I believe in small acts of great kindness, nothing dramatic, nothing over-the-top, nothing miraculous. But in a place like the Mansion, a Medicaid Assisted Care Facility in Cambridge, N.Y., small things make for big differences in life.

Last week, we cleaned out the Mansion Amazon Wish List, which listed a half-dozen different table cloths, we bought all of them. This enables the Mansion staff, to change the tablecloths more frequently and brighten the lives of the residents.

In the Mansion, meals are a big deal, a time of community, markers for going through a day, a chance to get to know the residents. They are just thrilled with their new tablecloths, it was all I heard about today.

The kitchen staff and resident aides are happy too, the room is brighter and livelier, part of our efforts to bring more color and light and excitement to the lives of the residents.

So thank  you. Today I also bought a new wheelchair scale. The current one is tiny and falling apart, and the aides have to life a resident out of  wheelchair to get weight, and that is often hard and painful and even dangerous.

The new one I got – it cost $400 – is coming in two weeks. It has a  wide and secure base to the residents can be rolled right onto the scale, the wheelchair weight deducted, and nobody has to get lifted or pulled up.

I watched the residents eat their lunch in the dining room on some of the new  tablecloths, so many asked me to thank you.

My Mansion work is totally supported by your donations. They are appreciated and they do a lot of good. They bought the tablecloths and the wheelchair scale. If you wish to help, you can send a check or money order to the Gus Fund, c/o Jon Katz. P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or via Paypal, [email protected]. And thanks.