Maay 29, 2011

Dear Cyndy,

It was late last night, even by my standards, when I finished my letter. This morning I awoke, my mind cluttered with various items that I need to remember - and therefore type into the computer, in effect a second letter, which is what you get for answering in the first place.

What I have on my mind is not so much, - although I mustn't forget him, Mr. Dennis Parks, the second plumber who came on December 28, two weeks after Mr. Daniels. Mr. Parks, a very pleasant man, memorable for his earrings, on good terms as he said, with the Inspector, found that the copper supply plumbing, which Mr. Daniels purported to recognize as having been over-heated, was in fact O.K., however the PVC waste and vent plumbing had to be all pulled out; but for a very different reason from that given by Mr. Daniels. Mr. Parks said the double-wyes with which I had established toilet drainage were illegal in Massachusetts as were the articulated P-traps with which I had drained the shower stalls. My hypothesis: that Mr. Parks was "bull-shitting" in an attempt to ingratiate himself with Mr. Ciarmataro.  Again, if Judge Macdonald permits, we'll find out on deposition. Mr. Parks promised to send me a bill for his consultation and an "estimate" of work required to bring the plumbing "up to code", but I never heard from him.

Then, a week later, on January 5, 2011, came Mr. Gordon who inspected the plumbing more carefully than either the clairvoyant Mr. Daniels (whose eyes could pierce the PVC joints to discover imperfect glueing technique) or the berringed Mr. Parks who fabricated Code provisions on the run. Mr. Gordon thought the plumbing was in substantial compliance with the Code. I am charmed when I contemplate the coincidence that Mr. Gordon and I hit it off because we are both survivors, - he a childhood cancer survivor who has lived with and learned not to be intimidated by the ever-present threat of recurrence, and I, a German government survivor who greets every government clerk, every inspector, every judge as a Nazi in ACLU disguise. Mr. Gordon's response to Mr. Ciarmataro's implicit and explicit threats, is to be courageous, bold, perhaps even rash - to put his business on the line to prove his survival. My response to the bureaucratic legal ordeal is to demonstrate my powers of survival by resorting to the historically validated procedure of outwitting the goyim. 

My strategy for the June 16th hearing is to "make a (legal) record." It's two pronged: I will assure the Judge that I recognize his authority to control the proceedings; I will not ask him to rule on Nantucket's report (or its absence), until I have had the opportunity, by means of requests for the production of documents, by means of interrogatories, and by means of depositions on oral examination to discover all facts relevant and material to the Court's decision. If the Court denies my request, or severely limits me, I will challenge any adverse decision on the basis that it was made in disregard of the facts. If the Court grants my request, the stage will be set for a three ring circus which may continue for months or years until I have my stroke or my heart attack, or my physical dementia becomes so debilitating that I can no longer contend with the moral and logical dementia of the judicial system.

My discovery plan is to proceed centrifugally, beginning with the inspector's report, if any, exploring to what extent, if any. it was erroneous, illogical and/or irrelevant. Then to explore whether the inspection was one of integrity and fairness, to explore the significance of the presence of three inspectors, to ascertain the presumptions with which each of the three inspectors began the inspection. To ascertain what statements each of the three inspectors had made to potential witnesses before and after the inspection. To ascertain the extent to which the decisions of the plumbing inspector were made in consequence of advice or opinions expressed to him by other officials of the Town of Nantucket. It would be an investigation which will occupy me for months or years, but admittedly won't get the house built. Let's hope that the judge won't let me.

That's enough for this morning. Have an edifying and productive Memorial Day. Why not memorialize the summer of 1939 as I have done every year since.

Jochen

PS. The attachments ares of this morning's surveillance pictures.  I'm playing with electronic, just as I did 71 years ago as a child.  I've inserted another 4-channel video board, reprogrammed the computer and connected seven video cameras, with one more to go.

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