Sylvie is one of my favorite photographic subjects at the Mansion, she has a wonderful bearing and face and loves to be photographed. Today, I found her sitting at a dining room table trying to answer some of the letters she gets (The Mansion 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816) and reads faithfully.

She looked worried today.

“Jon,” she said, “do you want to take my picture today?”

“Yes,” I said, “of course.”

“Do you think I’m getting too old, do you want to take pictures of people who are younger?”

I was very surprised, Sylvie is not given to self-doubt. I wondered if her recent time in a nursing home had rattled her.

I walked over to her. “Sylvie,” I said, “I love taking your picture, you are beautiful and have the most interesting face and manner. People love to see you.”

She seemed relieved. “Some people don’t like to take pictures of people when they get old.” I wondered where this came from, I doubt I will ever really know.

I realized right away that she was testing me, giving me an out in case I didn’t really want to photograph her anymore. I have noticed that when some of the residents return from hospitals and nursing homes – many never do – they seem to feel ugly and unwanted.

And I realized I hadn’t taken her picture lately.

I said I would love to keep taking her photos as long as she wanted me too.

“Oh, good,” she said, looking at the camera before returning to her work. “Thank you, Jon. Thank you very much.” I think we all need reassurance from time to time that we are loved and care for, I sometimes take that for granted.

Oh yes, Sylvie is out of stamps and envelopes. She loves to get letters, you can write to her at Sylvie, The Mansion, 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

I got a letter from Sylvie just the other day, it was about Juan Peron, the long-dead populist dictator of Argentina. She wrote his birth date and the date he died. Sylvie was born in Argentina, her father was an American diplomat who was posted all over the world. I thanked her for the letter today.