Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

Flower Art
23 January

Flower Art, Thursday, January 23, 2025. Staying On The Spiritual Path (Blog Support Too). I’d Make A Lousy Oligarch.

by Jon Katz

Update: I’ve been writing about how I want to get through the next few ugly and angry years. Our worry was not unfounded; it is unbearable. I’m staying on the Spiritual Path, devoting my life to doing good and making the world a better place in any way I can, big or small. I won’t let the madness knock me off my path.

Helping the food pantry and assisting the Myanmar genocide victims through their college lives is pretty significant to me. I turn what I have learned upside down—big things to billionaires are small things to me (those yachts!), and small things to most of the world are big things to me, like getting food to hungry kids on weekends and taking pictures of flowers every day. I find significant meaning in my life. I wouldn’t make a good oligarch or boot licker; there is no politician I’ve ever worshipped.

I don’t need a 500 million dollar yacht; I only need a view of the farm and some colorful flowers.

I won’t lie. I don’t live in a cave. I see and feel the dismantling of the country I love, bit by bit, and I feel for the struggling people who thought this would make their lives better—betrayed again.

So far, it’s a billionaire party, a training school for Oligarchs with mansions, and now, control over our country. My first boss in journalism gave me one tip: “There’s only one story in all of the world,” he said. “The rich screwing the poor.” He was right, it seems. But there is a choice. I plan to live another story.

 

I’m staying on my track. This is a spiritual path for me; it brings me peace, grounding, love, and happiness.  This means moving away from anger and fear. The four windows, I call them. I have a new job here on Bedlam Farm, and I love it. Every minute of my life with Maria, Zip, my pictures, the dogs, the animals, and even the birds, to whom I never paid much attention.

My farm and photography have helped me see the world’s beauty and meaning. I’m happy—nothing but sadness and heartbreak for me in Washington or the so-called news. I make my news here, and so does Maria. Thank God for That.

I have everything I need, and I have no want for anything I lack (well, okay, maybe a new lens one day). Sue sold me three more Calla Flowers from her shop today. I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I loved taking them.

(P.S. It is time for blog support again if it is meaningful to you. The blog is the engine that brings all this good stuff. If you like it, please support it.)

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

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Sue Silverstein's Art Class
23 January

Bulletin! Tomorrow, Sue Silverstein Wins A Best Teacher Of Year Award. No One Ever Deserved It More.

by Jon Katz

I’m very happy to announce that tomorrow night, Sue Silverstein will be receiving the St. Elizabeth Seton Distinguished Teacher Award from the Catholic Diocese of Albany, New York. “She has brought her passion for art to hundreds of students over the years of her teaching,” said the Diocese. “She coaxes the best out of everyone she meets by her care and compassion and for compassion for art in all forms. Sue loves and nurtures all who she meets. We are blessed that Mrs. Silverstein has become an integral part of our community.” Sue will receive her award at the Diocesan Catholic Schools Week Mass this year at St. Thomas the Apostle in Delmar, New York. Passion is the correct term for Sue. She has a great passion for her students; they have a great passion for her. I can’t imagine a person more worthy of being recognized as the best teacher in the Catholic school system. It was the privilege of a lifetime to meet her, work with her, and see her fantastic work. I am so happy to know you, friend, and to have you on my blog every week. Thanks for supporting her incredible work; you make it possible. Sue is the only person I’ve met I would happily nominate for Saint. Good flows from her like a river.  It could happen. — Jon Katz

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News from the Art Room – It’s Pretty Cold, By Sue Silverstein.

It has been cold, beautiful clear skies, but truly cold. I worry about the kids who walk and who wait for the bus. Thank you for all the donations of coats and freezing weather gear to help keep them warm.

There is bagged and tagged art everywhere. Tomorrow is a set-up day for the annual art exhibition at the Empire State Plaza. Hasani just dropped off a drawing. He said, “I was up until 4 am finishing this so you could bring it!”. This is a big deal for so many of these students to have their work on display in a public place. I was lucky to have a large donation of mounting materials to work with this year. I remember when I started matting and framing my work (more years ago than I would like to say aloud). There is just something special about it. The students always smile when they see pieces tagged and ready to display!

I am happy with the variety, too! Traditional and nontraditional, and some just plain fun!

I will take lots of photos when I get it all set up!

Lots of people to thank this week!

Thank you to Regina from NC for the donations. I am excited to get the kitchen projects going!

Thank you to Kathy from MA. Two 6th-grade students (almost) fainted when they discovered the jar of pink glitter at the art club😊. So many wonderful things included, like plaster, wire, gauze, and more! Thank you!!!!!

Pat dropped off “goodie bags” this afternoon! The bags were full of personal care items (much needed) and things she takes the time to save for us, like tin can tops! We so appreciate all of you and your help in making this program work!

I am so proud of the work the students have done this year. They are willing to try anything, not afraid to fail, and have totally embraced the idea of making new things from old things to help the planet.

Emma nailed the wire sculpture but threw a twist at the last minute, taking us back a step. As you can see in the photo, the figure collapses on top of a pile of advanced placement class textbooks. She said that sometimes classwork and the quest for the highest scores can become suffocating, and some students put massive pressure on themselves.

