Somehow, it seemed to me that Alice was the face of the day. She could so easily have stayed back at the Mansion. She was off by the side clapping, and I asked her who she was clapping for and she smiled her shy and knowing smile.
“For you,” she said, “and your camera.”
It was sweet, but I think she was just being polite. I think she was clapping for the people behind me who were dancing. Or perhaps she was clapping for the day. I think she’s the perfect choice for the final image of the day.
Peggie is heroic in many ways. She lives life every day, without much complaint or regret. She loves oat rides, bingo, gambling, if she can get to a casino, computer games, puzzles, stuffed animals. She lives life fully and every minute with leg and joint and heart issues. She loves to get letters. You can write her c/o Peggie, The Mansion 11 S.Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.
Like sand in a glass time clock, I filled up with emotion and gratitude on my boat ride with the Mansion staff and residents this afternoon.
I was grateful for the beautiful day, even as a ferocious storm bore down on so many people, Mother Earth warning us one more time to not ignore her wounds.
I was grateful to the Army of Good for giving me the money to take these people on this sun-drenched and happy excursion.
I was grateful to the brave and determined residents who overcame wheelchairs, walkers, frailty and pain to step outside of themselves and their lives to take a ride with me and one another.
I felt great love and appreciation for Bonnie, Kassi, and Julie, they never stopped working to make this trip worthwhile and fulfilling for the people who came.
I am grateful to those of you who took the time to read my stories and look at my photos, this was a special day foe me and for so many others.
I’m grateful to be a writer, who can try to capture this experience in words.
I am grateful to be a photographer, who can try to tell the story in images.
I am grateful to have a lover and friend who shares my enthusiasm and passion.
This was a day of pure love, community and connection. Much of the time, my heart breaks for these people, the world seems to have left them behind. But not today. The world was good to them, bright and beautiful and full of laughter and promise.
How lucky I am to be able to help make that happen. How lucky they are to have people who love them and watch over them and support them from afar.
So this is what life is about, I thought, this is the power of small acts of great kindness. They can be truly great. Thanks for coming along on this ride, you are most welcome.
“Are you coming to Bingo Friday?” asked Peggie as we left the boat. “Sure thing,” I said. “Not something I care to miss.”
Brother Peter is a monk, he lived at the New Skete Monastery for 50 years, he spends most of his time at the Mansion now, he goes to the monastery on weekends. He is a quiet and contemplative man, he has a wicked sense of human and is serious about Bingo.
He plays every Friday and but donates all of his prizes to others. I could see he wanted to go outside on the deck, but he was hesitating. He was concerned about the wind, and he asked if I would walk with him.
We went out together and he took a few steps but the wind was too much for him. Still, I think he greatly enjoyed getting out and seeing Lake George and the big old houses on the shore. I am learning to understand the needs of the residents, each one is different, many hide their inner spirits, but not on the boat.
Brother Peter is a spiritual man, I appreciated my time on the deck with him.
More miracles. Wayne, who is confined to a wheelchair, was sitting on the sidelines watching everyone dance, when some of the woman in the Red Hat Society came over, unlocked the brakes on his wheel chair and took him out on the floor.
I have never seen so wide a smile on Wayne, he just loved it so, he was beaming and laughing, he had four or five spins around the dance floor, got lots of applause and admiration, I thought he would burst wide open with joy. I thank the Red Hat women, they are filled with love.
