Dear Marion,

Thank you for your letter and for your thoughtful concerns about Margrit.
I'm going to try not to worry about Guilford Homes unless and until Margrit
asks my advice. The $23000 is the fee for the most modest of accommodations.
I'm under the impression that the charges for "independent living" are
about $40000 to $50000 per year which Margrit could barely afford. The
charges for "assisted living" are of the order of $75000 per year or 
more, which Margrit could not afford, and the charges for nursing home
care are of the order of $100000 per year or more which are out of the
question. If Margrit required assisted living or nursing home care, she
would soon be ejected from the Guilford Homes and could either go on
welfare or come to Belmont.  The Guilford Homes reserve the right to
determine whether a client is capaable of independent or assisted living
or requires nursing home care. Since Guilford Homes needs to keep its
Two Star nursing home census high for financial reasons, the decision
whether Margrit needs nursing home care at any particular time will be
determined in part by whether there is a vacant nursing home bed that
requires an occupant in order maintain the solvency of the nursing home.
Such is my preliminary assessment.  You would do Margrit a favor, if you
would pick up the phone, - the telephone number you can get on the Web,
and talk with a responsible officer of Guilford Homes to controvert or
confirm my interpretation of the legal and economic quagmire which you
are encouraging Margrit to explore, and then talk to Margrit about what
you find out. She might listen to you. She won't listen to me.

The issue that confronts me more immediately is what action, if any,
(Im Anfang war die Tat) I should take with respect to Margrit's plans
to persuade Roald Kirby to make the 120 mile round trip to fetch 
Margrit from Tri Cities Airport to a "Bed and Breakfast" 15 miles
from Konnarock, then to ferry her from her "Bed and Breakfast" to
the unheated house without toilet facilities where she proposes to
complete in 3 or 4 hours a packing procedure which in the past has
required 4 or 5 days, - then to importune Russell Kirby, Roald's
brother to drive her in her overloaded sports car with a leaking roof
in the middle of winter 600 miles from Konnarock to Detroit. At what
point does exploitation and imposition become unconscionable? Do I
have a duty to Roald and Russell Kirby to protect them from my sister's
conduct? And if so, what might that duty be?

I'm sorry and I apologize if this letter is harsh to the point of
being rude. I suppose I'm tired from lack of sleep. Sometimes I
feel myself exploited and abused by my sister to a degree where
I can no longer summon the humor and the irony to cope. At the
same time I understand that I can't do my job, if I start feeling
sorry for myself. I'm grateful for your understanding and your
sympathy. It really helps.
Jochen