Day: May 11, 2018

I am always a bit surprised when people write me to thank me for the opportunity to send me some of their money. That’s a new idea for me, I expect people to be annoyed when they are asked for money.

Today, Janet Hamilton wrote on my Facebook Page that she was grateful, as a person without a lot of money, to be able to help people and show that you didn’t need to be a billionaire to change lives.

That was an important message for me to hear, because I realize that so much of the work we are doing by the people who call themselves The Army of Good is just that.

They are ordinary people who are not rich, who don’t have SuperPacs, who aren’t power mad billionaires, can have the opportunity, as they put it, to contribute small amounts of money that do good and change lives. “Thank you so much for letting me help, ” Jane wrote from Michigan yesterday, she sent a check with a beautiful notecard.

That’s it, really, that’s the idea behind the Army Of Good and also my work. I don’t have a lot of money either, but changing people’s lives has become one of the joys of my life. I can be an intermediary, I can find people who need help and let ordinary people help, something it is increasingly difficult to do in our Corporate, Billionaire-Dominated country.

it is hard to find worthy people who need help in was we can respond to. All of the needs we see and hear about seem so vast and unreachable.

A few months ago, the staff and I talked and we identified two Mansion residents as people who might benefit from special stuffed animals or realistic baby dolls. One was Diane, and the other was Jean, above. Jean is almost desperate to see Red when he is there, she clutches him until I tell her she has to leave.

A few weeks ago, we got Diane  a doll named Sue that has proven a powerful grounding and loving object for Diane. It was a tremendous success, and I am looking for ways to repeat it.

Tonight, I gave Jean a stuffed cat I bought for her, her need seemed to be for a special animal, one that would provide an outlet for her powerful nurturing instincts, something to  hold and hug, to answer her need to touch and love something again.

I am not a hugger, but I have become a hugger at the Mansion, the residents are often starved for some physical and emotional contact. They often transfer these needs onto stuffed animals or special dolls. Every time I leave, I am hugged all the way out the door and thanked for coming and being Red. I have come to like it.

Jean was so happy to see this cat, to hold her, clutch her to her heart. When I last saw her after our bingo game, she was walking slowly and carefully with her walker to bed. The cat was going to sleep with her. I have never seen her so happy or contented.

This cost $15 dollars.

There was no billionaire or millionaire involved, no legislation or government program, no non-profit organization holding benefit dinners and launching marketing campaigns. Just some ordinary people who send small  checks or even smaller amount of cash – $5, $10, $50, $100, sometimes $500, even $1,000.

My Mansion fund has about $2,000 in it, which is where I like to keep it. I don’t  seek huge amounts, I don’t care to keep money hanging around in the bank, I am always on the lookout for small acts of great kindness, things, like Jean’s doll that cost little but have enormous consequence and impact.

As I get to know the Mansion residents and the staff – something I never did before – I am learning how to help them in small but consequential ways. Because of the Mansion Wish List, there are quality crafts projects and games, and the tools and seeds and bulbs for a beautiful new garden out back. The list is sold out – again – and thanks, it will be replenished next week.

Tonight, a resident playing bingo told me her room was hot. I explained to her, as the staff did, that state regulations require the Mansion to keep the heat on until the beginning of June, and some of the rooms get warm. The air conditioners we bought for some rooms can’t be installed until then.

But would she like a fan?,I asked her.

This resident, who  refuses all gifts, prizes or help, thought for awhile and needed yes, and then, “yes,” she said, softly. Tomorrow, I’ll get over to the hardware store and get her a good fan.

Thanks, Janet for reminding me what is special about this work. None of us are rich, we are all seeking ways to use the resources we have to help people in ways that matter, on a small and  rational scale. That is pretty special. I feel as if we are keeping good alive.

If you wish to help, please send your contributions to The Gus Fund, c/o Jon Katz, Post Office Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or via Paypal, [email protected].

Every year, Ed and Carol fly north to Bedlam Farm to build a next and have their offspring. They showed up a week or two ago, and Ed was busy patrolling the woods in front of their nest in the marsh. Today, for the first time, they came out of the marsh and strutted around the pasture with all of the little Gulleys.

