The Incredible life of Mark Baumer
You may not know the name, I certainly didn’t until I stumbled across this blog post. Wow, there’s a guy, a Mark Baumer guy and he’s running barefoot across America!
I had to investigate further.
The blog post linked me to Mark’s YouTube channel where I first watched this video, I was immediately drawn in by his goofy humour, he had me laughing and he had my attention. I watched a couple more videos: I learned that he had already successfully walked across America in shoes and that this was his second journey, only this time he was going barefoot.
Wow, barefoot running across America to raise awareness about global climate change and to raise money for the FANG Collective, a community campaigning on climate change issues.
It suddenly occurred to me that the videos I was watching were posted over ten months ago…
I wonder how far he got?
Did he make it?
Did his feet hold up?
I had to find out, I found the most recent video…
Oh, the most recent video is ten months old.
It was then that my eyes drifted down to the comments section…
Your videos have been so profound and inspiring Mark. Your energy, adventure and mission will live through all your dedicated fans and we will fight for sustainability, peace and equality. Thank for shining your light so authentically.
I couldn’t believe it but the comment below confirmed it:
RIP Mark.
No, NO… I felt numb. This man who I’d only just met (and fallen in love with) was gone. He had been struck and killed by an oncoming vehicle shortly after recording “Day 100”.
After more than a few tears, no really, I composed myself and resolved to watch all of his video updates beginning on the day he set off from his front door in Providence, Rhode Island to that final fateful day one hundred in Walton County, Florida.
And I did, I watched every single one of them. And I’ll watch them again. And again.
I learned a lot about Mark. He was a kind, thankful man. He was a plant-based vegan. He ran/walked daily very close to very fast moving traffic. He always walked towards oncoming traffic. He wore a high visibility vest the majority of the time. He often walked late into the pitch black night. He slept in cheap motels and when money ran out, he slept rough. He lived simply and belittled materialism. He travelled light. The cops stopped him a lot. Kind people would pull over and offer him food and shoes.
In all of his videos, I only heard him swear in one.
He made me laugh. He made me laugh a lot… he would often come across all manner of lost and abandoned objects at the side of the highway, he’d hold them up to the camera, “Hey, hey… if you’ve lost a bottle of horseradish mustard, it’s right here… I’ll just leave it right here”.
Mark had a huge heart and glasses/sunglasses to match.
Some videos are extremely hard to watch. Well into his journey, Mark heard news about a fire that had broken out where his dear friend Nick Gomez-Hall was staying, details were sketchy at first but later his worst fears were confirmed. Thirty six people lost their lives in the Ghost Ship Warehouse fire on December 2nd 2016, Nick was amongst them. Mark was shaken and emotional in several videos. He mentioned Nick often in subsequent video updates.
What clearly shines through in all of his videos, as Mark stares at you through his large glasses, is his thankful, grateful acceptance of what he called learning opportunities.
I will continue to think about Mark for a long time yet… I will watch and re-watch his videos. I will remember and learn and I invite you to do the same.
I selected a favourite… there’s a moment towards the end where Mark walks a short distance from the road through some bushes into a field where he… well, please, just watch it for yourself…
Thank you Mark for being alive.
Mark’s blog — https://notgoingtomakeit.com/
Mark’s YouTube channel — https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVDoPLUweiJ40GfSgE_y_Fg
