Search Results for: Madeline

When I signed up to call the Friday night Bingo Game at the Mansion, I pictured a simple, sleepy round of Bingo, I’d gone shopping for some prizes the night before. Maria said she would love to come along and help. The first week was a bit raucous. One player seemed to be cheated, a relative of a resident was playing on four boards at once, there was a fight when one resident heard voices, another took her gift certificate to a liquor store and tried to buy some vodka.

Maria and I gulped and huddled after that, and changed some rules. We checked each card against the winning numbers, we gave everyone a prize who came, we forbid fighting, we got things under control quickly and comfortably. The second game was mild and uneventful, or at least, less eventful.

But the Good Friday game this week turned out to be something that was beautiful, painful, poignant and very challenging. We brought in our visiting friend Susan to help out, but I knew the minute we walked into the Mansion that it was going to be a challenging night.

We had a parade down the hallway to the game, and it took a long time, as the walkers piled up on each other around the corner of the hallway and some of the residents had to walk very slowly.

One of the players were exhausted from a long day out with her family, and struggled to walk and be awake. Another game player was recovering from a debilitating stroke, and could not focus on her numbers or speak clearly. Another was in a fuming rage and was hearing insulting voices, the staff warned me she might be very angry.  One was congested and couldn’t hear. Another couldn’t see the board, and another became confused about Bingo, which she had played all of her life and could no longer connect the numbers with her board.

Another resident prone to bursts of anger stared outside of the Bingo room and glowered at me, demanding that he go outside.

The final player who appeared had several accidents during the game, one more stormed out. One fell asleep at the table.  All of the players needed special help, Maria, Susan and I had to call, check, mark the cards, give out prizes, get people out for help, cleaned up and back in the game.

I was happy to be there. If these people could get to the game, I could. Maria called the numbers and I helped the players. One player was so exhausted Susan had to sit with her doing the entire game.

Susan said next to one of the residents who couldn’t focus and I ran back and forth among the others, making sure the players spotted their numbers when it called. I had to move quickly and continuously.

I invited Joan, a special resident with memory problems to play and she was delighted to be asked,  but I had to stand beside her and help her find the numbers on her card. I am happy to say she had a great time and was figuring out how to read the numbers by the end of the Bingo Hour, which ended up being longer than that.

One of the players – she was not a cheater – began filling in the numbers on her card, she was imagining that she had won, and was not aware of what was happening. I gave her a prize, and she loved it, it was a bookend with two cats that moved in 3-D. She loved it.

I can tell you that i felt valuable and needed, and so did Maria and Susan. It was intense and draining, it was loving and fun, all at the time time.  And touching. The players struggled to be there. Red rushed from table to table, nearly overwhelmed by the people needing him, wanting to see him, and calling his name.

I so admired these people – it took one of the player more than10 minutes just to get to the game, right around the corner from her room. They wanted to much to play, they wanted to win, they wanted to hear, they wanted to see. Everyone could do some of these things, hardly anyone could do all of these things.

In the Mansion, the aging process is sometimes relenting and very visible. There is little stasis at the Mansion, things are rarely the same two or three days in a row. A player who was alert and laughing two weeks ago, might be utterly confused and nearly helpless now.

So at Bingo, we get water, clean up spills, give out prizes, check each board, rush from one person to another and rejoice when we spot the Bingo lines that many of the players could not see.  Maria is a great numbers caller, loud and funny. And most importantly, enthusiastic.

The game was about so much more than Bingo.

It was so important for them to be there, for them to try, they cared so much about the game, and about being able to participate in it.

It was an emotional thing for many of them, they had been playing Bingo all of their lives, and they could see clearly what age and time had taken from them. But they were determined,  had fun and did the best they could do, and so did we. They loved their prizes and were sad when the game ended. They were tired and so were we.

As we left, the residents got up and crowded around us, thanked us, hugged us, begged us to come back. We will. Next Friday, we kept saying, next Friday. Some of them had heard about Gus, who had visited the Mansion a few times. They were very sorry about his death.

It is difficult to leave the Mansion at times, so many people needing things, wanting to thank us for coming, wanting a hug, gathered their walkers who would help some of them with the very long and sometimes struggle to return to their rooms. I admired these people greatly and loved them. Sometimes, it take a lot of courage to play Bingo in a home for the elderly.

We were tied. We were happy.

We’ll be back next Friday.

