Former newspaper owner set to take pilgrimage

Publishers note: I have lived vicariously through the main characters in books like Richard Paul Evans’, The Walk Series and The Broken Road. In these books, the main character makes a walking pilgrimage through large stretches of road with no real goal in mind, usually just to clear their mind because of a life tragedy or to discover something new. As a man, I think many of us wish we could take a few months off and go on a journey. I respect what Randy Grissom is doing and look forward to checking back in with him about the stories and people he meets along the way.

Former Atlanta Citizens Journal/Cass County Sun owner Randy Grissom announced recently that he will be making a pilgrimage across parts of Europe in just a couple of days from now. According to followthecamino.com, The Camino de Santiago route is not just one route but several different paths and has been traveled for centuries by those who go on a religious walk, traditionally the walk St. James made and was buried at and the end of his voyage.

For Grissom, this walk is very much a pilgrimage that God has planted in his heart for years, and now in 2024, he is ready to embark on the journey. In a post on social media, titled, “I think I feel like going on a walk…a really long walk,” Grissom announced… “God willing, I will begin a 600-mile walk from the French Pyrenees Mountains in France (on the 9th) to the west coast of Spain and the Atlantic Ocean, on a route that has existed for well over 1,000 years. The walk spans the entire width of Spain. It is a Christian pilgrimage and is called “el Camino de Santiago”; in English, it means ‘the Way of Saint James’.”

“I’ve been training for well over a year for this walk. And on the 4th of April, I will embark on an adventure of a lifetime.”

“I hope to average 12-18 miles each day, recording much of what I see with two cameras. I will carry a backpack with essentials like clothing. I will sleep in hostels each night and eat with other pilgrims (that’s what walkers are called on the Camino”) in communal meals. Last year, people from 120 different countries walked the Camino, so chances are good I will make new, and lasting friends along the way.”

The Journal-Sun asked what first inspired Grissom to take the walk. In which he explains, “I used to dream about walking the Appalachian Trail (AT) and/or the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT), even though I wasn’t a walker. Just an itch, I guess. I was intrigued by the adventures. About 6 years ago my chronic back pain caught up with me and over a period of 3 years, I had three back surgeries including two fusions. And the pain was still there.

“My surgeon said I would need another fusion soon. And then I was also diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. I couldn’t work anymore, couldn’t do work around the house. I couldn’t even walk more than a few dozen feet without pain. Quality of life was greatly compromised. I became very introverted, staying at home all the time and unplugged from church and a lot of social interactions. I didn’t eat well, and subsequently gained weight.”

Looking back Grissom recalls, “I don’t remember when I saw the movie “The Way”, with Martin Sheen, but the movie about a father walking the Camino de Santiago, in Spain, planted a seed in me, but I didn’t act upon it at the time. Life moved on.”

“Depressed and really struggling, one day I felt God was urging me to just go on a short walk… just walk a little bit down the road from our house. I did it. The next day I did it again, and then the next day I was able to walk a little farther. Before long, I was walking around the neighborhood. And to my surprise, I was also beginning to walk away my pain. I started a keto diet and intermittent fasting. I began to lose weight. Within 3 months I had lost 40 pounds and was up to walking 6 miles every day of the week. And my pain was not gone, but manageable… it didn’t rule me anymore. God gets the glory.”

Something bigger began to stir in Grissom, “One day I had an epiphany; God was telling me I should walk the Camino de Santiago. So I began to watch all the YouTube videos and read books about the Camino.

“Walking the Camino de Santiago, you sleep in hostels every night and eat at cafes as you walk along a path that’s been walked for more than 1,000 years by other pilgrims (that’s what they call people walking the Camino. So I wouldn’t have the additional weight of carrying a tent and days of food in my backpack. And with God telling me I could do it, why should I doubt Him or my ability?”

Grissom in this post says “It will be a time of celebration, reflection, contemplation and meditation. You see, I believe God not only gave me my health back (from chronic back pain), but He encouraged me to go on this walk to get to know Him better and to evangelize along the way. This journey is going to push me out of my comfort zone and push my physical and mental abilities. But I give God the glory for making this possible.”

