Marta

February 20, 2020

Marta

 



Deb, Michele, Marta and Matt

Marta and Kathy



Marta

Bringing my mother Marta to Key West was something more of a challenge than we expected when we planned the event and booked her trip a few months ago. Health issues including being hospitalized for heart issues before suffering an extensive stroke threatened to cancel the trip all together or worse, but having made a promise and most of the arrangements, we have been using the idea of the trip as a sort of carrot to dangle in front of her to keep her rehab efforts going, telling her that if she did all the work and was given doctor’s approval to travel that we would make the trip happen.

Michele and Marta

Susan, Lynn and Ginny

Jenn



She was quite a trooper and has put in long hours of work in rehab and recovery and while she is still a far cry from her old self, she was certainly good enough to make the journey, provided that she was able to travel with someone, so I made a quick trip to go up to Winston-Salem and get her and bring her back for the release party for her new memoir entitled, “Leaves from an Unexpected Life: A Refugee’s Journey”

Meg, Rev and Breezy

Larry and Pru





Betty and Cathy

Here is the description of the book from her publisher: Illustrated with 36 stunning photographs, Márta Blades' immersive and enchanting memoir is an invitation into the remarkable journey of a Hungarian-born World War II refugee who has found wisdom, glory, gratitude in the dramatic and often traumatic events of an unexpected life.





Chuck and Sue

Ancestrally Blades' royal roots extend into the Windsor family, as well as to Prince Vlad Tepes III, the prince who was the model for Dracula. Born into a life replete with privilege and all the possibilities of a first-class private education, Circumstances Beyond Control (also the title of her poem in the book) twisted her family's fate, causing a heartbreaking geographical split between her parents during the WWII as they conspired to ensure Márta's safety. A tender reunion preceded Márta's return to high school, wherein she earned a scholarship to Marian College in the United States. Next she made the brave solo voyage across the Atlantic Ocean on the General C.C. Ballou to pursue the American Dream.

Carol and Michael

Erika, Betsy and Eric



Her college years proved a prelude to a marriage and the birth of three cherished children, a fantastical career in the Indianapolis arts scene, the real-life struggles of divorce and diagnoses, two marvelous return sojourns to her Motherland, and, ultimately, a blissful retirement under her beloved Carolina blue skies. Her story inspires recognition of the good fortune of living in times of peace, when the pursuit of our fondest dreams is possible. By the time readers turn the "last leaf," may they find no distinction between Blades' inspirational life, her grateful heart, and their own.

Nadene, Rev and Breezy

Tom and Lucy

Liz, Meg and Michele



Kathy and I did a lot of work preparing the house and getting ready for the Saturday afternoon party. I had invited a large number of friends, not so much to pressure them to buy a book, but more to come and say hello and hopefully make my mother happy with the turnout. Everything went amazingly well. Our friends turned out in droves as well over 100 people showed up to support Marta. Most of them had not had the opportunity to meet her and I know showed up out of respect for Kathy and I and for that I am eternally grateful.





Rev, Breezy, Paul and Ashley

Darci and Kevin

My sister Michele was also on hand to assist Marta in selling the books and greeting the line of people who were on hand to meet her. People were all so kind and gracious and so many of our friends were on hand it was tough to get around just to say hello to everyone, I felt like I rarely even saw Kathy. The event which I had scheduled to last only until 7 PM figuring Marta would tire and need a respite, was still going until almost 11 PM and Marta held up remarkably well, reveling in the attention and interest in her book. We sold almost our entire allotment of 50 books, which is truly remarkable. Thanks again to everyone who made the effort to come out. Anyone still interested in the book can check it out on the Amazon link below.













It was just a fantastic evening with a ton of family and good friends. After taking a day to sort of relax and recover, I took Marta and Michele out for a fun Key West vacation day before I had to take her back to North Carolina. We started off at the Key West Butterfly Conservancy. It was a place that my sister really wanted to visit and we were able to navigate through the tropical rainforest setting complete with exotic birds and thousands of beautiful butterflies.

Marta and Michele









In spite of the large crowds of tourists who were on hand to tour the facility,
we still managed to enjoy a nice visit and both my mother and sister really had an awesome time. Next stop was a beautiful day at the beach at Ft. Zachary Taylor state park. We got a picnic table in a nice shady area under the Australian Pines and relaxed with a wonderful ocean breeze slipping through the shady pines. It was a spectacular conclusion to a wonderful weekend.













https://www.amazon.com/Leaves-Unexpected-Life-Refugees-Journey/dp/1947708376/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Marta+Blades&qid=1582826472&sr=8-1