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Next week, a big week at the Mansion. Monday, the Mansion is holding a lavish Easter party in the afternoon, thanks to the many gifts, favors, decorations and food sent by the Army Of Good. This may be your best effort ever, Julie Smith, the Mansion Activities Director, says she has never seen anything like it. I’ll be there Monday, the Round House Bakery And Cafe is supplying special Easter cakes and desserts, again, thanks to the Army Of Good.

And Friday, the RISSE soccer team is coming to the Mansion to serve lunch to the residents and trade stories about their lives. That will be special. Thanks for writing to the residents, your letters are precious to them. You can write them care of the Mansion, 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

The residents on the mailing list are Winnie, Jean A., Mary, Sylvie, Diane, Alice, Jean G., Madeline, Joan, Allan, Bill, John K., Helen, Bob, Alanna, Barb, Peggie, Dorothy, Timity, Debbie, Art, Guerda, Brenda, Wayne, Kenneth, Ruth. And thanks.

Maria and I have somehow slipped into the role of Bingo Night callers, we went for the third time to the Mansion for the Friday night bingo games. There was a bit of cheating, and some complaining and confusion, one fight – and some suspected prize theft  from the prize cart – but it was vastly more peaceful and smooth than some previous nights.

There was a lot of laughing too.

Things can get pretty raucous in the Bingo games at the Mansion, people who were sweet and docile an hour earlier turn into fearsome warriors at the Bingo Table. Last week one of the residents’ took my gift of a $10 gift certificate from a convenience store to a nearby liquor store and tried to cash it in for vodka.

I didn’t think she could do something like, but I will not underestimate her again.

I saw another resident had five squares marked but Maria had only called out one number. We moved the squares back and she didn’t try it again. Feelings run high at Bingo.

This week, I bought some small soft, stuffed animals, small and furry bunnies for, Easter. They were a big hit.

Alice, one of the oldest residents at the Mansion and one of the sweetest, surprised us by coming in. She had never played Bingo before. I gave her a quick lesson and stood beside her to help out.

Maria and I take turns calling out the numbers, one calls them and the other moves around to help people who have trouble seeing or hearing or moving the red covers on and off the numbers as the game progresses.

Tonight, Alice played her first Bingo game I stood right behind her to help spot the numbers she had on her board when they were called out. She won two games, and also a stuffed furry rabbit – a stuffed animal – and a 3-D book end.

We are figuring out how to control this unruly mob, and we’ll be back calling the Bingo numbers  next week. I’ll think of some fun prizes.

Oddly, we would not wish to be anywhere else. We met some friends at a brewery after the Bingo games, we were wiped out.

If you wish to write to the Mansion residents, you can do so by sending your letters to The Mansion, 11 S.Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

The names of the residents who would like to receive your letters are Winnie, Jean A., Ellen, Mary, Gerry, Sylvie, Alice G., Jean G., Madeline, Joan, Allan, William, John K, Helen, Bob, Alanna, Barbara, Peggie, Dorothy, Tim,  Debbie, Art, Guerda, Brenda, Wayne, Kenneth, Ruth and John.

Ruth and Ken are a happy couple, always together, they spend afternoons sitting in the Great Room soaking up the sun. They go out occasionally to smoke.I asked them if there was anything they needed right now, and Ruth said “no, we have everything we need now.” That was sweet to hear.

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Here’s what’s up at the Mansion:

Our Horse Carriage trek around town is cancelled. The weather wrecked it when we planned it, and the farmer is no longer returning our calls. This summer, we’ll look for somebody else.

Last Friday, St. Patrick’s Day, we paid for a band to come and play Irish music. It cost $400.

On April 6, the RISSE soccer team is coming, at their own suggestion, to help serve lunch at the Mansion. There was a real connection between the refugee children and the Mansion residents, it surprised all of us, but then, everyone knows the experience of being cast out.

In May, I hope to offer the residents another boat ride and lunch on the Lake George Steamship Company. They don’t give discounts, I think the trip will cost around $400 to $500 depending on how many residents come. They had the most wonderful time eating, dancing, looking out on the water, they are still talking about it.

On May 28, I am taking Julie Smith, the Activities Director, and three residents of her choosing, to lunch at the Round House Cafe. On me. This is part of regular take-a-resident out to lunch program the Army Of Good is sponsoring along with me, to get the residents out into the world.

As the weather warms, I’ll be looking for outings to get them into the sun and the countryside and also into the community outside of their walls. I have learned this is important to them, and necessary.

