We dropped Art’s Portable Air Conditioner off this morning, Kevin, who heads the maintenance staff, hauled it out. Art is moving from an upstairs room to the first floor today. Kevin is working on installing a new portable air conditioner in the Activity Room, then he’ll install Art’s.

Art moved into the Mansion from far away to be near his brother, who was ill. He died last week. Art is moving into his room. Art loves to correspond with deeply religious people.  I sat with Art and last week and I prayed with him, I meditated and he prayed silently. (you can write him or the other residents c/o The Mansion, 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

I visited Bill in his room yesterday, and he said he would very much appreciate some air conditioning, that will be arriving tomorrow. I’m trying to figure out just how many more people need one. Things are not as simple as they seem. Sylvie told me she would like one, but she also told me she is cold every night and needs extra blankets. I’ll  have to sort that out before ordering one.

Before I order any air conditioner – or any other thing – I check with the administrators and maintenance people at the Mansion to make sure they know about it, and that there are no mechanical, electrical, medical, emotional, financial or regulatory issues involved. I am hyper-sensitive about making sure everything I do is known and approved by the staff.

And I have set clear boundaries for this and for my life.

I am not there to supervise the Mansion’s work, recommend changes, or look into the future. They do their work well, and I do not interfere with it in any way. I do not write about or follow people who leave the Mansion.

I am there to fill the holes and spaces that exist in the lives of people and in a world where there are scarce resources for elderly  car. Drug and insurance companies make billions of dollars off of the elderly, but nobody is spending much money to ensure the quality of their lives.

This week, I started a new program for the Mansion residents. I want to support their regular outings to parks and public spaces. I’m giving the staff $20 for each outing for ice cream or other refreshments. The money will come from your donations, I made the first ice cream contribution yesterday. I’ve also bought a two-year subscription to the large print Reader’s Digest, which the residents love for its photos, games and riddles.

The people who worried yesterday about the electrical bills and also about leaky windows in the winter are exceeding  the boundaries I have set for myself and this program. I worry about the residents, I am not concerned with the Mansion’s finance.

We fill holes and carry out small acts of kindness and empathy, we are not changing the reality of the resident’s lives or the operating systems of the Mansion. The Mansion is an unusual place, sensitive and open and caring. They let me do my job and I let them do theirs. It’s working.

We have very open communications, if there is a problem, they will tell me about it, and I let them know about everything I am doing. I should say in response to yesterday’s small avalanche of concern about the Mansion’s electrical bills that each room is on its own separate grid, the five (or at most six) air conditioners that we are bringing in will not affect the power supply or the Mansion’s monthly electrical bills in any significant way.

Kevin and I talk often.

Apart from everything else, the new units are the most energy-efficient on the market, and they will only be used for several months of the year and different parts of the day The Mansion has plenty of heat in the winter

So I’m happy to be moving forward.

Once I gather more information, I will make sure that every resident – with the approval of the staff – who needs an air conditioner will get one. Thanks so much for your help in making these people feel comfortable. It’s a small thing, but a very big thing in their lives. The heat is difficult for many of them to manage.

If you wish to contribute to the Mansion project, you can do so by sending a check to Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. Please mark it for “The Mansion.” You can also contribute via Paypal, my ID is [email protected].

P.S. Thanks for your comments on the blog. It is working out well. Yesterday we launched another project, an idea of the residents. You send in animal photos of any animal and they will select three winners and award three prizes. The deadline for entries is August 31.