Dear Marion,

From your, letter, for which I thank you, I infer that you are holding
your own again the onslaughts of the profession. Please keep me informed,
and keep in mind FDR's words about fear.

Thank you for giving me the date, Aug 7, of your return from France. 
Accordingly we will plan to be here, - but at Margaret's and my age, 
four and a half months seem like a very long time. So much can happen!
That's why I don't want to make any promises.

Yesterday I published the fourth volume in my novel series, this one
entitled "Vier Freunde 2". (256 pages) I feel somewhat sheepish about 
this project in self-aggrandizement and would never pursue it if it 
entailed any significant expenses. However, all that I've been paying is 
$25 per volume for a service peddled as "extended distribution". Whatever 
that means, at this juncture, it's been totally ineffectual. There has been
no distribution of any sort, extended or otherwise. In March, no books were 
sold at all, notwithstanding the circumstance that in addition to Amazon itself, 
there are 10 on-line booksellers offering the books, e.g. Vol 1, whose nominal 
price is $17,  in a range priced from $13.43 to $22.96. It's irrational, and I 
don't know how to interpret what's going on. I agree with you that the
books need more inviting covers, which with "CreateSpace" are very easy
to replace. I put it on my list of things to do. Please don't spend any
mony on any of my books. If you would like to have them, tell me and let
me send them to you as a present.

It may be blamable obtuseness on my part, that I intend to proceed, and at
minimum publish the two remaining volumes (aggregating 550 pages) which
are (almost) ready for printing. Whether thereafter I will be in the mood 
to publish more, only time will tell.

Some day before April 3, I expect to receive Mr. Pucci's "Opposition" to
my Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. The arrangement made with the view
to reducing the work of the Clerk of the Court is specified in Superior Court
Rule 9A, which requires me to send in due time to the Clerk in a single "package".
my Motion together with any responses I have received.  The closing date is April 2.
I'm curious what arguments Mr. Pucci will make.  I feel sorry for him and wish
that I could help. But it isn't practical for me to argue both sides of the case,
however much I would like to. Now that I have the consent both of George X Pucci,
the Nantucket lawyer and  of Anapurna Balakrishna, the Asst attorney general, lawyer
for the Plumbing Board, for moving the hearing to a later date, I've decided to defer
seeking a postponement, if at all, until the Court has set a date. It's quite
possible that the Court will be quite dilatory about the hearing, especially once
it reviews the record and realizes that the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers is a
dysfunctional regulatory agency whose failures they must try to sweep under the rug...

Plans for our trip to Konnarock are still in limbo. On checking his calendar,
Klemens finds he doesn't have time to go until the end of May. Margaret and I
wouldn't want to wait that long. My concerns have shifted. Originally I worried
about the embarrassing/catastrophic situation if on the trip or in Konnarock,
I suddenly became disabled, then I worried about Margaret's tolerance for the trip, 
then I calculated the costs of two (3400 mi) or even three (5100 mi) roundtrips 
which might be required if I found it necessary to return for the hearing, 
and to return a second time to draft an appeal. Of late my thoughts have 
dwelled on the sheer effort entailed in establishing house-keeping in a remote 
location where many of the Belmont conveniences, among which high-speed Internet 
access is not the least, are lacking. I expect to procrastinate and decide in 
about two weeks whether and when and for how long to go.  Much can happen between
now and then.

From Nathaniel I haven't heard since he left last Saturday. I suspect that he
is fretting over his academic work, which he had neglected in favor of more
flamboyant pursuits. He told me before he left that he had also applied for an
assistant conductor's position with the Portland (ME) Symphony, but thought his
chances were slim if only because he lacked the master's degree which they
purported to require. If he's received answers to any of his other applications
he hasn't told me.

My thoughts and best wishess, as always, are with you.

Jochen