Month: August 2018

At The Mansion, we do not perform miracles, we do not play God, we commit small acts of great kindness. Every few weeks, I sponsor an outing, lunch at the Round House Cafe (above) for three or four residents. Julie, the Activities Director, always comes along. We order off the menu, usually soup and sandwiches.

The groups are small so that we can talk and get to know each other. I love hearing the residents tell the story of their lives.

Getting out for lunch means a great deal to the residents, and the lunches have become  important to me as well. In these small gatherings, I see the great value of them being out in the world among people.

It is so important that they get to step out of their lives.

One of the residents does not want to be photographed, I always warn her and she turns away from the camera. It is always their choice to be photographed or not.

I get the best tips on what the residents need from some of the night staff, they know as well as anyone what clothes or shoes the residents have, they help  put them to bed. At Bingo night, I get slips of paper asking for help for this resident or that one.

Tonight, one of the men told me he needs warmer sweatpants for the winter. I ordered two pairs for him.

An aide told me an older woman desperately needs wide shoes, her feel have swollen and it is painful for her to walk in her old shoes. She is, I was told, in pain  whenever she puts her shoes on.

Another aide told me of a resident who only owns dresses, she has no sweatpants or comfortable summer or fall clothes. I ordered her two pairs of sweatpants, one colorful, one black. Two residents needed underwear, I got three sets.

This week, the Mansion’s new Portable Lightweight Wheelchair Scale is on the way, courtesy of the Army of Good. The very old one they had was too narrow and was extraordinarily difficult for the staff to use.

We have made a huge difference to the residents. If you wish to help me help the residents, you can send a contribution to me, Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816 or via Paypal, [email protected]. Please mark the check or payments “The Mansion.” And thanks.

Albert is a loving, high-spirited mixed breed, he happens to be Bud’s great pal, the two play together all day in Carol Johnson’s home in Arkansas.  Albert is also one of the lost boys, a Friends Of Homeless Animals lost dog, one of the unadoptables.

Carol says he is something of a devil, he loves to play. He is very active with a lot of personality, he loves to “mouth” people  as a means of play and affection. he is three years old and weights 11 lbs.

He is a heartworm dog, very healthy now.

FOHA has spent more than $1,200 on his medical care, and they are asking for a $650 donation for him to cover some of their costs. If somebody decides to adopt him,  I would consider trying to raise money to pay for him through the blog.

Among all of us, I’m sure we could help if it meant Albert getting a good home, everyone who knows him seems to love him.

He is clear of  his heartworm. He has a tendency to chase cats and Carol says he has an “energetic personality,” which means he can get crazy sometimes. He does love to play with other dogs, and he loves people.

Albert’s story – every dog has a great story at FOHA – is that his original owner tied him up on a short leash all day outside, prompting complaints to Animal Control in the town. One day, his leash broke and he ran off into the woods where his rope got caught on a branch and he was trapped and nearly died of exposure and starvation.

A hiker came across him – he was starving and terrified – and called Animal Control, who seized the dog and brought him to a shelter. His eyes speak volumes about his life.

Carol is fond of this dog, I can tell, but lost dogs are not for everyone.

They are for many, and when you look at dog, it either clicks or doesn’t. If it’s right, a voice goes off in  your head which says “this is my dog, I want to bring him home,” and you do.

If you’re interested in learning more about Albert, you can e-mail Carol Johnson, our guardian angel of lost dogs, at  [email protected].

Evie, one of the lost dogs, and a much harder case than Albert, and she was adopted  earlier today, so I think we’re hot. Empathy and compassion are contagious, the Army Of Good practices both every day.

Not surprisingly, Albert likes attention. I think he’s a good dog, full of love and energy.

Carol says he is bright and easy.

You can check out Albert here. Give it a thought.

Of all the Mansion residents, Madeline, who is in her 90’s and grew up in an orphanage in the Bronx, loves music the music. A musician came to the Mansion today, and he sang the Beatles song “When I’m Sixty-Four.”

The song was especially prescient and empathetic for Paul McCartney, who wrote it, and the very young Beatles, who sang it. It showed an almost exquisite sensitivity for older people and the things they feel and worry about.

At the Mansion, almost everyone has seen sixty-four a long time ago, and while the Mansion is a warm and loving place to be, aging can be lonely and sad sometimes. The people there have left so much behind, and lost so much,, and struggle for things to look ahead to. They often feel abandoned and forgotten.

It is a pleasure to watch Madeline sing along with the music, she loves all the music she hears and knows every Broadway show tunes.

Her face is music all its own. I took a short video of the Mansion residents listening to that song today, and I felt the loneliness and sadness that is sometimes an inevitable by-product of getting to be far past sixty-four. Come and see.

Three inexpensive items on the new Mansion Wish List, badly needed underwear for women, some paper plates and some picture hangers, from $8.75 to $12.00. Check out the new and very short list.

Maria and I will be calling the Bingo game tonight.  It gets wild in there.

I was a fish geek when I was very young, that was a while ago, but I see that the fun of it remains stored inside of me. I got Maria a fish tank for her birthday some months ago, and we have had the usual ups and downs with acclimation, hard water and sensitive fish.

Things have settled down we have two charismatic and beautiful Calico gold fish. I’ve learned about Maria that she is always a visual person, she isn’t interested in the fish nearly as much as the color and style of the fish.

She loves to sit and watch the tank. I sometimes meditate next to it.

I’ve also had fund exploring the ways to have a natural and creative tank. I found this “Moss Monster” on Etsy, a site called AquaBonsai with some of the most original and creative aquarium designs.

These sculptures are covered i moss (good for any tank) and made out of non-toxic lava rock, a material that helps bring oxygen into the tank. Since Maria opened a shop on Etsy, I’ve done more of my shopping there, from desk organizers to a medic alert necklaces my doctors have been pestering me to get.

I also got Maria a beautiful Staurolite necklace there and she got me one in return. I have to be careful about Aqua Bonsai, it is not expensive, but there are too many things I’d like to buy. For that matter, I need to be careful about Etsy, they do bring creativity to life.

I remember about fish that they are soothing and one can be creative about how the tank is constructed. Ours is filled with natural plants and has become a beautiful and kind of restful place. I like the Moss Monster peering out of the leaves. And he is very good for the snails we have to eat the algae off the tank and keep it clean.

I’m remembering the old trucks.