My Sparkly Green Banana Seat Bike
My Sparkly Green Banana Seat Bike
Campbell discusses the universal structure of a Monomyth. It is a blueprint for a hero’s journey. This journey has several stages that a hero navigates. This is my story.
I grew up as the 6th child of an immigrant family new to Canada in the 70’s, we had eight children in our family. We were a middle-class family that worked hard to get there. We did not have any other family members here in Canada, but we had close family friends we considered family. We helped one another and at times would share things another family might find useful or fun. I was given a Sparkly Green Banana Seat Bike! Boy, was I excited, and I rode that bike with pride, doing tricks, riding without any hands, going around the same block multiple times. I was a free spirit with my gang of neighbourhood kids!
My free-spirited childhood came to a quick halt when, at eleven years old, my mother had a brain aneurysm while I was at school. I always came home for lunch and my mom was always the one that would prepare my school lunches, but that day my older sister was the one who greeted me when I got inside the door. She told me my mother had a brain aneurysm, she was in the hospital, and I could not see her because I was much too young to see her there. I could only process the fact she was in the hospital. My mother passed away, my father was in deep grief and soon after, my father had a heart attack, and I then entered a new world of loss and poverty.
This was my departure, the adventure that I did not expect, yet I felt a great need and passion to problem solve my current reality. Me and my Sparkly Green Banana Seat Bike and I went on a mission to provide a solution to what was missing. We had lost my mom and her nurture and care. This bike of mine only knew of trick riding with my gang of neighbourhood friends, we went on a different mission that evening. With the wind in my face, I decided I’d bike around the neighbourhood, peek into my friends’ homes and watch how their moms set the table, how the family would interact, how warm and friendly their homes looked. I saw the sacred rhythms of dinner routines and what it was like to have a mom as the centre of their homes. I would take that information back home and bless our home with that. I do not recall lament, overwhelming grief, I only recall a deep sadness for my grieving father and the material poverty I have to endure in my teen years.
Creating beauty in a broken world can be done at any age, I just happened to be younger. I resolved that roadblocks were meant to become opportunities and from those opportunities I would be surrounded by solutions and greater confidence to navigate this strange new world of mine.
I soon outgrew that Sparkly Green Banana Seat Bike of mine. I recall that cool 10 speed bike in my teen years with the wind at my back propelling me forward into a bigger world where I used my experiences to mentor and help others. I had a thread of grief, a remembrance of my profound loss that powered my passion to serve the marginalized that are also heroes with their unique stories. I am now more seasoned, not fumbling as once did trying to help others through the lens of my loss. I have become more of a “Joy-Giver” and “Hope-Broker” in people’s lives, propelling others forward to use their experiences and wisdom to inspire others forward.
What I found compelling in Campbell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,”:
- The hero’s journey reflects humanity through the struggle, growth and transcendence
- As the hero completes the journey, we see them returning with an Elixir, the knowledge, empowerment, a pathway forward that can be shared with others
The journey of the hero is powerful when there is a transcendence of the external and internal challenges. It makes the world a better place, a healthier place, and a world where we collectively, in vulnerability, can communally be a change. The human experience helps shape the narrative.
Campbell also highlights the archetypes of a hero’s journey, these fundamental roles have been part of my journey as well: The hero, the mentor, the herald, threshold guardians, the shadow and the shapeshifter. The awareness of these characters helps us to understand our own current reality and context.
My story ends with planes, trains and automobiles. I remember my Sparkly Green Banana Seat Bike fondly. My way of transportation is different and seasoned, travelling great distances locally and around the world, helping others. I’ve gained strength through life’s challenges and wins; I’ve gained discernment and wisdom from my peers and mentors. I have traveled outside my childhood surround; my world has grown from my childhood neighbourhood. Fast forward 48 years. I look at that brave little girl who was carefree, joyful and on a mission to find a solution for her family. She has not changed; she still continues to look for solutions and share the miracle of turning roadblocks into opportunities with others.
About the Author
Judith McCartney
13 responses to “My Sparkly Green Banana Seat Bike”
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Wow, Judith, you went through the trails, conquered the foe and returned to your people with the trophy of victory. You are quite the hero! Your journey equipped you to care for the marginalized because you tasted their experiences and can have a true empathy of understanding.
It is funny because I too had a banana seat bike, but mine was pink with tassels that came out of the handlebars. It was my first bike and it opened up a whole world of freedom for me. I’m glad you feel that the young girl riding her green bike is still there inside of you. You took a situation that could have been dark and depressing and turned it into sunshine for others. Would you say your greatest leadership strength is encouraging and care for those on your team? Are you able to find care for yourself?
