Dear Ms. Chambliss,

Thank you for your response to the correspondence about Nathaniel. Mr. Zander's 
tribute arrived out of the blue; I have no idea what precipitated his praise or 
what he intended. Nathaniel has had a disappointing summer; he failed to prevail 
at a conductor's competition in Berlin, and his work as a "gofer" - go for this 
and go for that - for Mr. Zander continues to be demoralizing. To the best of my 
knowledge, Mr. Zander has shown no inclination to support Nathaniel's professional 
ambitions. Indeed, Mr. Zander states on the face of his letter: "The path will 
undoubtedly be hard." Nathaniel must expect to have difficulties in pursuing 
his career, with the clear implication that he, Mr. Zander, who is in a position to 
establish Nathaniel as a Boston conductor, has no intention of helping Nathaniel 
achieve his goals. The issue I intended to address head-on is that "The path will 
undoubtedly be hard," not of necessity but because Mr. Zander has no intention to 
make it easy. - My response to Mr. Zander's expression of "love" for all members of 
the Meyer family, was to reciprocate. Love is a curious animal.

Jochen is my middle name. I was named "Ernst Jochen" in memory of my father's 
oldest brother Ernst Joachim Meyer who was killed ln November 1914, in the early 
months of World War I, at Souchez in Normandy, having volunteered as an 18 year old 
to serve in the German Imperial Army. I was always known as Jochen to my family. My 
first name was in fact discovered by the Harvard registrar only in 1946, who 
established me as "Ernst J.", a moniker which has been the bureaucrats' identifier 
for me ever since.

Words alone don't count. Given the fact that during the two years in which 
Nathaniel has been keeping track of Mr. Zander's glasses, he has not once been 
permitted to conduct either of Mr.Zander's two orchestras, I thought clarification 
of his implicit obligation to Nathaniel was overdue. The effect, if any, of my
disambiguation is unpredictable. No one in my family has commented on my challenge 
to Mr. Zander, which may indeed turn out to be counter-productive and make life even 
more difficult for Nathaniel, - in which case I'm prepared to take the blame. 
Mr. Zander is 78, - nine years behind me. I have found that sooner or later one 
unavoidably succumbs to old age. I advise Nathaniel to be patient. Time is on his side.

My own medical practice has been effectively terminated by Verizon which 
refuses to repair for telephone service the copper line on which I depend 
for Internet access. My telephone number 617-489-1043 - for which I still
pay Verizon $50 per month, has, since April 26, 2017 been giving patients 
who try to make an appointment, a busy signal, but I can be reached on my 
cell phone 617-548-5768.

I hope you are having a pleasant summer, and I send my greetings to you and 
your family.

Sincerely,
Ernst (or Jochen) Meyer