In May, we plan to present a “Night Of Four Skits” at the Mansion. The families are all invited.

I am still distributing your notecards and stamps, they are profoundly grateful for them.

Your gifts and presents and decorations for Easter  have begun arriving. Thank you so much.

Here is a list of residents who like to receive mail and photos: Winnie, Jean A., Ellen, Mary, Gerry, Sylvie, Diane, John, Alice, Jean G., Madeline, Joan, Allan, Bill, Helen, Robert (Bob), Alanna, Barbara, Peggie, Dottie, Tim, Debbie, Art, Guerda, Brenda, Wayne, Kenneth, Ruth.

You can write them c/o The Mansion, 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge,N.Y., 12816

I need your help in funding some of the outings I would like to offer to the residents as the winter draws to a close.Also to help with some of their smaller needs like clothes, bras, and shoes. You can contribute to this work by sending your contribution to my Post Office Box, Jon Katz, P.O.  Box 205,  Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or via Paypal, [email protected]. Many thanks. Please mark your check “Mansion.”

Several members of the Army Of Good have begun Pen Pal programs with some of the Mansion residents, a bunch of Pen Pal letters from a good Samaritan in California arrived today, Sylvie has been exchanging letters with Pen Pals for months.

It’s a wonderful idea, although many of the residents may choose not to participate, or can only participate occasionally or in a limited away.

(Please do not send your letters to me or ask me to make sure they were received, or whether they will be answered. I don’t have time to do that and neither does the staff, nor is it really my business. If you are good enough to seek a Pen Pal relationship – I saw a half-dozen residents reading their Pen Pal letters today and asking for help in responding – please keep your expectations flexible.  Some of the residents will love the idea, and then cool on it. Some residents will devour  your letters, some will forget them, or feel poorly, others will just quite summon the focus to respond. In this case,  a good deed is its own reward, and perhaps only reward.  it would helpful if the Pen Pal letter writers included a stamped and self-addressed envelope. I’ve handed out stamps, but they tend to vanish. And thanks. It’s a lovely idea. Pen Pal letters should be sent to the Mansion, 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816,)

Helen and Peggy and Sylvie were going over their Pen Pal letters eagerly today as I walked the hallways. I asked Sylvie if she was going to respond, she said she would try, but most of the letters get returned for one  reason or another, she is not good with addresses, she says, and those letters, she added, will be considered prayers to the Universe.

Here is a list of residents who wish to receive your messages. Winnie, Jean A., Mary, Gerry, Sylvie, Diane, Alice, Jean G., Madeline, Joan, Bill, John K.,Helen, Bob, Alanna, Barb, Peggie, Dottie, Tim, Debbie, Art, Brenda, Wayne, Kenneth, Ruth.

I was at the Mansion Tuesday for our weekly rehearsal of “Night Of Four Skits,” four short plays written for seniors by Bi-FOLKal Productions, with minor modifications by Susan Ostrowski and Dr. Peter Dixon of reading2connect, the publishers of the reading and memory books I’m reading at the Mansion.

We have about 6 weeks of regular rehearsals, and that, I think is a good thing. I guess i’m the Producer and Director. I was an executive producer once, but that was in television, and I did help direct a news documentary. But this is quite different.

We assembled the cast today for the rehearsal. Barb, Joan, Allan, Sylvie, and Peggie have all agreed to be in the show, Madeline also, she was resting from a cold. We have some practicing and polishing up to do, but we had a spirited rehearsal.  I took a video  with Barb and Allan performing, they did a great job playing a jaded married couple. The skits are short and funny, the actors and residents love hearing them.

Joan can’t see the script so me or a member of the Mansion staff will whisper the words into her ear, and she’ll shout them out on our “stage.” She’s excited to be in one of the skits.

Theres one about going to the doctor and getting ready for winter as well.

We’ll rehearse again next Tuesday. The performance will be held in the Mansion Great room at 6 p.m. on a Wednesday in May (still figuring out the exact date.). Families and residents will be invited, people from town can come also.

I’ve got to figure out some special lighting, the Mansion will offer some refreshments. This is great fun, hard work for them, but the rehearsals are paying off. Each actor will have a script to read on stage, and I will be right alongside to help if there is trouble.

Friday, another milestone. I volunteered to run the Friday night Bingo Game. It will be my first bingo game. Maria and a friend are coming also (whew.) Everyone seems excited.

Take a look at the video below.