“You see, I believe God not only gave me my health back (from chronic back pain), but He encouraged me to go on this walk to get to know Him better and to evangelize along the way. This journey is going to push me out of my comfort zone and push my physical and mental abilities. But I give God the glory for making this possible.”

Something else popped into his head too. “There was another reason I needed to make a trip to Spain. In 1985, when I first moved to Atlanta, to publish the Atlanta Citizens Journal and Cass County Sun, one of the first feature stories we wrote was about two foreign exchange students coming to Atlanta for the school year. As we were writing the story we found out one of the students lost their sponsorship and we decided to be his host family.”

It was time to catch up with the person he shared his home with nearly 40 years ago. “The student’s name is Daniel Borras, and we’ve not seen each other in 38 years. We’ve kept in touch over the decades mostly through the internet. Daniel is meeting me in Madrid when I arrive and will try to walk for several weekends with me. And when I finish the walk, I’ll spend some time with him and his family in Vigo, Spain. Ironically, Vigo is only 70 miles from where I finish the 594-mile pilgrimage.”

“We’ve not seen each other since he boarded a plane (in 1986) following his months-long stay in Atlanta, to attend the 11th grade. He plans to meet me in Madrid when I land, and he will walk some weekends with me. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do!”

Grissom says there will be a lot to see along the way. “The Camino de Santiago is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and there are multiple world heritage sites along the path. I will be walking through dozens of towns small and large. Many of their buildings and churches have been standing for close to 1000 years. I will sleep in hostels each night. I am planning on taking at least one rest day each week.

“The pilgrimage will actually begin in a small town in France named Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. I will spend two days walking over the Pyrenees Mountain Range that separates France and Spain. Even though it is spring, there is a chance of possible snow on the peaks. Their weather is very similar to ours so it will be spring there.”

Starting off with a plan, but things will go as it comes, says Grissom. “I have booked an itinerary for the first four days, but after that, I am subscribing to the motto of “the Camino will provide”. That way, if I come across a place I want to spend more time at, I can end my walk early if need be. Or if my body tells me to stop, I can stop at the nearest village/town for rest and not worry about getting to a reservation, miles down the path.”

Asked his thoughts as the big day comes, “As it gets closer Of course, as I get closer to the start date, I’ve gotten a bit anxious, and nervous at times…the unknown I guess, but when I tell myself “God is with me”, I settle down for the most part. And of course, I am excited! This will be an adventure of a lifetime for me. I am stepping out of my comfort zone in so many areas.”

“I have never done anything remotely similar to this; and especially by myself.”

When asked if he had any other pre-walk insights or thoughts, Grissom said he “recently read a devotional from Paul David Trip’s book ‘New Morning Mercies’ that hit the nail on the head with how I’m feeling about this trip. I had suffered severe back pain, multiple surgeries, other ailments, and constant pain. Life was so difficult. I struggled and questioned God. But the devotional put my situation in such beautiful words…” “God rules over every moment in your life, and in powerful grace, he is able to do for you just what he did in redemptive history. He takes the disasters in your life and makes them tools of redemption. He takes your failure and employs it as a tool of grace. He uses the “death” of the fallen world to motivate you to reach out for life. The hardest things in your life become the sweetest tools of grace in his wise and loving hands. So be careful how you make sense of your life. What looks like a disaster may in fact be grace. What looks like the end may be the beginning. What looks hopeless may be God’s instrument to give you real and lasting hope. Your Father is committed to taking what seems so bad and turning it into something that is very, very good.” New Morning Mercies’ “I hope my mind and body make it to the end of the Camino,” says Grissom. “This could be both my first, and last, pilgrimage. Or it could be the start of something beautiful…a life of long-distance walking and experiencing God’s creation.”

Grissom plans to post his progress, with photos, 3-4 times each week on his Facebook Page. The Journal- Sun plans to do an extensive interview with him when he comes back home.

For those who are new to the area, Grissom owned the newspaper in the 80’s. “I grew up in a family publishing business. We bought the Linden, Atlanta, and Vivian newspapers from the former publisher Bill Turner. I moved from Carthage to Atlanta in 1985 to serve as publisher of the Cass County Sun and Atlanta Citizens Journal. I married an Atlanta native Angela Clements in 1988. We sold all our newspapers to another publishing company in 1992 and I opened a portrait studio business the same year.”