Dear Cyndy,

It's to dampen the echoes from day before yesterday's hearing
that I write again so soon. My tiredness stemmed not from
anxiety, but from the frustration of having no opportunity to
articulate the many ideas that I had accumulated in preparing
for the hearing. My discouragement derived not from having my
ideas overruled, but from having them ignored, by the judge
who hadn't read or thought about them; by the assistant
attorney general who pretended that they weren't worth a
reply, and by Kimberly who talked as if they didn't exist,
probably because they were more intricate than what's taught
in the Northeastern University Law School (which is ranked in
the lowest quintile of such institutions). My disappointment was
obviously irrational. Much better this way, than to have the
AG or the Court or both controvert my logic with a well reasoned
rejection. Given that the AG by failing to oppose, in effect
endorsed my Motion, and that Kimberly, by failing to intervene,
forfeitet her right to an Opposition, if the Court rules against
me, I can argue before the Appeals Court that in refusing to
oppose my motion, the AG corroborated my claim that she
declined to enforce a prohibition against do-it-yourself 
plumbing, because she did not deem it unlawful; and that
the judge who is expected to defer to the Board's expertise,
erred by substituting his judgment for that of the Board of
State Examiners who when they failed to oppose my Motion had
abandoned their stance.

As you can tell, I love to argue; but I am under no illusion
that in the end the appellate decision will also be driven by
political considerations. That having been said, it is inescapable
that as one ascends the ladder of appeals, the weight given to
formal logical reasoning will increase. The Plumbing Inspector
arguably less susceptible to reason than the Plumbing Board,
than the Superior Court, than the Appeals Court, and finally
the Supreme Judicial Court, from which it's only a very iffy
certiorari to the wisdom and insight of Mr. Justice Clarence
Thomas. Obviously, in the long run it doesn't really matter
whether I "win" or "lose". There are various perspectives in
which I can't win, and other perspectives in which I can't
lose. I am reminded of the Cunard slogan, that "getting there
is half the fun," and it may not matter too much, what the
ultimate destination is.

One of the fringe benefits of that escapade was the opportunity
to try out Margaret's hearing aids. In the do-it-yourself spirit
to which I am addicted, I fitted Margaret with a pair of hearing
aids which I had ordered from Sam's Club, the upscale Walmart,
for $675 ten weeks ago. These devices are in fact very good.
They enabled me not only to hear the judge's and Kimberly's every
syllable, but also as I walked down Orchard Street to the bus,
what I hadn't heard for several years: the twittering of the
chickadees and titmice, the songs of the robin and the chirping
of the sparrows. The bus, of course, and the subway were
disconcertingly noisy, and after the hearing, when I got home I
was satisfied to replace the hearing aids in their velvet lined
containers and to retreat into the semi-silence in which I have
become quite comfortable. One of the role models of my early youth
was Thomas Edison, the inventor, and the noisy world of the hearing
aids reminded me of his assertion that he owed his inventiveness at
least in part to an ability to concentrate that he ascribed to the
deafness which he claimed ensured after a conductor on the Port
Huron Railway boxed him on both ears.

I feel much better after having printed out five copies of a
"Notice of Appeal" and five copies of "Appellant's Statement
pursuant to Massachusetts Rules of Appellate Procedure 9(c)(2)(iii)".
I'll take these to Konnarock with me, ready to mail if and when
Klemens telephones me that the mail has brought an unfavorable
decision from the Court.

Such are the contents of my mind, and having acquitted myself of
them, I'll try to get back to my novel. It goes without saying
that you have no obligation to give thought to any of the foregoing.
Presumably it's too late for me to tell you, you don't have to
read it. I hope that you are well; that Ned is back safe and sound
and relieved to have his excursion behind him. Stay well.

Jochen