Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

11 January

Jane Was Our Friend In Memory Care. Her Family Just Gave $1,000 To The Mansion Assisted Care Facility In Honor Of Jane, We All Loved Her Dearly.

by Jon Katz

It is better to do good than argue about what doing good is. That’s the Motto of the Army Of Good: we’ve done a lot of good. And good always breeds good.

Several years ago, while volunteering at the Mansion, an assisted living facility in my hometown of Cambridge, I visited the people in Memory Care with Zinnia, my therapy dog. I was astonished to meet Jane Riek, a quiet, gentle woman who never spoke but who was an astonishing artist.

I especially loved working with Zinnia in the Memory Care Unit; the spirits were pure and beautiful.

Art was not something Jane had ever done before, and though she was primarily silent, her soul and creativity were wistful and beautiful. She painted every morning when she got up, and I was so impressed that we did a show for her at the mansion.

She and I became good friends; she always greeted me with a hug and a kiss on the forehead, and she liked to hold my hand while she painted. Maria got to know and loved her in the art class she conducted, and still does. Jane loved to work with her, and Jane also loved Zinnia.

Jane always beamed at the sight of Zinnia, reached down to pet her, and smiled. Zinnia, a gifted therapy dog, would focus on Jane’s needs while she painted. Jane could just read down and touch her. Seeing what animals meant to the people in the Mansion was an extraordinary experience.

Joan and I never got to speak much,  yet we talked all the time in our own way; love flowed back and forth between us. She had more to say to me than most people, and she never made a sound.

The Mansion was taken over a year or so ago, and things changed.  I moved on. I now focus most of my “good” work at the Cambridge Food Pantry. I have always believed that good does good and hatred breeds hate. Jane died last year, and I can say quite comfortably that we loved each other. Her family was loving and kind, as she was.

This morning, the Food Pantry got a letter from Jane’s Family. It said:

In memory of Jane and honor of Jon, Maria & Zinnia, we wish to donate $1,000 to the Cambridge Food Pantry. Jon, Maria & Zinnia were instrumental in Jane’s success and longevity while a resident of the Mansion’s Memory Care Unit. God Bless and thank you from a very grateful family, the family of Joan Riek.”

No, God Bless You and Jane; she had a great heart.

11 January

Flower Art And Aging Rumination, Today, My Mini-Sabath Begins. See You Tomorrow

by Jon Katz

Before the battles between men and dragons, there was a time when the Veiled Valley was green and covered with trees, berry bushes, and wildflowers. Birdsong filled the air from early morning until sunset. Sunriseside, a mountain, peaked above a vast, dark forest. At the base of its tree-covered slopes, far below our ancestors, a lodge housed a large family of Valley Folk...”   — Poet Susan Bass.

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Joan Chittister writes that a blessing of older years is seeing that life does not have to be perfect to be perfect. It only needs to be forgiving—and forgiven.

I often wonder why it has been so difficult to understand that I don’t need to be perfect to be happy.

For years, I have decided to make Saturday at least a partial day of rest, as my grandparents did. I work hard every day, all week, and I’ve always gotten tired. Today, I will rest a bit and do it next week.

I cannot do this rest all day, so I’m going for 50-50.

This is not religious but spiritual; I ache for silence and quiet. Today, finally, I’m doing it. I promised myself that before noon, I would cease writing, blogging, taking pictures, and writing essays. I’m unsure whether I am getting wiser or more easily tired as I age. By Saturday, my head is tired. But after this, I’m turning the devices off, meditating for an hour or so, thinking in silence, perhaps reaching. I have a promising new British Police Procedural to look at tonight.

This is an almost spiritual and meditative process for me and Maria. Police procedures are the only TV we ever watch, and we watch those on our cell phones.

Wikipedia: British police procedural television series, a sub-drama of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist, as contrasted with other genres that focus on either a private detective, an amateur investigator, or the characters who are the targets of investigations. While many police procedurals conceal the criminal’s identity until the crime is solved in the narrative climax, others reveal the perpetrator’s identity to the audience early in the narrative, making it an inverted detective story. Whatever the plot style, the defining element of a police procedural is the attempt to accurately depict the law enforcement profession, including police-related topics such as forensic science, autopsies, gathering evidence, search warrants, interrogation, and adherence to legal restrictions and production, and adherence to legal restrictions and procedure.

After signing off today, my long dream comes true: first lunch (Our friend Ian McRae is coming), then meditation, rest, silence, reading, and perhaps my procedural. It’s about time.

