Joan has a gift of finding the light everywhere she goes. I remember a cold day last winter when I came upon Joan staring out the Mansion window at the park beyond. Oh, she said, look at the beautiful flowers blooming in the garden, and can you hear the birds singing?

It was Springtime for Joan, and it is often Springtime for her, she has a sweetness and love about her that is infectious, and we have, I believe, come to love each other. I’m putting a series of portraits up to honor those who have lost their memory but not their souls or spirits.

I have come to believe that there two distinct realities for most people – darkness and light, although I tend to drift into the gray often. When I am in the light, I believe I am in the light of creation, and Joan is so important because she lives int he darkness and also in the light.

She has the most radiant spirit, and at times, is simply at a loss to understand what is happening around here. I think there is no gray for Joan, only darkness and light.

Monday, Joan is getting her new CD player installed, and her new batch of CD’s – the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Willie Nelson, all among her favorites. Thank you, Army Of Good, for making that possible. Music is precious to Joan, it is calming and soothing.

Joan is one of the reasons our work at the Mansion is so important, and I am trying to build up our Mansion fund a bit – to $2,000 again – so we can continue to support the residents there.

If you can or wish to contribute – this is a good week to focus on feeling good – please send your contribution to me, Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or to me via Paypal. Please mark your donation “The Mansion” so I can be sure it goes where you want it go.

There are no middle-men here, not administrators, the money goes where it ought to go. And thanks. This work is so important to me, and I hope to you. I am seeking to get the Mansion residents a Karaoke Machine, they are excited about it, that is my next project.

I also need to buy some more underwear for two of the residents. Small acts of great kindness, that is what we do. I’m publishing a different portrait of Joan every day. She will soon be moving to the new memory unit that will adjoin the current Mansion residence. Red and I will certainly be visiting her there.

Audio: Loving Joan