I’ve decided to buy two lift recliner chairs for two Mansion residents, and could use some help from the Army Of Good.

I’ve held off on fund-raising for a few weeks to give everyone a rest, but I think this need is somewhat urgent.

I am going to get two reclining power  lift chairs. One is for Jane, who is confined to a wheelchair, and the other is for Art, who is in great pain and is isolated from friends and family, he is a man of rigid and sometimes angry faith.

Jane is in her wheelchair day and night, she cannot stand up without assistance. I just bought her a Magic Union Power Lift reclining chair so she can get help standing up to go eat or get to physical therapy. It cost $479. Jane is one of the only residents at the Mansion who cannot stand up without assistance.

That is already purchased.

Jane also has severe hearing problems, she hears almost nothing but does some lip reading. She is taking art lessons, she wants to focus on her painting, which has become important to her.

The chair will be an enormous help to her, and also to the Mansion staff, who often have to lift her to move her. It will arrive on October 5th.

I am also looking to buy a lift and reclining chair for Art, who I have been writing about. He is a man of great and often unyielding faith. He moved to the Mansion to be near his brother, who died soon after Art arrived. Art has very fixed beliefs, they are very different from mine or most other people.

He often expresses them loudly and forcefully.

This has isolated him, somewhat of his own doing, as he would be the first to admit. Art and I have a strong connection, if an unlikely one. We pray together two or three times a week.  He accepts that I am different from him, we just  feel at ease.

I’ve gotten him an air conditioner, a CD collection of the Bible, and boombox to listen to.

I’ve asked the Army of Good to write Art- which many of you have – and he is much buoyed at having a ministry of his own. Art has some fearsome beliefs about culture and faith, and many of the residents stay away from him. His prayers with me are gentle and loving. He called me a “Man of God,” and prayed for Red and Gus and the animals.

(You can write Art at The Mansion, 11 South Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.)

It is very difficult for Art to sit in his chair, or to stand up, he suffers from severe back pain. In this work, I learn to listen, not to talk or argue or insert myself. I had a long talk with a Mansion official today, and she encouraged me to pursue these two chairs.

The chairs are simple to use, they were designed specially for the elderly, and have drawn good reviews.

It doesn’t matter what I believe, or what I think. There is something very human about working with the residents of the Mansion, it transcends the divisions and arguments that have become so prevalent in our country.

I believe in empathy and compassion, and I see that Art has cut himself off from friends and family. He is also grieving for his brother, and told me he is ready to leave the world, but God is not ready for him to do that. He has his own way of doing things, but Art, at the core, is struggling to be a good man.

I don’t know if Art ever found his own place or community, but he seems somewhat out to sea to me. I’m working to help ground him, and also to deal with people who are different than he is, and who have different beliefs. The staff is also working on this.

They agree that a lift would be helpful to him, and to Jane. I always check with the staff before I bring anything of substance into the Mansion.

My goal is to make Art more comfortable physically – the room air conditioner was just a start. I noticed this week that Art is so uncomfortable in his one chair that he sits on the bed when he in the room. I asked him how I could help, and he said a lift chair would be of help.

The lift chair would also make life somewhat simpler and easier for Jane, who suffers quite a bit. The chair I ordered also has a vibrating massage which might ease her discomfort.

Several people have suggested a used chair, but that is not appropriate for the Mansion. There are all kinds of legal and health and other considerations to consider. It needs to be new and under warranty and of a certain size to fit in the room. I’m giving these two chairs to Mansion, not the residents themselves, so that others can use them if that becomes necessary or feasible.

Art’s chair needs to be bigger than Jane’s, he weights close to 300 pounds. I think it will cost between $800 and $1,000. So I am seeking contributions and donations for his chair. If you choose to contribute, you can do so via Paypal, ([email protected]) please Mention “Reclining Lift Chairs,” or by check: Jon Katz, Post Office Box 205 Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. Please mention “Reclining Lift Chairs” on any checks.

This feels like a good and important thing to do for Jane and Art. We can’t change outcomes or lives, but we can fill some of the holes in people’s lives as they move inexorably to the edge of life. And thanks. It is so much better to do good than to argue about doing good.