Mr. Ronald Reagan
29295 JEB Stuart Hwy.
Damascus, VA 24236

Dear Ron:
.PP
This is the formal letter which I said I would send you
by e-mail about the work on the land surrounding our house
in Konnarock which you have been, and I hope will continue
to be doing.
.PP
To begin with, I want to thank you very much for having
cleared our driveway of the trees that the tornado uprooted.
Otherwise we would never have been able to drive up to
the garage to unload from our minivan my sister's belongings
when we arrived from Detroit on March 19.
.PP
I understand what you have been doing is very hard
and sometimes very dangerous work, 
in exchange for which I am pleased to let you have the
wood that you cut.
I hope you can sell it for a price that makes your
effort worthwhile.
.PP
When I saw the land that you had cleared of dead and fallen
trees, I remembered how the landscape looked 58 years ago,
when the house was built.
I have talked it over with my wife and with my son, with
Jeane Walls and with Buck Sheets. We have decided we would
like you to clear much, - but not all, - of the 5.7 acres
of land so as to give us the view in all four directions
that we once had. 
.PP
To this end, I would like you to begin by working your way
around the house counter-clockwise, beginning at the well,
proceeding behind the garage, removing not only uprooted and
obviously dead trees, but healthy trees that will be blocking the
views of the hillsides and the valleys once the leaves are out.
Please check with Buck Sheets to identify the trees that you
should cut and those you should spare. Before you proceed
around the house toward the garage, please cut the tree stumps to
ground level, remove all limbs and branches; then also cut
that section of the hemlock hedge that grows between the driveway
and the area you have cleared of trees. Please cut the trunks of
the hemlock hedge to ground level, and drag the hemlock limbs
and branches into the gully, at least 200 feet away from the
house before burning them.
.PP
I understand that there's no money for you in the hemlock hedge.
You can't sell the branches or the trunks. It's for you to decide
whether you can afford to remove the hemlock hedge without additional
cash payment from me. If you should decide now or at any time in the
future that you need payments in addition to the wood that you sell,
then please hold everything. Then stop removing any logs, even those
that are already on the ground, and e-mail or telephone or write me
telling me how much cash payment you need. I will think about your
request and tell you how or whether we should proceed.  If you're
not sure about what you should or should not do, please talk to
Buck Sheets. He's the man in charge in my absence.
.PP
Please do not burn any brush within 200 feet of any house. Please
do not burn any brush when there is wind. Please do not leave any
fires of embers unattended. To provide you with water, I have left
the water supply at the house turned on. There are two outside
spigots from which you can draw water.  On the right hand side
facing the garage doors, there is a spigot in the crevice between
the end of the retaining wall and the foundation wall of the house.
I've left two coiled sections of garden hose on the the retaining
wall. These hoses are much too short to extend to any fire, but you
can use them to fill a bucket or a pail with water. If you have no
other container, you can get a bucket out of the garage (please keep
it otherwise closed) or empty the trash barrel. Please douse any
embers with water before leaving them.
.PP
If, as I hope you will, you continue cutting trees on our land, this
letter becomes a contract between us. You agree that you are working
as an independent contractor, with your own tools, in your own way.
You employ others to help you as you see fit. You are responsible
for paying them; you are responsible for complying with all government
regulations regarding your activities. You acknowledge that the work
you do is often very dangerous, and that neither my son nor I has
responsibility for injuries to yourself or to any persons whom you permit
to work with you. You acknowledge the existence on our part of no liability,
no insurance coverage and and no assets to compensate for injuries or death
sustained as a result of activities on our property.
.PP
In this connection, you should understand that the house on the 5.7 
acres has been placed in a Trust, and that the terms of the Trust
specify that any person on the Trust property will hold the Trust
harmless for injuries sustained while on the property. If you have 
any questions concerning what this means, please don't hesitate to
ask when next we see each other, or earlier, by telephone, by letter,
or by e-mail.
.PP
I am mailing a print-out of this letter to Buck Sheets which he
will give to you.  Thank you again for all your help with the property.