Day: December 12, 2017

“When it can be said by any country in the world, my poor are happy, neither ignorance nor distress is to be found among them, my jails are empty of prisoners, my streets of beggars, the aged are not in want, the taxes are not oppressive, the rational world is my friend because I am the friend of happiness. When these things can be said, then may that country boast its constitution and government. Independence is my happiness, the world is my country and my religion is to do good.”  Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man.

I feel hope tonight for the country my daughter and wife and granddaughter will live in after I am gone.

I am not a creature of the left or right, I believe I think for myself on different issues in different ways, my own way, for better worse. But I was up late watching the news Tuesday night, and I am hopeful.

I do not label myself or let other people label me. I see very clearly that our two political parties have failed ordinary people, working people.

They both have a lot to prove to people who have lost their trust and faith in our democracy.

But tonight’s election in Alabama makes me hopeful.

That polarized people will rise above their programmers and can still vote their conscience. I hope they have shattered a cycle in which we have come to hate and demonize, and even criminalize, our political leaders. In our democracy, we are supposed to vote for the best candidate, we are not robots pulling pre-determined switches.

That Americans, even those angry and disappointed, will reject hate as a political choice and reject bigots and mindless rage.

I am hopeful that we will honor our Fathers and turn away from becoming a religious nation, rather than an open and secular one.

I can vote for a Republican who makes sense to me, or a Democrat who makes sense to me, that is how our system is supposed to work.

I think the construct of two ideologies, a left and a right, is poison, the death of the citizen mind. In Alabama, the political mind seems to have given rebirth to itself. We don’t have to vote for stupid and vicious  and hypocritical people just because they carry one label or another.

I am hopeful that women are finally gaining the high political ground and holding on to their new power. I am hopeful they are making their voices heard and standing in their truth. Nothing will change the world more than that, not a million politicians of the left or the right making promises they can’t keep.

I am hopeful that African-Americans, refugees and immigrants will rise up and vote the way they did in Alabama and stand up to the tidal wave of bigotry that has engulfed them in the past two years. Last night they are sending a very strong message to the morally bankrupt political opportunists who have been exploiting them for gain and power.

Every day, we are seeing that something important is happening to the women of America, they are seizing power in the most democratic of ways, they may just save our country from itself. So I go to bed hopeful tonight.

I am not a political analyst publishing a political blog – there are so many people who do that.

My politics are not an argument for other people, they are personal expression of my own values. My own values were ratified tonight, that has given me hope and strength. I was asleep and lazy, but i am paying attention now.

I am hopeful that I am finally learning how to be a citizen, and pay attention, and vote my conscience, and practice what I preach, rather than argue about it.

If there had to be trouble, I am grateful that it came in my day, so that my wife and child and grandchild might have peace.

Tonight, on the eve of the Christmas holidays, I feel something good has happened, something positive. I have hope. Independence is my happiness and my religion is to do good.

Our friend Susan Popper came to visit today, and as always, she wanted to go to the Mansion, she loves being there and talking to the residents. She is a natural.

It turned out to be an especially good idea, Peggie, who turned 75 recently, got some medical news this week that frightened her, and Susan, who works in a hospital, talked to her about it. Peggie needed to talk about it, health, illness and death are the permanent residents of the Mansion, the people come and go.

These issues are always lurking just below the surface. Susan told Peggie her symptoms were quite treatable, and her doctors knew what they were doing. The cardinal rule of volunteer work is to listen – our job is not to make promises or give assurances, we can’t predict the future or ever lie to a patient or person we are seeing.

Susan listened and gently guided Peggie through her fears. She returned to the spirit of the party going on around here.

Thursday at 5:30, the Mansion is holding it’s Christmas Party, I will be there. Thanks to your generosity, it is going to be an especially lively and festive Christmas, everyone will have something to open and enjoy, that is not always the case.

On Friday, there will be a horse-drawn sleigh ride on wheels, weather permitting. I’ll be there too.

I was touched watching Peggie and Susan talk. I like this idea of a circle widening around the Army Of Good, it is a glorious thing to see, it brings light to darkness.

Galway is a town about 50 miles west of the Mansion, but quite often, a group of people we call the Angels of Galway show up at the Mansion offering gifts, cookies, and any kind of help that is needed. I know LoAnn Sanders, their ringleader on the right, but had never met Mary, Carolyn and Kristen before, or seen the angels at work.