Hi Jess, Yes I would say Im an affirmative leader and my strength is to identify resources needed for the journey of my leaders. I make a point of finding sacred spaces to care for myself. I have carved out time for the next 5 months for deep introspection. Thanks so much for checking in on that Jess.
Judith, thats a tough journey to have navigated at a young age. Thank you for sharing with us. I can hear that you have travelled that uncomfortable road determined to use the experience to help others turn ‘roadblocks into opportunities.’
I wonder if you have had the courage to reflect on what the little Judith needed in those years of shock and grief? What could the church have facilitated for you that could have supported your painful path?
This reading has opened up even greater awareness of my Journey Betsy. I do sense more of what I needed as a young girl in this season of my life. I know I need to unpack that further. The church could have been more aware of the loss, leaned into the supports myself and our family needed providing a space for me to be a child and be a child during that time of my journey.
Thank you for the images, Judith. My banana seat bicycle was purple, complete with sparkles.
I appreciate that you underscored how the hero’s return is meant to benefit others. Larger epics should have greater impact all the way up to societal level (Campbell, 49).
My interest is like Betsy’s. I’m curious about who or what helped you continue your journey after losing your mom. It would have been very understandable for you to end the journey before it progressed through Departure.
Hi there Rich,
Thank you for your thoughtful message and curiosity. I was fortunate to land at a church after my mother’s passing. The children’s programs were one of the major and most influential for me to watch grown-ups in action with young children so that I could care for my young siblings. Yet at the same time these adults allowed for me to be a child once a week and enjoy being 11 years old. I think i was just born with a tenacity to problem solve and that launched me into leaning into this journey.
Ps.. you’ve gotta love the era we come from. Those banana seat bikes were all the rage at that time.. I have so many stories of bike adventures that went wrong! hahahahaha
Judith, the imagery you shared about riding your bike as a child brought me great joy. It represents the age and generation of many in this cohort. Like Rich, mine was purple but had a 5-speed shifter along the frame and vast handlebars that represented more of a “chopper” look. Stylish, for sure.
When you reflect on this journey, when did you unpack more of this early-age experience during your adulthood, and how has it shaped you today? In our recent posts, you shared with me (us) about your recent involvement with a coach that helped your trajectory. Was this part of the threads of your discussion? Thank you.
I unpacked these childhood years when I started having children myself. I realized the trauma of my experience created a pendulum swing of making sure others did not experience my version of life. I realized the true loss of childhood when I had my own children, and if I’m to be honest, I feel it more now at my age. No, my coach in my ministry years did not unpack this part of my life, however, I will lean into a therapy sessions in the near future to discuss leadership loss (from recent job) and the possibility of my younger years. I’m excited about this.
Ps thank you for sharing your banana seat bike story with me. Those were the best years when kids could just be kids, doing crazy stunts and riding for miles!
Judith, I had no idea you had experienced such tremendous loss at such a young age. Your hero journey began early. I cannot imagine the strength it took to peer into those windows and bring solutions to your own table back then. I am very drawn to ministry around the table – like Jesus did many time. How do you feel you are bringing solutions to your table today?
I feel Jesus was before me, beside me and behind me. He’s been and is a big part of my story. I also have a big farm table in my home. I have had many dinners around that table sharing the peace of Christ with others, people who need the grace and love of Jesus. The solutions that I bring to the table has everything to do with Jesus and His Peace and His Joy and His Grace. I also bring resources that I’ve learned over the years and share them with those the Lord sends my way as well. Thank you Mika.
Judith, I feel so humbled to have read your story, thank you for sharing it. Your blog beautifully encapsulates the hero’s journey through the lens of your personal experiences, and I find your storytelling both captivating and inspiring. You used Campbell’s framework to highlight the stages of your own journey, from the innocent freedom of your childhood to the profound transformation brought about by loss and hardship. I love the way you connect your early experiences, like your Sparkly Green Banana Seat Bike, to your subsequent growth. It’s a creative way to show how seemingly small, youthful moments can lay the foundation for greater life lessons.
I imagine that, even without saying it or fully realizing it, your father was deeply blessed by your strength and your ability to bring a sense of “normalcy” during his time of loss. Your resilience and love provided him with much-needed support. Having the privilege to know you now and call you a friend, I can see that you continue to carry yourself in that same selfless way, always putting others first. You allow Christ’s love to shine through you, regardless of the pain you may be facing, and that is a rare and beautiful quality in today’s world. You are a modern day hero.