About the Book

How often have you dreamed of doing the impossible?  Walking is the most popular recreational activity in the United States, yet never had I met anyone who had even thought about walking across the continent.  Nonetheless, a couple hundred people were gathering in Simi Valley, California to do just that.  Attorneys, retirees, children, ministers, self-proclaimed witches, homeless individuals, Native Americans, Russians, and many others were lacing up new boots and wondering whether together we could accomplish this improbable vision.

Our diverse group had little in common except a deep concern for the environment and what we came to call “a livable world.”  But in this, we were far from alone.  We found support and alarm in every town, once from an oil refinery employee, next from an old-timer who remembered when the creek used to run clear, and then from your neighbor or neighbor’s neighbor.

In our quest to raise the nation’s environmental awareness, each of us experienced unique challenges and achievements.  But, the lessons were unique primarily in their context.  With the Walk setting stripped away, Walkers wrestled with the same questions that confront Americans every day.  The difference was that the pressure cooker microcosm in which we lived forced us to face those issues immediately and directly:

• At what point does a friend’s violation of Walkers’ no-alcohol agreement warrant expulsion from the community?

• How can we encourage low-income individuals to join without threatening the financial survival of the whole Walk?

• Can we ethically accept desperately needed donations from known corporate polluters?

• Should we buy a pig to eat kitchen scraps, and what happens to the pig when it reaches New York?  (Well, maybe not all Americans confront an issue quite like this one.)

The Walk population ebbed and flowed.  Our number surged to over two hundred when we took our first, buoyant steps across the sunny Pacific beach and again as we marched to the finale at the United Nations Building.  It shriveled to under thirty as we bundled against the Arizona snow.  Three hundred concerned women, men and children joined our crusade for at least the week required to receive an I.D. tag.  Over time and many miles, the profundity of the experience emerged.  Those at the core felt the impact most dramatically.  The Walkers themselves, those who left the comfort of their homes to change the world, unexpectedly discovered that they were no longer who they began as on that distant day of the initial stride in California.

5 Million Footsteps offers the test of a physical adventure and a glimpse at the people across America.  It embraces the intentional creation of a community.  The Global Walk for a Livable World coalesced into an extended family, with all of its internal conflicts and loving support.  The once clear concept of what it means to live as an environmentalist or conscious community member grows muddy as one steps into another’s shoes.  5 Million Footsteps tells a true story about and for the kind of people who change the world.

                            Table of Contents

Preface

January Invitation

February Community Building

March Billy’s People

April Paseo Luminoso

May Conflict and Courage

June Waking Up

July 40 Years Too Late

August Rape

September For Your Happiness

October The Destination

Epilog Returning to the U.S.A.

Along the Way