Dear Georgette,

No, I haven't forgotten our planned telephone conversations.
What delayed my reply, aside from general mild fatigue 
subsequent to the hearing on Feb 10, was an inquiry from
a lady named Renate Haertle, a history teacher at the
Nibelungen Realschule in Braunschweig who has assigned
to her students the task of studying my father and his
family. All this with a view to placing what are now
called Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) in the sidewalk
in front of the houses in Braunschweig where we lived,
with the intention of keeping alive the memories of the
wrongs that were inflicted on Jewish citizens. But I
find it difficult to feel sorry for myself, and that makes
it awkward.

Renate said she had been searching for Jochen Meyer on
the Internet for 6 months in vain. The breakthrough came
when she found Klemens' "picasaweb" of pictures of Margrit;
sadly, two weeks after Margrit's death. Margrit would have
derived much more satisfaction from the canonization of
her family than do I. But my friend Helmut, who has also
gotten into the act, says I must cooperate, and I believe
him to be correct. If you want to know more about what's
going on, - and I don't know why you should, - my website
home.earthlink.net/~ernstmeyer
has the informaion.  Click on Auswanderung, and it's all there.
Writing about my family has soaked up my time and energy for
the past few days. If there's anything more to say at this point,
I'm not aware of it.

The hearing went well, - at least insofar as I wasn't humiliated;
the three appeals court judges were polite, seemed to understand,
and gave me the words, but from experience I know that nonetheless
they may well give Nantucket the decision.

On February 20, i.e. a week from today, my wife Margaret and I are
scheduled to head back to Detroit. The Quakers there are having a
memorial service on Feb 21, at 2 p.m. which we think we should attend.
Just before that service or just after, we'll pack our minivan with
boxes of books presently in the apartment building's storage bins;
then we'll drive to Virginia for what will presumably be the first
of two or three shuttle trips.  If I can set aside the time and
if I can settle my mind sufficiently, I'll telephone you some evening
in the coming week to set up the initial telephone conversation.
Otherwise I hope to arrange it, - always at your convenience, -
soon after we get back on March 1.

It has taken me longer to come to terms with Margrit's death than
I had anticipated. As a matter of fact, as the weeks go by, my
perplexity waxes rather than wanes; and in the end it may be necessary
for me to make some drastic gesture - in my case unavoidably literary -
to reconcile my conflicting emotions. I'm reminded of another one
of Rilkes poems:
  	
Arme Heilige aus Holz

Arme Heilige aus Holz
kam meine Mutter beschenken;
und sie staunten stumm und stolz
hinter den harten Baenken.

Haben ihrem heissen Muehn
sicher den Dank vergessen,
kannten nur das Kerzengluehn
ihrer kalten Messen.

Aber meine Mutter kam
ihnen Blumen geben.
Meine Mutter die Blumen nahm
alle aus meinem Leben.

Rainer Maria Rilke

I'm not saying that Margrit's many friends were inanimate
dolls, although I suspect they trended in that direction.
Most likely there's something wrong with me that I thought
I needed something more from a relationship with my sister
than she was willing or able to give.

You have your work as a psychiatrist cut out for you.
We'll talk soon.

Jochen