The Mansion residents love to be photographed, I think for some it is a recognition that they matter, an acknowledgement of their sometimes battered sense of identity and worth.

Ruth began asking me to take a picture of her and Ken, they have been married a long time and are inseparable, around the time her surgery was scheduled for August.

There was an urgency to the photo that I recognized, I’ve seen it before, people want a record of themselves and their loved ones at certain times. I don’t ever ask the residents for medical details they sometimes offer them and sometimes take it for granted that I know.

At the Mansion, time has a different meaning, and I always look to see if I can sense the urgency of one request or another. Wayne came to me today and asked if I could get a stuffed dog for him, and one for Tia, a staffer with a small child. He wants to make sure her kid has a gift.

That gift is important, but not urgent (I have the dogs). I think Ruth’s was urgent.

Since the staff is not allowed to share medical information with me, as a volunteer, I often don’t know, although it eventually becomes clear. So I asked the printer of my photographs to print a photo of these two that I took last week. We had it framed and I brought it to the Mansion today.

Ruth and I have a great connection, she is direct and always hopeful. We have already been through some hard times together.

Ruth was very happy to get it, we did talk about the new clothes she might need after her surgery, I told her I was on it.  Ruth always offers to pay me back when her Social Security check comes but I told her we have an Army of Good to help her and we don’t need any payment.

I love seeing my photography used in this way. Ruth called Lucas, the maintenance supervisor and asked him if he would hang the photo over their bed and he went right off to do it.

I smile every time I think of it.

You can write to Ruth and Ken c/o The Mansion, 11 S.Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. Ruth is always ready to smile, Ken too.