I’m calling the “Refugee Liberation Van,” because it will free Ali and I and the soccer team up for many important things. At the moment, we have been using a small 7-seat van for trips outside of Albany to soccer games or trips to parks or lessons or the Powell House retreats or visits to the Mansion.

Ali didn’t own the big white vans, he had to get permission, and increasingly, that became difficult, there were many bureaucratic and scheduling problems.

So we traded in the small van even for this bigger one, and the only catch is that we will have to make about $800 in repairs. When they are done, today or tomorrow, we will be liberated, we can take the refugees and immigrants and soccer team players anywhere we wish.

We can over furniture for refugees moving into new apartments, we can get groceries for families on weekends, we can crank up special tutoring program, the kids can visit parks, playgrounds, farms and ponds this summer. They can also come to Bedlam Farm whenever they wish.

Our trip to Great Adventure this summer is a bit in turmoil, the person who arranged and negotiated the trip seems to have vanished, retired or fired, and I will have to get our tickets online, which means no discount will be available. The park won’t actually speak to anyone bringing fewer than 100 people, and we are only bringing 12. So we’ll see. It just got more expensive.

Negotiating with public and private institutions for the refugees is a grinding and difficult part of this work, and seems to get only more difficult. They will need about $550 to escape to the Great Escape.

But the big news is the van. We are free and liberated now, no one can tell us where to go or how to spend our resources. Good times ahead, hard perhaps but meaningful. Thank you Army Of Good, this van will soon be sporting an “Army Of Good” bumper sticker. We can do more, and do it faster and more efficiently.

If you wish to help this work with the refugees and immigrants and with the refugee soccer team, you can send a contribution in any amount to Gus Fund, c/o Jon Katz, P.O Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or to me via Paypal, [email protected]. We have about $1,600 in the refugee/Mansion account.

I like to keep things small, but not that small.