It is a beautiful ritual for me to see. When Maria visits the Mansion, she sits on the floor next to Connie and they chat like school girls, they are so easy and open with one another. Connie does not know what to say about the letters and gifts she has received, I’m not sure she quite believes it.

She treasures the beautiful cards and letters she gets, she shows each one to Maria and they take turns reading them – sometimes Connie’s eyes fail her, and she can’t read the smallest print. She saves all of her letters in a pile, reads and considers each one, and wants each of us to see them and read them.

They are quite beautiful, some of them hand-made or painted, many are simply art, the art of beautiful letters, a rich custom I thought was dying, but is very much alive in the letters to the Mansion.

These messages connect the residents to the outside world, and remind them that they are loved and not forgotten. They read them, share them, keep them. Your messages are like angels of light, they enter the space and souls here and bring light and love to them, just like a fairy with magic dust.

How fortunate I am to have readers like that on my blog. If you wish, you can write Connie c/o The Mansion, 11 S. Union Street, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.