From: Donald Strauss Date: September 26, 2023 16:04 Subject: Re: September 26, 2023 Hi Jochen: You definitely do not have dementia from reading what you have written in the past. Your emails are totally cogent, insightful and extraordinarily well written. I suspect that you are suffering from melancholy and a mild case of depression. Who would blame you for that, essentially a physical prisoner trapped in your upstairs room? None of us as we age into being “elders" find significant comfort in having lived an earlier productive life or the fact that we have lived long to see the world around us change for the good or the bad. Rather, it becomes harder to do or eat many of the things we enjoyed. We are stricken with infirmities we hardly thought about when younger and regrettably, each takes more time and effort dealing with them. Assuming you can still read and write, which many people around the world cannot do, enjoy doing so. I, for one, have gotten books recently from the library that are available through downloading to my iPhone that I can listen to for hours so as to learn and enjoy. Remember, no one is prescribing what you need to accomplish each day, rather, (having just gone through Yom Kipper Jewish services here), forgive yourself for what you didn’t accomplish and move on to doing things you most enjoy. Easy, you might think, for you Don to say all this, but truthfully, it is more important for you to believe this to be true. Do as you are doing, relax, rest, and take it one day at a time. By all means, if you took the time to write those 5 pages, what’s the harm in sending them to me? I value your judgement on such matters, regardless either way you decide I will accept, but remember, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I am glad you're alive and I look forward to your future musings. Your cousin, Don (only 12 years your junior). P.S. I truly enjoy our communications and look forward to reading more. > On Sep 26, 2023, at 12:30 PM, Ernst J Meyer wrote: > > September 26, 2023 > > Dear Donald, > > Thank you for your letter of August 23, 2023. As of this afternoon, I am still alive. This week marks my having contributed to global warming for 93.25 years. When I was born, in 1930, my life expectancy was 58.1 years. Statistically, my death is now 35.15 years overdue. > > Yesterday I composed the draft of a letter to you, five pages long, summarizing diverse concerns that were on my mind. However, as I read it now, I understand that what I wrote would mean little to anyone other than myself. That's called incipient dementia. Therefore I won't mail it, but send instead to you and to Jan my very best wishes for contentment and health for the trailing months of this year and beyond. Jochen >