Dear Marion,

Just after I mailed my letter, Klemens telephoned to invite
Margrit to go with Laura and him to a concert at the Middle
School in which Leah was playing her French Horn. Margrit
eagerly accepted. While we were waiting for Klemens, Margrit
said, On the way back, I'm going to tell them to let me off
at the Thai Restaurant. I made sure that she had her cell phone,
and we agreed on the place where she would wait for me. When
Klemens came, I started to explain that Margrit asked to be
left off in Belmont Center, but immediately, and before I could
explain that I would pick her up, he cancelled the plan with
an emphatic "no". Margrit acquiesced very meekly and said she
would let herself be brought directly home from the concert.

With this letter, I would like to address the two pivotal
strategic issues relevant to Margrit's future: a) her entering
a retirement community such as Friends' Homes at Guilford and
b) the disposition of the furnishings of her Detroit apartments.

a) I agree with you that, given her unwillingness to stay in Belmont
Margrit should try to make arrangements to enter a retirement community
sooner rather than later. Thank you for your very generous offer to
advance the $23000 entrance fee to Guilford. That offer has had the
immediate effect of making Margrit happy. Nonetheless you should
not feel bound by it. If and when it becomes obvious that the
expenditure of $23000 is in Margrit's interest, the money will
be there, whether in consequence of your generosity, from one of
the family trusts, or from my own personal funds. It is elementary
however, that so long as Margrit conceals her retirement home plans
from me, I cannot reach the issue whether I should give or lend her
the money, from funds of the trust or of my own. My respectful
suggestion is that you proceed very thoughtfully in this matter,
lest the fate of Maximilian Katenus befall you. You ought not give
her the money. If you lend it to her, you should do so concomitantly
with a formal arrangements for repayment. Margrit has been receiving
annual disbursements of $10000 from the Meyer Family Trust. If
for example, for a period of six years, instead of $10000 to Margrit,
only $5000 were paid to Margrit and $5000 were paid to you, then you
would have been repaid with some interest. This is just a crude 
approximation; it's premature to spend time on more exact calculations.
The issue is: would Margrit's income from her social security and her
pensions cover her current expenses, and if not, how severly should
the Family Trust be depleted to cater to Margrit's sibling hostility.
It is a mistake to focus on the entrance fee as determinative of whether
Margrit can or cannot afford to live in the Friends' Homes at Gilford.
What matters are 1) her current income, and 2) the expenses she will
incur under various conditions of physical and mental disability. I
cannot begin to solve this equation so long as Margrit conceals her
current income and expenses from me. If you are willing to help us with
this, you must decide whether you wish to comply with Margrit's wishes
that I be excluded from retirement home considerations, whether you
wish to concur with her wishes but keep me informed surreptitiously,
or whether you wish in effect to make my overt participation the
condition for your involvement.

b) Margrit has much furniture to which she is attached, for the 
placement of which she has been renting two apartments in a
Detroit (luxury) high rise apartment building. One of the 
apartments she sublets, but the rent doesn't always get paid.
Years ago I suggested to Margrit that she place some of her
furniture in Belmont and/or in Konnarock. Not surprisingly
she declined my offer. Now there's the house on Nantucket
in which her furniture might conceivably find use. If she
moves to the Friend's Homes at Guilford the disposition of
her furnishings in Detroit will become an issue, which so far
as I can tell, she hasn't been able to contemplate.

There are many matters to be considered. As they mature,
we will probably find telephone discussions more efficient 
than letters.

Thank you for your concern, for your help and for your affection.
Jochen