Search Results for: bingo night at the mansion

Peggy (above) is the Bingo Queen this week, she won three or four games and took the stuffed bunny as her prize, she wants to give it to her nephew. We had a lively game, lots of winners, fast games, fun banter.

Friday nights are an important part of my work at the Mansion. The Bingo game draws good crowds and fills up the dining room, we always get kidded because we are always a few minutes late. They value this hour and the mean to get a full one.

On Fridays, I get to talk to the aides, Tia and Hollyanne tonight, we catch up on things, I learn about new arrivals and departures. I always ask if anybody needs anything, and I got a bunch of requests for things tonight, the change of seasons always brings that.

There are lots of new people.

I often think of Joan, but she is not coming back and it is doubtful that Sylvie will return either, but I don’t really know. I am getting to know the new people and  trying to figure out what they need.

I’m getting light summer pajamas for Barb, her pajamas are all fleece.

Wayne asked me for help in getting volumes 6 and 7 of the Harry Potter series. Ruth asked for a couple of rope bracelets like the ones I wear.

I am getting a CD for the son of one of the aides. Tim wants some copies of Mad Magazine, he says he is writing an ironic/ satirical  book and needs some inspiration.

I’ve ordered a Haunted House computer game for Peggie and some 300 and 500 piece jigsaw puzzles (Peggie loves 300 and 500 word puzzles, if you have any used ones in good shape, please consider sending them to Peggie, c/0 The Mansion, 11 S.Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.)

I owe Ellen a stuffed animal, one of hers is lost.

The residents are sparing in their requests., I am grateful they trust me to help them get things modest they need, or just want badly. I see it lifts there spirits when that happens.

I have been watching the summer shirts Wayne is wearing and I ordered him a new polo shirt for the winter. I have to ask Wayne if he wants something, he will never ask himself but will tell the truth if I ask him. He likes to tell Red if he needs something while I am close by.

Wayne and Ruth still seem very much in life, they hold hands and joke with each other. Wayne was very happy to win two Bingo games, he takes his games seriously. Maria calls half of the games, I call the other half.

I try to sing when I can, it drives the residents crazy. And I bring my meditation bells to ring for the winner of each game.

I am waiting to list the Mansion residents for letter writing, until the dust settles a bit, and the list has some real value. That should be  next week. Thanks for your support.

If you wish to contribute to this work, you can contribute via Paypal, [email protected], or check, Jon Katz, Mansion Fund, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

Thanks, this never gets old or tiresome for me, it is, I think, why I am here.

Red makes his rounds after Bingo night. Helen is always sitting in the same place. She always thanks him for coming to see her. “Such a good boy,” she says.

Tim was the Friday night Bingo King, he won four games. Tim is a pure creative. He paints, sketches, reads books, takes pictures, loves music. He is recovering from an amputation of one of his legs, it has been challenging for him. He is always cheerful, engaged.

He is voracious reader, both in fiction and non-fiction. Every month I buy him a $25 gift certificate at Battenkill Books and every month he goes down to the bookstore on his motorized wheel chair and picks out one or two books.

He loves to talk to Connie and the bookstore staff about the books he gets, they look forward to seeing him.

Tim asked me today to get him some tracing paper, he wants to draw on wood, he got hold of a book about tracing on wood and has some ideas.  We sat together and looked online, and we found 30 sheets of carbon tracing paper for wood.

I’ll get it on Monday and bring it over.

These creative tools have kept Tim sane, he tells me. Creativity lifts him up in much the same way it lifts me up. He lights up so when he has a gift certificate or something draw. We have been working together since I first came to the Mansion, I have never heard Tim complain or express any form of self-pity.

At Bingo, I gave Burt two large print Word Search books, and Sylvie four small canvas tote bags. A member of the staff asked me last week if I could get three new chairs for the office, the ones there are old and creaky and hard.

I found some great discounts online and ordered three office chairs for $150, they have excellent reviews and guarantees. The people in there work long and hard, and this will be a surprise for them.

Ellen wants a stuffed cat, and I found a good one, it’s coming on Tuesday. Bingo is fine, we get a good crowd every week. I  sing sometimes, and they all roll their eyes and laugh at me.

Red couldn’t make it tonight, he is having trouble walking. Everyone asked for him.

If you wish to support my Mansion work, you can donate via Paypal, [email protected], or by check Jon Katz, The Mansion, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

Thanks for supporting this important work.

When someone new comes to the Mansion, the staff sets out to try to figure out what they want and what they need. I do the same thing. I was told that Bert loves Bingo – she arrived at the Mansion a few days ago – and she showed up tonight at our Friday Bingo game.

I introduced myself – she loves dogs and loved Red, he is a great ice-breaker – and I asked her what she needed and what she loved to do. She was well dressed and quite sharp, I sensed she was very bright.

She hesitated and said she loved large print crossword puzzles. Great, I said, and I  sat down and ordered three online, they are coming Monday.

She was surprised at this, puzzled. I said there was no charge for this, it was just something I did, and I mentioned the Army Of Good, people from all over the country who want to help the residents get what they need.

Sometimes people can’t quite figure out who I am and what I am doing there but if they see Red, they assume I must be okay. I assure them there is no charge for the things they love and need.

I love this part of the work – figuring out what people love and need and getting it to them. It is the most satisfying feeling in the world and I can’t thank the Army Of Good enough for making this happen.

She’ll tell me her story if she wants me to know, I don’t ask.

Large print crossword puzzles are not a big deal. They cost between $7 and $10 apiece and I told Bert if she needs it, we can get her a stand with a magnifying glass/reader.

This is a small thing for me, but a huge thing for  Bert. She lit up so much when I told her she would have these puzzles soon. This is the work. Everybody needs something, sooner or later.

You can write Bert if you wish, she’s Bert, The Mansion, 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. She may not be able to read small print letters.

If you wish to contribute to the Mansion work, you can donate via Paypal, [email protected] or by check, Jon Katz, The Mansion Work, P.O.  Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816. Thanks. Your money will be put to good use, small contributions are as welcome as big ones.