I’ve decided to publish a continuing portrait series of Joan, a close friend and a resident of the Mansion Assisted Care Facility. Joan has severe memory loss and I imagine she will be one of the first residents of the Mansion’s new Memory Unit under construction in the same building where she lives now.

I want to show the beauty and life that is such a part of the memory-deprived and of those often beautiful people whose disease we so cruelly call Dementia. Most of the memory-impaired in America are locked away behind closed doors, out of sight and mind.

But they have the most beautiful thoughts and souls. Joan is a great testimony to that.

There is nothing   demented about Joan, she does not know my name, what I do, or where I live, but there is a love and trust between us that comes close to or surpasses people around me with their full memory.

She always remembers me, she never loses her memory of me.

We just love one another, we smile at each  other, dance with other, and at Bingo Friday night, we sang Broadway shoes together. Monday, we are assembling a new built into-the wall CD player for Joan along with five CD’s – the Beatles, Willie Nelson, Fleetwood Mac.

Joanie thinks she is going home every morning, so she packs up her belongings every night. Her room is bare of anything but sheets and a blanket and the things the staff unpacks for her every night. Joan loves music, it calms and soothes here, and I will be so happy to sit with her while she listens to the CD’s. So will the Mansion staff, she is much loved and cared for.

Joan’s head is full of stories and ideas, some of which she struggles to express. She gets frustrated, restless, confused. It can be awfully frightening and disconnected to lose one’s memory, and understanding of the world.

I am planning (with family approval) a series of rides around the area while listening to music, Joan’s absolutely favorite thing. She has lost much of her memory, but none of her sweetness, joy and passion for life.

I am happy to say that like so many others who know her, I love Joanie, and I’m not sure, but I think she loves me back. She loves to pose for photos, and I make sure she has the clothes and other essentials she needs.

I’m devoting this photo series to memory, and to the good people who care for the Joanie’s of the world, and the good people who have lost their memory but not their soul. I’ll put one photo of Joanie up each day for a while. Memory is important, memory is us.

I can’t do the Mansion work without your support. Please consider contributing by sending a check to Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816., or via Paypal, [email protected]. Please mark the payment, “The Mansion,” so I can be sure it goes where you want it to go. And thanks. Our fund is getting pretty low. My next project is to purchase a Karaoke Machine for $200. Believe me, the videos will be worth it.