I am very happy to report that Kelly Patrick, a veteran certified nurse’s aide at the Mansion Assisted Care Facility, moved out of her tent yesterday (and burned it) and into her new home, a bright and comfortable three bedroom double-wide in Salem, N.Y.

It was a long and hard journey for Kelly from the tent to her new home, where she will live with her daughter and grandson. They all spent this stormy and wet summer in a small camping tent. Kelly, a loving and conscientious caretaker of elderly people, lost her apartment when the landlord decided suddenly to sell the building.

She had run into some difficulties and did not have enough money to pay her bills, especially when she had to help her daughter care for her grandson, who was seven. Kelly fell behind and could not catch up, she did not have enough money to pay for the deposit and first month’s rent on a new apartment.

She eventually found a place – this trailer – but she did not have the $1,800 to rent the apartment, it costs $900 a month. Kelly refused help for months, I repeatedly asked if I could  help her, she repeatedly turned me down.

I persisted, the people who care for our mothers sometimes need some care themselves. The mansion staff is full of good people, Kelly is one of the best. None of them make much money, nor do caregivers all over the country.

Slipping into financial trouble during a time of stagnant wages and obscene corporate profits is an American story, all too familiar. I vowed to get Kelly out of that tent, I couldn’t sleep thinking about it.

Finally, after a tree limb came through the tent like a spear in a torrential thunderstorm, Kelly relented and said she had to get her and  her family out of the tent. So the Army Of Good rallied and we had the money in a day or so, plus several hundred extra dollars for some necessities for her home.

This is a triumphant week for the Army Of Good. Yesterday the soccer team went to Ramblewild, for a confidence building forest adventure. Today, they went to the Great Escape Amusement Park for fun. This weekend, we helped find homes for two homeless and very needy dogs, Jen and Albert.

And this morning, Kelly was in her new home, cleaning up and getting her cable installed.

I thank you so much for your help. This was a very big deal for me, for Kelly, for the Army Of Good, for the Mansion residents, for her grandson, for all the people who believe in doing good for one another.

In America, we are all supposed to have an open field, so many people have died for that idea. Part of this work is keeping that idea alive.

Everybody who is good is looking for good. “Let us go elsewhere, In to the neighboring country towns, so that I can proclaim the message there, too, because this is why I came,” said Jesus. To drive out the devils, and  help the poor and vulnerable.

I have no idea whether or not Jesus was the son of God, he is not a God to me, but a very special human being who helps me understand where I should go and what I should do. He touches the God in me.

Thanks for helping Kelly. I believe this to be the high watermark of the Army Of Good, it is so much better to do good than argue about what good is.