Dear Marion,

Thank you for your letter. With respect to the documentary
about Cambodian genocide, with regard to the mistreatment
of animals, - you should write whatever you would like to
express, and in whatever style seems appropriate. That's
what "freedom of speech" is all about. Don't be concerned
about the effect your stories might have on me. I've outgrown
kindergarten.

If of late I have seemed to you somewhat "depressed", you may
be perceiving the reflection of my inability to accomplish
the tasks that confront me, or at least, to accomplish them
to my satisfaction. My situation in this regard is somewhat
analogous to coping with physical illness: the relief to be
obtained from describing ones aches and pains is limited.
Instead one should grit ones teeth, and, as my departed
plumber friend Salvatore Uglietto was fond of repeating
to me: "You do what you got to do." He never explained how
to grit the teeth that are no longer there.

Jochen