Futility Closet

In 1953 Mildred Norman renounced "an empty life of money and things" and dedicated herself to promoting peace. She spent the next three decades walking through the United States to spread a message of simplicity and harmony. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe her unusual life as a peace pilgrim. We'll also admire Wellington's Mittens and puzzle over a barren Christmas. Intro: In 1956, Navy pilot Tom Attridge overtook his own rounds in a supersonic jet. Flemish artist Cornelius Gijsbrechts painted a rendering of the back of a painting. Sources for our feature on Peace Pilgrim: Peace Pilgrim, Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words, 1992. Peace Pilgrim, Steps Toward Inner Peace, 1964. Kathlyn Gay, American Dissidents: An Encyclopedia of Activists, Subversives, and Prisoners of Conscience, 2012. Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking, 2001. Peace Pilgrim's website. Michael M. Piechowski, "Giftedness for All Seasons: Inner Peace in a Time of War," Henry B. a