10th graders, Chrissy and Charlotte, wanted to create a sculpture that showed the destruction caused by natural disasters with their hurricane. They have been working on it for a while, and sadly, other fire disasters have taken place in the news feeds all over the world.

Anthony is a 12th grade student who adores a video game character called Kirby.

His fun-filled creation is a tribute created from found objects. Art can be so much fun. Why not a tribute to his favorite character?

Alannah is a 12th-grade student who used a retail store bag and paint markers to create her statement about what we see. We were talking about color blindness and the ability to see color. She wanted to send a clear message that it is ok to see differently.

In 10th grade, Tolu added beautiful painted lace from vintage linens to her painted landscape. It was so lovely!

Next semester, we will be gearing up for a new course featuring food art and photography. If you have unused baking tools lying around, I would be happy to find a use for them. We plan to do some baking, food decorating, food art, and photography. It is a new course, and I would love to hear any suggestions that have worked for others.

 We are looking for baking supplies if you have anything you no longer use. We always seek donations for anything you feel could be made into something new! We are looking for rolled gauze, wire, glassware, canvas, art supplies, heavy foil, pinecones, glue sticks, baking tools, seashells, sea glass, bottle corks, sandpaper, and wood. I love hearing from you. My email is [email protected]. 

Have a blessed day! Happy New Year!

Sue

ND-BG

2600 Albany Street

Schenectady, New York 12304

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The Cambridge Food Pantry
23 January

Counting My Days, A Column On The Fascinating Drama Of Aging. My Do Not Resuscitation Declaration Form Is Ready. “We Turn Not Older With Years, But Newer Every Day.”

by Jon Katz

Yesterday, I had my regular check-up with Doctor Dodge; Maria came with me in case she had any questions about the Do Not Resuscitate Form we were getting that stops doctors or first responders from re-starting my heart if it should stop. For a 77-year-old with diabetes and heart disease, this is surprisingly relevant, even urgent. We saw a letter and got one signed after we got married, but we long ago lost it, and things have changed and been updated.

In New York State, we had to go to our doctor and get the form signed. We then rolled it up in a plastic container and left it in the freezer, where the first responders knew to look.

This is a common thing for older people, especially males with heart disease, to do. We were both surprised by the emotion we felt getting it signed, and we were pretty silent in the car when we came home. I felt somber, a bit shaken. Maria cried briefly, and then we got on with our lives. It did feel somber. I brought an unavoidable reality to the fore.

I did feel sad; I had an image of falling to the floor and expecting Maria to tell the first responders not to revive me. That’s hard to ask anyone you love or who loves you to do. I had t trouble sleeping last night. I don’t expect to need or use it any time soon, but if you follow the lives of friends and neighbors, it is not rare and often affects men my age. But I felt more than sad; I felt relieved.

Dr. Dodge said my heart is good but uncertain. As I get older, I need to do more work on my diabetes. The blood changes, and that can affect the whole body. There is nothing Maria and I can’t talk about; we discussed imagining this moment quite a bit. And it went as we thought it would.

When this happens, I think of the lines from one of Emily Dickinson’s best poems: “We turn not older with years, but newer every day.”

 

 

 

At this point, my challenge is to live up to Dickinson’s call. I may have a Resuscitation Form, but unless I give up on myself and refuse to live anew daily, I will be new again, even if my body is not.

I had to get out of my head the image of Maria standing over my body and telling the First Responders to leave me alone and let me die. I wish I didn’t have to ask her to do something like that, although we both understand death is inevitable and will come sooner rather than later. Dr. Dodge found no reason I wouldn’t be around for a while.

As I left the bank today, I started slipping on the ice. Three people came rushing over to me, asking if I needed help. “No,” I said, “I can do this.” I’m not there yet, but I did. I felt grateful for the help and proud that I could deal with it. I walked slowly and carefully, but I did it.

Interestingly, walking to my car in the winter was something to brag about. Old age is humbling, and I know many people and politicians who might benefit from it.

Some things about aging are simple, but there are always choices to be made. We made one of them yesterday with my doctor, and today, it feels good and, ultimately, good all around, not just for me. The last thing I want is for the rest of Maria’s life to be devoted to caring for me; many people believe that is the duty of a couple or family, but I don’t share that view. Everyone has the chance to be happy, if possible.

Maria has to have her life, just as she helped me have mine.

We live in a cruel society that seems to be getting more vicious by the day; that’s not who I want to be.

Joan Chitterson wrote that a lack of commitment to accomplishment would mean I have moved into a period of suspended animation, accepting the idea that aging is nothing more than deterioration, a period of suspended animation.

She says that despite the loss and pain, aging means aging, nothing more or less. I fully agree.

Aging does not define me or dominate my life. For me, signing the DNR implies nothing more than what it says. Let him go. I have already lived a good whole life and don’t consider it over. That part is up to me.

I vow to continue my commitment to accomplishment, use the considerable skills I have acquired over the years, and put them into practice. How wonderful it would be if I brought these skills and insights and made the world a better place in some small way.

My goal is to become wiser, spiritually more potent, and, more than ever, a blessing to somebody, Maria First. To me, DNR is a blessing to her and me. When the time comes for me to die, I plan on dying happily and with pride in the life I have lived.

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