GMO Free Highlights From Highland, Illinois

We enjoyed a full day of support and love from the good people of Highland, Illinois!

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Before we even hit the road, the director of the Korte Recreation Center, Mark, had contacted Curt from the Highland News Leader newspaper.

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We shared our story with Curt in front of the Rec Center under a hot sun and muggy conditions. Curt is the lucky man that Kris is apparently goosing in the photo. 😉

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Later when running, the three different rainstorms that dumped on us were most refreshing. (Our Garmin watch died in the second storm, but later revived and with the use of Google Maps, I was able to calculate the complete distance on today’s run).

Unfortunately, David continues to be in pain. I called Kris and asked her to find a chiropractor. By 4:15 pm, we were sitting in Dr. David Thayer‘s office filling out paperwork.

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Dr. Thayer said that David’s back and pelvis were misaligned. Treatment? Dr. Thayer and his colleague then gave David an adjustment, electro stimulation massage, ultrasound, and a “buffer” massage.

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While talking, Dr. Thayer learned of our GMO Free USA mission. He said, “We’ll donate to that.” He left with a copy of my book and we left with a very generous donation! We’re going to follow up with another appointment with Dr. Thayer on Monday morning.

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After that, we went to the Highland Nutrition Health Food store.

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Among other things, we finally found organic bread. It’s so frustrating that in the heart of America’s bread basket, many people have no access to GMO free/Glyphosate free/Monsanto free bread! Kris asked if the store would be interested in carrying my book.

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Vickie, the book buyer, bought two copies, paying much more than the standard amount. She also gave us a discount on our purchase.

Later, when I entered the Rec Center to sit in the hot tub (I was chilled after being in wet clothes in two air conditioned buildings), Carol at the front desk gave me a note from Mark stating that another newspaper reporter, Bill Napper, from The Pioneer Newspaper, wanted to interview us.

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I called him and we talked together in front of the Rec Center later in the evening. He was very personable, sharing stories from his own life about his religious beliefs and convictions, including the belief that God would definitely be opposed to GMOs.

Please keep David in your thoughts and prayers. He wants to finish this run and we all want him to finish strong!

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Brett Wilcox is the author of We’re Monsanto: Feeding the World, Lie After Lie. Brett and his 15-year old son, David, are currently running from coast to America coast promoting a GMO-Free USA. Brett and David blog at RunningTheCountry.com. Brett wrote this blog in the middle of night in Highland, Illinois. Support their run and mission at RunningTheCountry.com/donate.

Friends, Fiona, East Saint Louis and Beyond

Thanks to the Daniel family, we spent the past eight nights staying with them in Gray Summit, Missouri. The timing was perfect. We shared some great times with our friends, got some much needed rest, David did some more of his Internet-based school work, and Olivia played with the Daniel girls, while Fiona got her third new starter as well as a new coil and plug.

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I had mixed feelings when Fiona finally got a clean bill of health. That meant it was time to say good-bye to our friends and hit the road again.

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We started out today in the parking lot of Casino Queen in East Saint Louis. We gave away a good many GMO Free USA seed packets throughout. Everyone was happy to get them, even the guy who was initially disappointed because he was hoping for something a bit more potent than red romaine lettuce seeds. And everyone responded positively to our mission.

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Thanks to Kris’ creative phone calling, we are now parked behind a big, beautiful rec center in Highland, Illinois going to bed after filling up on lentils and polenta and enjoying another episode of Farmed and Dangerous.

Running across the USA is hard, but after days like today, I get the crazy thought that I could keep doing this for a long time.

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Brett Wilcox is the author of We’re Monsanto: Feeding the World, Lie After Lie. Brett and his 15-year old son, David, are currently running from coast to America coast promoting a GMO-Free USA. Brett and David blog at RunningTheCountry.com. Brett posted this blog from Highland, Illinois. Support their run and mission at RunningTheCountry.com/donate.

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