Search Results for: bingo night at the mansion

Mary is one of the quietest residents at the Mansion, sometimes she is a little bit down. She is a very gentle soul. She comes to every Bingo game, says little and rarely wants a prize. I got her a sweater at a thrift shop the other day, and she was grateful for it.

I know she can feel chilly sometimes in the winter. She sat alone at a table tonight, and I saw her shadow from the late afternoon sun, it captured my sense of Mary, who is most often sitting alone, by choice.

I walked back to her room with her, and she stopped, surprised me by wishing me a Happy Birthday, and by then leaning over and kissing me on the cheek.

If you wish to write to Mary, you can do so by sending a letter to Mary, c/o The Mansion, 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

I was at the Mansion early Friday evening to call the weekly Bingo game with Maria, I bought sacks of nice Fall sweaters and T-shirts, which the residents gobbled up.

They know it will be chilly soon.

Walking to the office to say goodnight, I spotted the late afternoon sun shining on a portrait sitting in the Great Room. I saw it was the portrait of Red painted by Sue Silverstein, Red’s friend, my friend, and the art teacher at Bishop Maginn High School.

The aides told me the residents come by one by one, all during the day to look at the photo and say goodbye to Red.

Sue Silverstein loved Red very much, and titled this painting “Angel Dog.” I was moved to see it here. Two of them were standing and looking at it when I saw the light.

“We miss you, Red,” said Carol. “You were so sweet…” Helen followed her, leaning forward to kiss the portrait.

It is difficult for me to convey what Red meant to the residents and staff at the Mansion. He lifted so many spirits, comforted the sick and the frightened, touched their memories of dogs and cats and horses that they once loved and lived with.

Red meant warmth, love, and memory. The residents often tell me they never truly grasped the meaning of dogs and cats until they could no longer live with them.

Thanks, Sue, for painting this portrait of Red, he continues to bring comfort to so many people.

Peggie’s Fawn won top honors.

Tonight was the second annual Mansion Art Show, the residents competed in sixteen categories from wood art to tape art to watercolors.

Maria and I judged while a harpist played music in the background. The refreshments were punch and ginger cookies and cheese. Maria and I judge, we gave out 25 lst, 2nd, and 3rd place ribbons.

There were more than 80 entries and we gave the “Best In Show” ribbon to Peggie, for her oil painting of the fawn.  A lot of the residents were missing Red.

Peggie has a lot of spirit.

She makes the most of her life at the Mansion, playing video games, working on jigsaw puzzles,  Bingo games, plunging into craft and art activities, dying her hair. She is always busy, always engaged.

It’s not simple to be a resident in an assisted care facility, but Peggie makes every day count.

She has a great heart and a passion for living. Maria and I were both happy she won Best of Show. She reminded us that she won it last year as well.

Georgina had a good night at the Mansion Friday night. She was once again the Bingo Queen, winning three games. Maria and I stopped at a local thrift shop to buy some clothes, scarves, shoes, and socks for the residents. And Georgina won a bunch of prizes for her Bingo rampage.

She loved her orange scarf. I got her a pair of shoes, a wide sun hat for sitting outside, two pairs of jeans and a soft bunny rabbit to cuddle with at night.

“I am very happy,” she said, “I thank you very much” And I thank the Army Of Good. These are some of the small things that brighten and enrich lives.

If you wish to contribute to the Mansion work, you do so via Paypal, [email protected] or by check, Jon Katz, Mansion Fund, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

I was worried Georgina would be lonely because her friend Bert has gone off for nine days to be with her family. But she’s doing well.  I saw her on the porch yakking up a storm with some of the other residents. I think the Mansion needed someone just like her.

If you wish to send letters to the Mansion residents, I can tell you of three residents who love getting letters: Sylvia, Georgina, Bert. You can send messages to them c/o The Mansion, 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

These letters matter.

I call  Bert and Georgina the troublemakers, they are always together, always joking and laughing. They are new residents at the Mansion, and they are lively and fun to be around.

They love to banter, they are quick and sharp, they both like to sit outside and smoke by an alcove in the shade, I call it the Devil’s Den. Georgina and Burt sat together at one of the tables where we were playing bingo (Maria and I call the Friday games) and Georgina romped.

She won six (maybe seven) games, breaking the known record of five in one night, and Burt won several more. At our bingo games, the winner of every game is entitled to pick a gift or prize from the Bingo Cart.

Burt and Georgina gave most of their prizes to the other residents, they went through the cart quickly.

I’m enjoying Burt and Georgina, I asked them if would like to receive letters from the Army Of Good or other readers of the blog, and they said they would love to get some letters. There’s a good chance of them writing back.

You can write them c/o of Burt (or Georgina), The Mansion, 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. And thanks.