They came to the Mansion today to set up a lavish Christmas party for the residents – cookies, egg nog, gifts. The staff tipped me off that they were coming and I came to meet them and thank them. Julie Smith, the Mansion Activity Director, says they have been helping her all year.

LoAnn read about the Mansion work on the blog, and organized the angels, all friends from Galway, and took it on themselves to help. They are already a legend at the Mansion, the staff always talks about how much they do, and how appreciated they are.

They make the drive often and know the residents well. They speak of Howard Thurman’s wonderful poem about Christmas: When Christmas begins, writes Thurman,

“to find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among brothers and sisters,

To make music in the heart.”

It was great to see LoAnn again – she is one of Sylvie’s favorite pen pals – and to meet the other angels, hero warriors in the Army of Good. They brought an amazing spread with them, the residents were happy, even boisterous.

The Galway Angels are my big story today, the real news. You will never see them on cable channels, but they remind us that there are good people in the world, and they will always rise to do good given the chance. Thanks, Angels.

And Merry Christmas to you You know what that means.

Ruth was thrilled with her new red sweater, it fit perfectly and was a favorite color. For the first time, I asked  her if she needed any more clothes, and she said no, she now had everything she needed except for a couple of things I’m not going to mention. When she gets those later this week, she will be all set.

Ken says he now also has everything he needs, and he and Red have done major bonding.

Ruth has come a long way since she arrived at the Mansion with little more than the clothes on her back. The clothing campaign for the Mansion – thanks to a network of Thrift Shops on my new circuit – has been so successful that I don’t think there is anyone left there that is in need of clothes, either for the winter or for every day life.

I’ve given clothes out to 19 people there , 13 residents and six staffers – six winter wool hats, four pairs of paints, seven blouses and shirts, five winter jackets,  nine scarves and four pairs of mittens.

There are five people I haven’t yet seen to ask – I think they are mostly bed-ridden

This is a great Christmas idea, Christmas is a time for music from the heart. At the same time, the Army Of Good is flooding RISSE, the refugee and immigrant center of Albany, with much needed clothes for the refugees as winter approaches – sweaters, jackets, snow pants, winter boots, mittens, scarves, wool caps, blankets.

(The blog winter clothing drive is on until New Year’s – new and used clothing in good condition are welcome (check out swap.com – the largest thrift and consignment store in the country –  for great prices on winter clothes).

They are very grateful.

Refugees often come to American with little or no clothes or belongings, this will help them handle their first upstate New York winter.

The Mansion clothing drive was more personal. Everyone doesn’t need or want clothes, it is necessary to know them to win their trust and find out what they really want and need. This was a great experience for me, another lesson in giving and learning.

Now that I have discovered the warm and friendly world of Thrift Shops – I have a strong network of advisers and supporters there now – no Mansion resident will want for clothes. Many have generously cut prices and donated some clothes for the Mansion residents. Our circle is widening.

The Thrift Stores are not alien to me, it felt more like coming home. I loved wandering the halls of the Mansion offering colorful and useful clothes to people, and seeing them light up with shock and surprise at their new clothes.

Small things matter, often more than anything. Ruth and Ken have lost everything, and now it is their turn to get their life back, and the Army Of Good is making this possible. So thanks for your support.

I am always learning to listen and think. Every time I talk to a resident of the Mansion, I learn something new about listening.

I haven’t seen my granddaughter Robin in months, i have been up to my neck in work, and it’s not simple to find a place to stay in New York that is affordable, especially during the holiday season. My daughter Emma is good at gentle prodding, she has quietly reminded me that it’s time for a visit,  the Mansion and refugee work has been especially intense, so has the blogging and publishing work .

This morning, she e-mailed me that an apartment in her building is available for two days the first week of January for $150 a night, which is, for New York City, or Brooklyn,  a steal. So Maria and I are going down there for two days after New Year’s. It’s time.

Shelby, our farm sitter, is available, and all I  need to do is get the train tickets. We’ll go for two nights, a Friday and Saturday and come back Sunday morning. Robin and I will have to get re-acquainted again, and we will probably find time to get to a museum in Manhattan.

Emma very much wants me to be a part of Robin’s life, I will try to do what I can to make that happen.

Every time I see a photo of Robin, she is different, it’s fascinating to see the evolution into a complex and sentient being. When she looks into the camera now, the look is completely different. I think I’ll bring her a bag of books. Emma’s daughter is sure to be a reader.