One man’s long, silent walk for kindness and the environment

A West Marin sky swiped with long streaks of blue looked down as John Francis walked the main road of Point Reyes Station, a banjo tucked into a green travel bag slung from his shoulder. The scene was a reenactment of sorts — shades of a day in the early ’70s when Francis decided to forego riding in cars and instead walk in response to the 1971 oil spill in the San Francisco Bay after two tankers collided.

“I decided that I was responsible for some of that oil that was washing up in the Bay,” Francis said, sitting on a bent tree branch near Point Reyes.

Francis, who lived in nearby Inverness at the time, started walking to and from Point Reyes, then to San Rafael and San Francisco — stopping to stay with friends along his routes. Eventually he took up a companion.

“Then when I started walking, I decided, ‘You know, I’m going to carry that banjo with me and I’m just going to practice all the time,’” Francis said.

Accompanied by his banjo, Francis’ personal-environmentally-cleansing protest became a longer and longer journey. He started making an annual pilgrimage to Oregon to spend a few months in the wilderness. Odd jobs filled his time. He discovered the banjo became his entendre into people’s trust — because how could a guy with a banjo be bad? They’d invite him into their homes and campsites, jamming into the late hours.

And then on his 27th birthday, Francis decided to experiment with silence by not speaking for a day. During that day-long fast of vocalizations, he discovered he was truly listening to others for maybe the first time ever. Instead of fashioning a mental response or verbal joust, he simply listened. He liked it. And didn’t speak another word for 17 years.

“The joyful part of that was that I realized I could keep listening and I could keep silent,” Francis said.

Francis’ voice was silent, but his mind was fully engaged. As he began to extend his walks across the country, he began pursuing education in a silent sort of way. He earned multiple degrees at different universities, including a Ph.D. in environmental studies and land resources from the University of Wisconsin. Full circle, he’d become an expert in oil spills.

When the Exxon Valdez super tanker dumped 10 million gallons of oil in Alaska’s Prince William Sound in 1989, the Coast Guard sought his help in writing new regulations. Except their efforts butted-up against Francis’ peculiar personal endeavors.

“They had to tell them, ’Well, John doesn’t talk,’” he recalled when the Coast Guard called the university requesting he come to Washington, D.C.

“They were, ’He doesn’t ride in cars,’” Francis said chuckling at the Coast Guard’s response. “Is there somebody normal at your university that can speak to us?”

Francis eventually made it to Washington, D.C., and helped the Coast Guard write new environmental regulations. But first he had to walk there.

Then in 1990 on Earth Day, Francis decided to break his 17-year silence for a speech on the environment in Washington. He strummed his banjo and said, “thanks for coming,” feeling the words spill out like it was someone else talking. His mother sat in the audience.

“My mom, she jumps out of her chair and says, ‘Hallelujah, Johnny’s talking!’” he laughed.

In the following years, Francis set his sights, and feet, in South America — walking through Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina. He was named a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador. He’s lost count of how many times people asked him how many shoes he went through? He’s lost count of that, too.

Joe Rosato Jr./NBC Bay Area

Joe Rosato Jr./NBC Bay Area

This month, Francis turned 80. He’s since resumed riding in cars, flying in planes, talking to whoever is listening, and he still walks. But his walking has taken on a different tone. During his journeys back and forth across the nation, he found himself in red states and blue states. He stayed with people whose racial sentiments would’ve frightened his African American parents. But from Francis’ perspective, those people took him into their homes and showed him kindness. His view of the environment expanded to include the element of kindness.

“I realized because we’re all part of the environment, then number one it should be how we treat each other is like our first opportunity to treat the environment in a sustainable way,” Francis said.

These days, the man known as “Planetwalker” is currently walking across Africa in incremental visits. It started in 2023 with a walk from Cape Town to Cairo. He visits schools on the way and talks about all the virtues humans should pursue. His walks are dedicated to kids, kindness and science.

“If I were to say anything, it’s just be kind,” Francis said. “Be kind whenever you can because that’s what makes us human, that’s what will save us.”