It’s a tense time at the Mansion; the new owners have appeared briefly, scowled at people, and spoken to almost no one. They might be the sweetest people in the world, but none of the new owners has bothered to stop by and let people know if they still have work or can remain at the Mansion.

I have no business prejudging them, but they seem to have left out the traditional meet-the-new-employees and residents event where they could assure them everything will be all right.

It doesn’t look good if these are the New York hedge fund people.

Hopefully, they have been too busy to show collegiality and kindness or speak to anyone. Hedge funders have been buying up struggling Medicaid institutions nationwide, tossing out the residents and building fancy elder facilities that make a lot more money than Medicaid facilities, which the Mansion is.

I’ll wait until someone wants to talk to me. I’m not an employee. I’m there at the owner’s mercy.

In the meantime, Maria and I will keep on doing our things. She will put together knockout art programs like today’s potato-paint scarfs, and I will continue with my meditation class and supply clothes, shoes, tablecloths, and art supplies when needed. I hope no one will try to stop me, but I’ll keep going until they do.

The Mansion residents are happy there, and the staff has always been warm and kind. It’s a cruel country that tosses that away, and I hope and pray this company won’t. In the meantime, they deserve the time to study their options peacefully. The potato painting class was sweet, and there was a whole house. Maria’s classes are wildly popular at the Mansion; nobody has to be prodded or awakened to come.

There are never enough seats.

Like Sue Silverstein at Bishop Gibbons, Paryese Bates Backer is proving that it spurs creativity, promotes health, and buoys spirits. There are a lot of happy people at the Mansion.

Maria chopped up some potatoes, many from our garden, and showed the residents how to dip the potatoes into small plastic containers of paint and then make their scarves. The idea was a smash, and everybody had a blast.

My role today was to boost morale for the anxious residents – no one in the new company has yet bothered to speak to them – and to take some portrait and general photos. Maria is too busy to take her pictures during her art classes. She forgets to do it, and I love to visit the Mansion and help out, so I’ll be happy to take the photographs. These were special; they captured the rich joy of working with older people. They have great enthusiasm and humor. Some are also highly creative.

Claudi is getting cloves on and going to the dentist to get a new set of teeth. But she wanted to make her potato scarf and finish it before she went.

Jane is an artist in her own life and has one of the most touching faces I have ever seen at the Mansion.

Rachel’s hand on her potato.

 

Everyone seemed to love sticking their potatoes into a plastic container filled with paint and pressing them in the shawl cloth. It was a messy but fun activity.

 

Art, who rarely, if ever, speaks, is getting another car book when I come to the Mansion on Wednesday for my meditation class. Art loves anything to do with cars.

Maria and Robi, the aide (right,t), stood behind the residents to help them when they got stuck or confused.

I was wrapping up, and we were showing off each other’s work. Maria took the scarves home to iron and dry them.

 

 

Rachel is an artist with a soul. She made a beautiful potato-painted scarf.

The residents rarely refer to themselves as creative, yet many are. They love Maria’s art classes; they bring out the artist in each of them.

Maria says June is an artist, but June usually laughs. She is an artist and gets tremendous joy from her art.