A Walk from California to Maine

Baby Arthur and his mom

 I was watching the news the other night (a rare occasion for me) and was depressed at the entire goings on. I wondered if the stories I was watching were the best that was out there and then flipped the channel back to some dumb reality show. I mean, it wasn’t much different than watching the news.                 
                                 

I have a story that I would like to share and teased about a few weeks ago. I have been a Health teacher for 11 years now and have spent many days wondering if or how I could truly make a difference in my students’ lives. Through a series of events, I reconnected with an old student named Arthur Hitchcock. I know him as Artie, and have quickly reminded myself that he is no longer in middle school and that I need to refer to him as Arthur now that he is 19 years old. I am trying my hardest not to ruffle his hair too.

Janet at The Great Wall in 2005

Arthur shared with me what he had been doing in the past seven years and the story shook me to my core. I found myself listening to Arthur speak and experiencing emotions as person, a teacher, and (quite a new one) a mother. Arthur has recently become an orphan. His father, a professional photographer, passed away when Arthur was only two years old from a heart condition. In October, he unexpectedly lost his mother, Janet, to stage 4 breast cancer. He is now completely on his own, and relies on his photography to pay the bills.

In the midst of all this, Arthur is planning a trip, a very long trip that most would do in a car. Instead, in a grass roots movement, Arthur will be relying only on his feet during his 6,400 mile trip, across the United States. May 11, 2011 will mark a life changing day for Arthur, and for breast cancer awareness. His walk, from Long Beach, California to Augusta, Maine, will be to raise money and awareness for the fatal disease that took his mother. Along the way he will leave his footprints and his message while he soul searches. On his back, Arthur will carry everything he needs and over his shoulder, will be his trusty camera, capturing it all. He plans on sleeping where his head may fall and his only support will be his best friend, Anthony Felix (also a former student), who will meet up with him at prearranged spots every 100 miles.

As a mother, I worry about simple things like Arthur being hungry or not having a warm enough jacket. I have promised to help him gather funds and resources for both his cause (breast cancer awareness) and his walk. His list was simple; all he wanted was a tent, a sleeping bag, and a GPS system. Because I am a haute mom, I added to it.

I am asking all of you moms to help me help Arthur, who estimates he will be gone one year. I need all the mom power with me so that we can be sure that Arthur can leave on this journey, with nothing to worry about but the weather. The cause is one that touches all of us and, as a mother, if I were no longer able to be there for Stella, I would pray that another woman would open up her motherly wings and embrace her.

The only thing that I ask is that you share this story with your family, friends, on your blogs, and any other means of communication. I am also including Arthur’s websites for any one who would like more information on his walk, his story, see his photography, or leave a breast cancer donation to help Arthur reach his $50,000 goal. If you can think of other ways to help, please let me know. All comments and well wishes you post on Haute Mom will be shared with Arthur as well.

Additionally, to follow Arthur’s suit, I am going to not only to keep you all updated with his whereabouts but am also going to dedicate one post a month to breast cancer awareness. This campaign will begin with a tribute to Arthur’s mother and then spotlight one breast cancer survivor until Arthur returns. If any of you haute moms are breast cancers survivors or know of someone who deserves the spotlight, please let me know.

Stay tuned for an interview that I had with Arthur as he opens up and shares more about his life, one step at a time. Each week I will share more about Arthur and his journey so be sure to check back in on him.

City List of Walk
Walk donation page
Breast Cancer Awareness donation page