One challenge of being older is that I am at risk of allowing myself to be choked and dominated by the struggles of the past. However, one thing people overlook about getting older is that it is a kind of liberation. I am free to be happy, and no one can fire me for swimming in silence. I need it. I hope to see you tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

11 January

Saturday Morning. As Promised, I’ll Sign Out After Lunch For Most Of Saturday, Today, January 11, 2025

by Jon Katz

Above, Kim finds a way to reach the bushes and bring them back. They come off quickly; we just put a foot on one end.

 

 

Barn cats often have challenging lives, but Zip never got the message. He sometimes naps on the heated pad, which is located in a portable cat house for outdoor cats. It’s in the bar, and the large house is not electrified for safety reasons. The pad with a fireproof plug gets warm when the cat comes in.

 

Robin and Kim are at the gate.

 

Zip after breakfast

Bud and Fate head right for the wood stove when they come in from the cold. They love it there.

11 January

Weekend Mission: Sarah’s Three Items For The Pantry Kids Backpack Program Which Needs Our Help. 150 Kids Have Signed Up Twice As Many As Last Year. We A Few Inexpensive Items.

by Jon Katz

The stories from California are heartbreaking. We considered holding off on asking for donations. However, I learned that more than 150 family children in the Children’s Backpack Weekend Hunger Program need help and have requested weekend food assistance. The number of requests from pantry families for the program doubled from last year—no wonder they need a hand.

The explosive growth of children needing this program was unexpected and unpredictable.

No child in this or any country should expect to be hungry for a weekend when school closes. This plea will be up all weekend.

So, we have put uup a list of urgently needed items and will keep it up through the weekend; all are at modest prices. One crisis can’t wait for another. These families acknowledge that when the children are out of food and away from school lunch programs, they often have nothing or little to eat on weekends and thus dread being out of School on Fridays.

The backpack program, supported by Cambridge Central School and operated by Cambridge Pantry volunteers, is essential to these families. Over the weekend, I plan to send the three requested items to the pantry on the blog every day. The kids pick up their backpacks this coming Thursday. Last night, we bought out the oatmeal in minutes with just three breakfast items to go.

Here are the three items the backpackers most need:

Pop-Tarts Toaster Pastries, Breakfast Foods, Kids Snacks, Variety Pack, 54 1.0z Box (32 Pop-Tarts), $9.99.

Carnation Breakfast Essentials, Power Drink Mix, Rich Milk Chocolate, 1.26 (Pack of 22), $9.97.

Honey Nut Cheerios Heart Healthy Breakfast Cereal, Gluten-Free Cereal with Whole Grain Oats, 10.8, $2,79.

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You can access the Cambridge Pantry Amazon Food Wish List by clicking on any link or the green box at the bottom of every blog post. The list is updated regularly, and everything on it is urgently needed.  Thank you for browsing and making your donations. We appreciate your help.

From the Amazon checkout page, you can send Sara and the Cambridge Pantry Volunteers messages of hope and appreciation for their work.

 

 

 

The Volunteers

10 January

Flower Art, Friday, January 10, 2025. Zip, Bud, Flowers. A Sweet Mix. Thoughts To California. “The Thing Is…”

by Jon Katz

A California blogger just emailed me from a California Red Cross Center. She and her husband and daughters are sleeping on mattresses on the floor. She said nothing was left of her material life; they barely made it out alive. But I loved her spirit; she is eager to regain the pieces of her life. Much love to you, Jane.

When you told me the whole family was on the floor reading my blog and Maria’s and looking for my flower art photos, I did not know what to say.

But I dug out this beautiful poem from a funeral I went to when a friend died back in New York. It was lovely then and appropriate today. I hope this has meaning and some sense of hope for you.

Please stay in touch, and I will hold you in the light.

I want to ask anyone reading this blog tonight to be silent for a minute and think of Jane and her family and the many thousands of other people and families wondering how they can pick up life again.

Sadly, but fortunately, this is one of the things human beings are good at. This poem is for you, Jane. You are an inspiration to us.

 

The Thing Is
by Ellen Bass

to love life, to love it even
when you have no stomach for it
and everything you’ve held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,
Your throat filled with its silt.
When grief sits with you, its tropical heat
thickening the air, heavy as water
more fit for gills than lungs;
when grief weights, you like your flesh
only more of it, an obesity of grief,
Do you think a body can withstand this?
Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you again.

 

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Dogs are part of my creative life; now,  Zip is integral. He’s the General Manager and the critic. Bless the animals; they are full of hope.


 

Bud came out to sit with me near the window for a while. He was part of it today, as was Zip, as usual. So, I decided to include them in my Flower art post. They light me up every time. Tomorrow is a partial Sabbath rest day. Maria did it first. I am struggling to catch up. I will see you in the morning, and then I’m off the clock until Sunday. Blessings to you all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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