Sunday, February 3, 2002
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Sunday, February 3, 2002 |
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'Wrong Feet First' will turn you inside out By MARY JANE HOLT
Somebody made a difference in her life. Today she makes a difference in countless lives. When she was quite young, someone special wrote notes to her, little letters, "love gifts" is what she called them. These letters, always coming at just the right time, from someone who cared in just the right way, made all the difference in the world for this remarkable woman. Her grandparents had 12 children of their own. When the youngest was 18, they adopted another baby. It was at that point, when she was only 8 years old, that she knew she too would adopt kids one day. Unwanted kids. Kids other folks didn't think were good enough, young enough, healthy enough. Kids that would need her love, her special touch. And a special touch it is! She's a registered nurse, having chosen nursing over a career in medicine because she knew it would allow her more flexibility for her real calling in life, which is to be a single mom of six children (to date). Five are adopted children with special needs. She adopted her first child just months after graduating with honors from nursing school. Her youngest adopted child, who has HIV, proved not to be so much of a challenge as the ultimate door opener. Caring for little Karmen has opened doors though which her mom walks every day in order to give more service. To reach out more. To care more. To make more of a difference. She is Arta Banks, author of "Wrong Feet First." That's how I started to learn about her. I picked up her little book and could not put it down. When she was a little girl, her family was often invited to spend time in other people's homes. Before they would get out of their car her mom would always said to Arta, "Leave it better than you find it." Her mom was referring to the home, the actual house itself into which they had been invited. Arta took the lesson to heart and sought to apply it to each and every life or heart into which she is invited. "Wrong Feet First" is an example of her life's work. The book leaves you better than it finds you. For instance, in the book she tells the story of a cellist who lived in Sarajevo during the war. In the spring of 1992, at 4 p.m., a bomb fell. It killed 22 people and injured many more. The cellist was heartbroken by the death and devastation, but also by the fact that there was nothing he could do about it all. He was not a soldier or a policeman. He was no politician and was incapable of saying fancy words that might console those in pain. But he knew how to play the cello. That he could do, so that he did. The day after the bombing, at exactly 4 p.m., he took to the street. Dressed in his work clothes, black tie and tails, he took his stand, sheet music and cello to the corner where the bomb had fallen and began to play his music. He played there for 22 days, one day for each victim who had died there. Pilots overhead, flying missions, avoided that corner when they knew he was playing. While he played, no bombs fell. Word spread about what the cellist was doing. Other musicians took their turns playing on the corner. The bombers stayed away while the music was played. The moral of the story? We can choose to complain about what we don't have, or we can use what we have, what we can do, who we are ... to make a difference in our corner of the world. Arta tells us how one day as a young boy started out to play, his mom called to him, "Son, your shoes are on the wrong feet." The boy replied, "But these are the only feet I've got." "Wrong Feet First: A Gift of Stories for Your Inside-Out Kind of Days" is a collection of true stories, "love gifts," by Arta Banks that will brighten the corner of your heart and life. I laughed. I cried. I was made to think. And as I started to think, I began to feel good all over, from the inside out. You may respond to this column by writing to MJHcolumn@aol.com.
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