Tarpaulin Sky Press misses Mark Baumer because he was a beautiful human being who gave us things to read, and videos to watch, and magic to believe in, and because this is the anniversary of his death, in 2017, at the age of thirty-three.
But the purpose of this post is not to tell you how sad we are; it is to reach readers who have not heard of Mark Baumer.
On January 20, 2017, Mark achieved the 100-day milestone of his barefoot walk across the United States to raise awareness of climate change. He made it from Rhode Island to Florida. On January 21, a little after noon, he was killed when a SUV crossed into the shoulder of the road. He was wearing a reflective orange safety vest.
That Mark died a martyr doesn’t make it any easier for those who knew and loved him when he was alive, but it does make it easier for unfamiliar readers to find his story via major publications such as the New Yorker, the LA Times, and the Washington Post.
If you would like to read more about Mark from the perspective of his friends, we recommend this memorial by TS author Claire Donato, published in the Brown Alumni Magazine.
If you would like to read more about Mark from the perspective of his family, you can read his father’s blog, The Jim Baumer Experience.
Please donate to The Mark Baumer Sustainability Fund.
And fall in love with Mark’s memory through the things he created: