Category: Good Deeds

“Jon, thank you so much for the sketch pad and the pencils. It was very thoughtful of you. Here’s my first sketch. It took me about 3 hours. I took a little inspiration from your blog. Thanks

–Jacob Merryman, D.D.S.

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One of my favorite things to do in life is to sense that there is a creative impulse in someone that needs to come out, and encourage it. I was sitting in my dentist, Jacob Merryman’s, chair and looked up to see a new painting on the wall. It was a landscape of beautiful color, featuring children playing in the joy of nature, hanging on the wall in front of me as I waited to have my teeth cleaned.

“Wow,” I said to the tech, “what beautiful colors, who ordered those?” She smiled and said, “Dr. Merryman.”

My artist alarm bell went off. The person who ordered those paintings has an artist’s heart, I said. I always remember what God is supposed to have said about creativity in the Kabalah, the ancient and secret writings of some Hebrew mystics.

In it, God is quoted as saying that He has given every human being a creative spark, something He gave to no other living thing. The only thing you have to fear from me, he said, is that you never light the spark, if you throw it away or waste it.

I took this to heart and became a self-appointed creative spark scout. Most people shake their heads and laugh at me, but once in a while, I score. I believe I scored with Jacob Merryman. Besides, he is a man of faith, and I imagine he takes God seriously.

Let me pause to say that Dr. Merryman and I have a warm, yet genuine, patient-physician relationship. We don’t have dinner at each other’s houses, but we are friends in an odd way that men like me make friends. We have a good time in his dental cubicle, something I never thought I’d say in my life.

Dr. Merryman’s first sketch.

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I like Jacob Merryman a lot, and he and I always have a good time laughing and talking together.  (He is also a great dentist.) He possesses a great sense of humanity and is a gentle, caring man. When I fell on his office sidewalk this winter, he shot out of his office like a rocket and lifted me off the ground with one hand, no strain. You are my hero, I said. He is a big and fortunately good-natured man.

When Dr. Merryman entered the cubicle where I was waiting, I said, “Dr. Merryman, you are an artist. Only an artist would pick those bright colors in that way.” He laughed and did what most men do: he poo-pooed it, saying he wasn’t an artist, his wife was. Lots of men say that to me. Often, they are right.

But I urged him to try a simple sketch or two, picking his colors. He said the other thing men usually say, “I don’t have much time to be an artist,” he said. His practice is booming; I have no doubt he is a busy man. I was sure there was a spark in there wanting to be lit.

I went on Amazon the next morning and ordered a sketchpad and some colored pencils. I told Maria I bet he couldn’t resist them. Just look at the beautiful office walls. I knew he had a creative spark. I had the pad and pencils mailed directly to him.

I didn’t hear anything from him, but several days later, I got a big envelope in the mail with his first sketch. I recognized one of our chickens in it; she is often on the blog.

I thought it was a terrific first sketch, one I never could have done; it was skillful for warm-up, another reflection of what I see as a big heart in my dental friend.

I showed it to Maria, the real artist in my life, on top of everything, she has an M.A. In Fine Arts, she has been a successful and popular artist for as long as I’ve known her. She is the real deal, and she doesn’t need any encouragement from God.

“I’m impressed,” she said of Dr. Merryman’s first sketch.: “It has a perspective, and a nice use of color,” she said. “There are a lot of different kinds of marks.”

I’m impressed too. Dr. Merryman is a successful and dedicated dentist; he loves his profession and is highly regarded.

But I’m more convinced than ever that I was right. The creative spark is lit within him, and when we meet, I’m going to ask if he’ll take a commission from me to sketch something for my office wall.

Good for him to take a shot like that and make it look so simple. There is an artist in there.

And it came out.

Yesterday, we asked for help getting some elementary school kids a Goody Bag to take to the 5th grade as they moved up. The teachers asked for $160. They got that and more in just a few hours.

“We have enough now,” wrote teacher Kathy Sosa, a great friend to immigrant children. “Thank you so much. Between your donation and others, we have already raised $335. We will be able to add more to the bags and the celebration. That is so amazing.” The money came almost instantly.

It is fantastic, and amazing, but not surprising, the Army of Good knows a just cost when they see one. Most donations were received via Venmo; additional contributions are expected to arrive by mail.

Two days ago, I got a plea for help this week from the teachers at the Albany International Academy, a special school that helps refugee children. The school is struggling financially, like many others. Teacher Kathleen Saso and Leslie Bellow Brown want to give each of their children a Goody Bag, something they can’t ask their parents for since they are struggling financially to afford even the most basic necessities.

The teachers were hoping to give their newly arrived students a moving-up ceremony as they prepare for the fifth grade next semester. I know some of these teachers; they are incredibly dedicated, caring, and hardworking, and they have spent a significant amount of their own money on buying food and snacks (we helped them with that a month or so ago, thank you).

“We would like to purchase shirts for the students and host a ceremony for the kindergarten students, who are all newcomers to the United States,” said Teacher Kathy Sosa. “We want to purchase shirts for the students and provide them with a goody bag that includes a coloring book, crayons, and a school notebook. We priced it out, and to do this, it costs $10 per child (they decided to call me). We can’t ask our families for money… Could you help us?”

We could and we did, and I am grateful for the chance to support those children as they face significant challenges in transforming to American life.

They have enough, but you can still contribute to Kathy Saso by mail or Venmo  (see below) or by check to  Kathy Kosa, c/o Albany International Academy, 50 Lark Street, Albany, NY 12210. You can also donate by check to Leslie Bellow Brown, c/o Albany International Academy, 50 Lark Street, Albany, N.Y., 12210.

You can also contribute via Venmo – Kathleen-Saso is her Venmo ID.

Kathy’s e-mail is [email protected]. The Venmo QR code below worked for me. If you have any questions, you can email Kathy at [email protected].

Kathy’s e-mail is also [email protected]

You may recall that we recently raised money for snacks for the kindergartners, as the teachers were running low on funds to buy them. This is the America I know and Love, a land of big hearts.

Kathy says the teachers now have enough for their Good Bag and celebration. Teachers often need help in supporting children whose parents are struggling with their transition to the new environment. The few state and federal programs aimed at helping these children are being slashed or eliminated. Any additional money will be put to good use, I assure you. In the meantime, thank you once more for your generosity and kindness. These kids and their families need all the help they can get.

You give us all hope and faith.

Kathy’s Venmo ID is Kathleen Saso@Kathleen-Saso.

Thanks again.

In her book The House of the Soul, Evelyn Underhill writes that charity is no easy emotion. She says Charity is the secret chamber of the world where our idea of Divinity lives.

Charity is a prayer,  I think, and it is my highest aspiration as a human.

“The fire of charity, lit in the soul, needs careful tending. The first tiny flame must not be allowed to die down for lack of fuel, and we may have to feed it with things we should prefer to keep for ourselves. It will only be developed and kept burning in a life informed by faith-stready, mortified, self-oblivious reflection,” she wrote, “the very object of prayer is to increase and maintain Charity, the loving aspect of the soul.”

Charity is often seen as a religious virtue, but it’s much bigger than that. I ‘ve approached it differently, but Underhill is closer to my idea of charity than anyone. Her honesty, conviction, and faith are inspiring and powerful.

Charity is complicated. She is right that it needs careful tending; in my experience, it is humbling.

I’ve known that something is amazing about stepping out of myself and my needs and wants and transferring them to the needs and wants of another human being. It’s no longer a social decision for me but an expression of the heart and soul. That took a long time and hard work.

Charity was going out of fashion before the Army of Being came into my life in 2026, with the rise of Trumpism and the angry MAGA revolution, still underway. I am grateful to them for that; it awakened my soul, and rather than argue or hate, I started embracing charity and doing good with my energy and skill, rather than keeping them to myself.

I don’t need to hate anyone to feel complete, and I need to do my idea of good.

I credit the Christian faith with embracing charity thousands of years ago and putting the idea into my head. They didn’t back away from it for centuries; it isn’t dead yet. For Underhill, all other aspects of charity are meant to get closer to her God.

My charity is meant to get closer to the God inside me; most other aspects of my inner life are now subsidiary to this.

Charity brought my soul to life and has deepened and enriched it. There is something precious about caring more about others than oneself. That happened with Maria, it happened at the Mansion Assisted Car Facility, it happened with refugee children escaping genocide and getting into the United States, and it is happening now with my work and the Army of Good—the arm of the soul—at the Cambridge Food Pantry Now.

Each step has made me stronger.

Each charity was a step forward for me. It is possible to help people who have nowhere else to go. I was astonished by how many people are eager to do it. It does the same thing for them as it does for me – it makes them feel outstanding, from deep inside. It really is human nature.

I don’t need to hate anybody to feel it.

If religion is not the drive for me, then faith is. The giver to others is free, not bound by dogma or stained glass. Free at last.

I have great faith in the charity of human beings; I see it every day, from every part of the country, no matter what the politicians say or do.

But charity goes deeper. It comes from the soul, not the wallet.

Underhill says that the last resort of religious spirituality is the whole course of the spiritual life, which is found to be the same as Charity—the loving union of the human spirit with the Divine Spirit of human beings.

I’ve discovered that Nothing but love for others will drive the soul to the most meaningful struggles, humility, and empathy. The politician seeks donations, the mystic is driven to heroic struggles and maintains the soul through the long, slow climb with endless frustration and cruel failures, remade in the image of Absolute Love. That’s where it ends up. Charity is a sacred thing.

Helping others is the most selfish thing I’ve ever undertaken because it is the best feeling I have ever had, and I never tire of wanting it.

“Real Charity,” wrote St. John of the Cross,” is not shown merely by tender feelings, but by a  strength, courage, and endurance known to other souls.”

I’m not there yet, but I’m on the way.

As it says in the title, this is a record I wanted to make and keep to show the remarkable energy, compassion, hard labor, friendship, and community.  It took a lot of beating hearts to make these pictures.

There was also a lot of packing, unpacking, and shelving. We had 25,000 pounds of donated food, and we are moving up a lot this week. It wasn’t a small miracle, but a big one. I would hate to forget it. I’m not sure I ever saw or felt anything about the people who rush to get a small pantry in upstate New York back on its cold feet.

I don’t know how many people will see or remember what I saw in the past few weeks, but I am proud and committed to making a record that will last forever in the hearts and minds of good people.

This is dedicated to them – Sarah, her volunteers, you, the Army Of Good, the hungry and frightened  –  and the people with nowhere else to go. Photos never lie, and they rarely die. We did it all together. Let’s remember it.