We closed the pasture off to give them some peace and privacy – the sheep and donkeys would bother them, and we came out quietly and took some photos. They come here every year and it has become a cherished ritual for us to see them. They are quite used to the dogs now and Red and Fate don’t bother them.

We named them Ed and Carol in honor of our friends the Gulleys. Ed is grumpy and loud, like his namesake. Fate came too close the other day and he puffed himself up and shrieked. Fate almost fainted, and fled.

The parents bracket the babies as they learn how to walk and eat bugs and explore the open ground. In a few weeks they will be done for another year. They are one of the cherished rites of Spring here, and it is always a beautiful thing to see this beautiful ritual every year.

Animals can be the most wonderful parents. There are many dangers for these goslings out in the marsh, they are in good hands.  These two are as good as Secret Service agents, but they don’t mind us unless we get too close. Which we don’t.

I do think they know us, our presence outside does not bother them, although it did the first couple of years that they came.

Joseph Campbell wrote that we must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

I love this quote, and to the best of my ability, I have lived it. I did not know the extent to which I could change my life, and change the narrative of my life. I changed the story of me, and cast aside the life I had planned and that was planned for me, so that I could have the life that was waiting for me.

And it was waiting for me, it was right there, within my grasp all of the time. It took me a long time and a lot of hard and unrelenting and painful work to find it,  but I learned that the story of my life is mine to tell.

I walked away from the people who did not care for me and did not love me and did not nourish or support or uplift me, and they were right there, waiting for me.

I shed the loveless and restless and unfulfilling life I was leading, and set out to find real love and change my story, and it was right there, waiting for me, right across the road.

I got rid of the idea that I was broken and sick and afraid and unworthy, and opened myself to the life  that was waiting for me, it was right there, it was right at my fingertips, under my nose, just outside the door. I opened the door and the life that was waiting for me must walked right through the door.

I got rid of anger and lament and envy and told a story of life in the present, full of purpose and the struggle for good

Brothers and sisters, I cannot  tell you what to do, or make you do what I do and did. We are all responsible for our own lives. But consider the story of your life that is in your head, and consider the narrative in your life that was planned for you. And if you don’t like it, or are afraid or despairing.

I learned that pain is inevitable, but that fear and suffering are a choice. Hope is sustaining.

St. Augustine wrote that fear is the loss of love.

Aristotle wrote that “the coward, then, is a despairing sort of person; for he [or she] fears everything. The brave man, on the other hand, has the opposite disposition; for confidence is the mark of a hopeful disposition.”

The strength to have the life that is waiting for is the very core of hope. I got rid of the life I planned so as to have the life that was waiting for me. Here it is.

(The above photo, is for sale for $130 unframed, and on rag paper. You can contact [email protected]) or buy the photo on etsy.

Lulu holds the keys to my heart. For 15 years, when she wants a treat, she looks at me in a certain way, tilts her head, shows her big brown eyes and brays softly. I admit it, I am a sucker for this. She’s my  girl and I give her a carrot every time she wants one.

The first orders for the new Army Of Good bumper stickers – going on sale shortly for $10 – are coming in to my post office box (P.O.Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816) and many of the messages say the same thing: “we are so grateful to learn that there are so many good people out there, it gives us hope and strength.”

That’s music to me. The Army Of Good bumper stickers will be ready next week, there are two ways to get them.

If you wish to pre-order one – I’ve ordered 500 to start – you can send cash or check for $10 to my post office box: Jon Katz, P.O. box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816 and I’ll hold your check (or dollars) and cash it when we have the stickers in hand.

Once they are ready for shipping, you will also be able to purchase a bumper sticker on Maria’s etsy page. Sorry ,but we can’t take orders via Paypal or e-mail, the bookkeeping would be a nightmare.

If I’ve learned nothing else over the past year, it is that there are so many good people out there. I believe we are helping to keep good alive, until it chooses to return in force. I believe most of us want to do good, given the chance.

The Army of Good, it seems, is a good chance. From the letters, I see it is meaningful to many others. That lifts my heart. I can’t wait to see this bumper sticker moving around on a car.