Search Results for: Madeline

Red and I visited the Mansion today with Maria and we came across a ring-tossing exercise in the activity room. I have some exciting news to report. The Art Show at the Mansion was a smash last week, I suggested to Julie Smith that we sponsor a Story-Telling Contest for the Mansion residents in June. She loved the idea.

Memories are an important thing for the residents, memories tie them to the past and the present, they connect them to everything they know, remember and love. People at the Mansion sometimes forget things, but they never forget the essential stories of their lives, they are always eager to tell them and share them.

Their stories form the threads of their lives, it is essential to preserve them. They are their stories, especially now..

Memories are part of identity, so I think a Story Telling Contest would be of special meaning. They have some wonderful stories to tell. This contest will not cost anything, and will not require any outside support. I will teach a writing and story-telling workshop to the residents in June, and perhaps find a couple of other writers to come and talk about their work.

At the end of the month, we’ll have a contest similar to the art show and the residents who participate will get to tell their stories. I know these stories will be wonderful and I’ll be glad to offer some writing support. They have everything they need to do this.

We’ll figure out some prices and categories.

One of the residents, a winner at the art show, came up to me in the hall today and squeezed my arm. “Did I win something last week?,” she asked me. Yes, you did, I said, you won a category in the art show, and got some books and gift certificates.

“Oh, I’m so glad,” she said. “I wanted to tell my daughter about it, but I thought it might be a dream. This is better.”

I have a new and updated resident list for the Mansion, people who want to receive your letters. For privacy reasons, we are using first names only: Bruce W., Allan, Sylvie, Jean G., John Z., Tim, Ben, John R., Alanna, Peggie, Ellen, Joan, Brenda, Connie, Alice, Madeline, Mary, Barbara, William, Brother Peter, Helen, Jane, Dottie, Anita, Richard, Gerry, Charlotte, Arthur, George.

It was a lovely Spring day yesterday, and on the Mansion porch Brother Pete, Alice and Madeline were taking in the sun, rocking back and forth and talking. Red came up and sat in the middle and joined in the gathering for awhile, it was a peaceful and calming scene, we will visit the porch through the Spring and the Summer.

Wednesday is the Mansion Art Show, there are about 50 entries. Maria, Scott Carrino and I will be the judges. There will be three grand winners, each will get  free lunch at the Round House Cafe, and a dozen or so semi-finalists, they will get books, puzzles, buttons and ribbons.

The show will be held in the Great Room at 6 p.m., there are some remarkable entries, thanks to the wonderful art supplies so many of you sent to the residents. They will be drawing and painting for a long time, and a half dozen or so new artists have emerged from the show. Thanks so much.

If you wish to write the residents, you can do so c/o The Mansion, 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

I was away Friday when the Mansion Assisted Care Facility held it’s annual Easter party, but everyone was still talking about it when I got there today. Everyone got between six and ten letters and messages, there were flowers, cakes, puzzles, games, chocolate, cookies, gifts, photos, poems from Middle School kids,  and there were eggs – painted eggs, soaps, lotions, embroidered and knitted and sparkling and beaded eggs.

And some stuffed and soft rabbits and lambs.

The eggs you sent were so beautiful they were saved in bowls and kept in the kitchen and set out on dining room tables so everyone could see them every day, at every meal. It was touching to see them there, so thoughtful, so beautiful, so creative. They meant a lot to the residents, to me, to everyone who has seen them.

I thank your yet another holiday you enriched for people on the edge of life, and I heard from everyone how much the letters and gifts and eggs meant to them.

I’ll put up a few more photos tonight and tomorrow. We don’t have any holidays coming up until July Fourth, but if you wish to continue this extraordinary string of generosity and compassion – you have brightened and lifted a lot of lives – you can write the Mansion residents c/o 11 S. Union St., Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

The residents who have asked to receive your kindness are Bruce W., Allan H., Sylvie, Jean G., John R., John Z. Alanna, Peggie, Ellen, Joan, Brenda, Connie, Alice, Madeline, Mary,  Barbara, William, Brother Peter, Diane, Helen, Jean, Tim, Gerry, Anita, RIchard.

I am proud and grateful for the Army of Good, a powerful force that does not argue or attack, but simply does good. There is nothing more powerful than that.

I took this basket of your beautiful eggs and everyone wondered how you all possibly did all of this, and I sat alone with it for five or ten minutes in the empty dining room. There is something very powerful about these eggs, they carry some magic with them. Thanks again.

At the Mansion, Spring and gratitude. The warmer weather is felt there, older bodies sensitive to the warmth and the heat, it seems things are quieter, life has slowed down a bit. There is enormous gratitude here for what you, the Army of Good, has done.

Your generosity, letters, gifts and support have somewhat transformed the place. They are painting on drawing on the pads and with the brushes and colors you sent them, your letters are stacked by their bedside, they listen to the boombox you sent them, they knit and sew with the yarn you gave them, they work the puzzles that came in the mail and trace on the tracing paper they received.

The stuffed animals that arrived in packages are on beds and bedstands, so are the statues and carvings and skeins of yarn.

On Friday, they will all gather to open letters and envelopes and await the gifts in the special bags given them, full of things to touch, open and see. They pass by the flowers that have arrived, eat the cookies and chocolate that came in, the stop by the bulletin boards to read your messages and look at your photographs.

I hope you know what you have done, I hope I have found the words to tell you how much appreciated you are. Friday, another party, an Easter celebration and because of you, it will be exciting and festive. They do not feel invisible and unknown and forgotten now, and that is your greatest gift to them.

You are the true heart and soul of America, generous and welcoming. If you  care to write the residents, here is an updated list of names of residents who wish to receive letters from the outside world. A few would rather not: Jane, Charlotte, Bruce, Allan, Sylvie, Jean G., John Z., John B., Alanna, Peggie, Ellen, Joan, Brenda, Connie, Alice, Madeline, Mary, Barbara, William, Brother Peter, Diane, Helen, Jean A, Tim R., Gerry,  Dennis, Anita, Richard.

just look at what you have done. People are good, given the chance, that is the big story, the true story, the real news.

Easter Sunday is one week away. Some of the Mansion residents will spend the day with their families, many will spend the day with one another at the Mansion. The residents are still talking about the Valentine’s day party, they are still sharing the letters and cards and gifts they received.

Some of your Easter messages and gifts have begun arriving, and I hope and imagine there will be more coming this week. Your letters and thoughts have an enormous impact on the residents of the Mansion, life there can be emotionally challenging and isolating.

For those of you inclined to write to the residents, thanks in advance.

Your messages matter.

I will be there at the Easter party Sunday morning. Here is a list of the residents who wish to receive your letters and messages: Jane, Bruce, Allan, Charlotte, Sylvie, Jean, John Z., John R, Alanna , Peggie, Ellen, Joan, Brenda, Connie, Alice, Madeline, Mary Barbara, William H., Brother Peter, Diane D, Helen, Jean A., Tim, Gerry, Dennis R., Anita, Richard.

Your gifts are wonderful, and much appreciated. Your letters touch the spirit and the soul and remind this good people that they are loved and not forgotten. You can sent your messages to The Mansion, 11 S. Union Street, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.