24 July

This Morning, To Mandi And The Mansion. The Work Goes On. And On

by Jon Katz
The Work Continues

Mandi Mulready works in the office at the Mansion, the Medicaid Assisted Care facility where Red and me – and now Gus – to much of our therapy work. She is a passionate dog lover, she has warned me not come without Gus and Red, so I am bringing GusĀ  along when Red and I come to deliver a Honeywell 10,000 BTU portable air conditioner, purchased with your donations, to Robert and Shirley, a couple recently arrived at the Mansion who are living in a small apartment upstairs.

The Mansion is not air-conditioned – it is a sprawling old building – and it can get especially warm up there. We brought an air conditioner to Connie and a strong fan to another resident, and we are working to cool off the hottest rooms where people sometimes get uncomfortable.

One room at a time, one air-conditioner at a time. Some parts of the building get the sun all day.

The Mansion technicians will be waiting to help me get it out of the car and into the building and upstairs. They will set it up for Robert and Shirley. When I told this sweet and devoted couple that we were bringing them an air conditioner – it was a sweltering day – they looked panicked.

Its okay, I said, it is paid for. And then they looked relieved and very grateful. This is a fine way for me to start this week. On Thursday, I’m going to Albany to meet a brave refugee mother who walked thousands of miles across Africa to save her family and get to America. She lost two of her children along the way.

This is a wonderful way to start a new week, it fills me with hope and peacefulness. People are good, given the chance.

I am presenting this amazing mother with a cash scholarship so she can help continue her education in any way she chooses and she has agreed to be photographed and interviewed. It is a small amount of money, but it will help. It will also remind her that we are a generous and welcoming people, our hearts have not turned to stone.

Working with these two vulnerable groups – refugees and the elderly – is dizzying sometimes, but always exhilarating and meaningful. It is selfish, really, because it permits me to feel good about myself and my life every single day, even in the face of perpetual conflict and argument, and angry and cruel people who seem to be ascending momentarily in the world.

Bringing this air conditioner to Shirley and Robert is something concrete that I can do, something concrete we can do together, to remind all of us that there is good in the world, and that life is precious and wonderful. On a stifling day, they will have comfort and peace.

Our mission is to fill the holes in the Mansion, not to transform it, or change reality. Speaking only for myself, I am not God. But we can do good rather than argue about doing good.

Thanks for helping me buy this air conditioner. I’d like to get a couple more. You can contribute to this and other Mansion projects if you wish by donating through my Post Office Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816 or via Paypal Friends And Family, my ID is [email protected]. The Honey well cost $349 but I am not sure precisely how many other people need one just like that. I will find out.

This will be Gus’s fourth therapy visit to the Mansion, he is looking good (once he stops trying to eat earrings). Thanks again to the Army of Good, you just keep marching on.

I’ll be going to see Mandi shortly.

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