and faith to make this trip to help the young people of Paraguay. We called ahead and have him scheduled to stay with Johnny and Trudy Gosa, another horse loving family, for the next night. We wish Gene luck and pray for his safety."
Brenda& Neal Stanfield
26th December, Smithville, GA
"Gene arrived at our airport in Smithville 3:00 p.m. December 26th 03. He was tired but had an interesting ride from Americus. He was stopped on the way by a friend of ours, Dewitt Webb. Dewitt took him in for a short rest, fed and watered his horses and fed Gene Georgia's famous fried peanuts. Gene admitted it was a first for fried peanuts, but kind of liked them. When Gene arrived at the airport, the end of the day's journey, we called our farrier to come and shoe George and Frank. Brent Gunter drove two hours to get here. Brent stays very busy and went off his schedule to accommodate our needs. If you knew Brent, you would know that he would go beyond the call of duty to take care of a horse. Thank you, Brent. I might add that Brent's services were at no charge to this very good cause.
We enjoyed having Gene and wish him the best of luck on his journey. I believe our 8-year-old granddaughter (Laycee Sumner) would ride with him the rest of the way, if we would let her miss school. Ha!
Gene, have a blessed trip and stay safe. God bless you and we will always remember you."
Johnny and Trudy Gosa and Laycee Sumner
3rd January 2004, Thomasville, GA
"We were privileged to have the honor of hosting Gene, George and Frank Friday, January 2 as Gene made his way to Tallahassee FL. My advice to anyone who has the opportunity to take part in hosting this historic ride and this modest, kind and wise man is - DO IT. You will wish you had if you don't and you will always cherish the memory if you do. Gene - Go with God."
Marvin, Holly, Seth, and Jared Golden
