COLUMN: Everybody Calls Me Jana Banana

Hobbies are an expression of our personality that can be shared with others. Some people are great at sports; others have talents in music, art, singing, cooking, gardening, crafts, photography, carpentry, the possibilities are as varied as the prints on our fingertips. Some people prefer to share their hobbies only with family and friends, and others become so well known for their hobbies that it becomes their livelihood and life passion.

And honestly, the only difference between the woman that sings to her sleepy babies and dreams of performing and one that is a major recording artist that fills concert halls is that someone, somewhere, encouraged them. Vincent van Gogh would have never shared his painting with the world if his brother hadn’t sent him the money to paint, and Nicholas Sparks wouldn’t have published “The Note-book” if it weren’t for that final agent that gave him his big break.

But, encouragement is not the only element of a God given talent. It is hard work. I thought of that on Tuesday night when I watched performers preparing for the “Long Lash Cabaret” at Black Creek Arts on Tuesday night. To audiences, performers appear very self-assured and confident, yet before they go on they are full of jitters. Each of them had spent years perfecting their craft with years of lessons and practice, on the piano, drums, dancing, comedy or voice training. And not one of them was amazing and fantastic the very first time they attempted their craft. The cabaret inspiration, Ilona Smithkin, continues to sketch and paint and sing in her 88th year. She is an inspiration to me, and I only hope I can have her confidence and those amazing legs when I am her age.

I’m sort of a “jack of all trades, master of none” in that I enjoy a lot of hobbies and am not particularly great at any of them, but I do enjoy making people laugh so my “Trixie the Toothfairy” bit was about all I could offer. If it weren’t for the late director, Priscilla Montgomery, taking a very shy girl that used to stutter and pushing her on the Morse High School stage in Bath, Maine, I would have never broken my fear of public speaking, and my first grade teacher Mrs. McAl-lister told me if I loved to read that much, I really needed to learn to write.

Women like Ilona, and local artist Patz Fowle, are unique in their extraordinary talents in that they share their gift with others by constantly creating, teaching others how to do their craft and sharing their light to the world. Ilona is currently at Black Creek Arts for a few weeks.

Patz Fowle has so many talents it’s hard to limit her to just one. She is best known for her delightful animal sculptures and has taught her “The Patz Process Ceramic Tech-nique” to people around the world.

Another group of women that share their gifts and talents for an entire month each year are the wonderful women who assist with the Wesley Pumpkin Patch school groups. The profits from pumpkins sold at Wesley go to local charities, the Hartsville Interfaith Min-istries and the Hartsville Soup Kitchen Mission. School groups from the area have been coming almost daily to the Pumpkin Patch and are treated to a fun morning by ladies that are master gardeners, former teachers and other creative professions. Led by the extremely talented Susan Harvey and Judy Jacobs, the ladies show the children the magic of agriculture from the seeds buried within a cotton bloom, and the blessings that the sales of the pumpkins help people in New Mexico and here at home in Hartsville.

I encourage all of you to look deep within and really see what talent you have to share with the world. And don’t say, “I can’t draw a straight line!“ or “I can’t do anything!“ because I won’t believe you for a second. Hunters and farmers can share their bounty with the hungry and teach others how to do the same; knitters can make items to warm a body and soul and teach others to do the same; someone with a gift for listening can provide solace for a person grieving; and a singer can sing a song that brings peace to a soul that is in need of solace. Share those talents to give unique surprises for your loved ones, give gifts for Christmas that can be wrapped or gifts of service and use your talents to make the world a better place.