@. . . .   let me add to the message that I sent last night that my friend Randy Tatum did not confirm the bright area that I sketched on Mars on June 7. I observed again last night (June 10 UT) at 1:45, under poor seeing conditions. Solis Lacus and Mare Acidalium could be seen on the preceding limb, but I could not see the aforementioned bright area. In all candor, I have to say that Randy, whose opinion I value very highly, does not seem to believe that anything unusual has occurred, and I believe just as strongly that I did see what I reported (and I saw it and drew it before the ALPO alert reached me). It is hoped that someone was able to catch the area on high quality CCD images.

@. . . .   Thank you for your comments on the ALPO dust alert. You are right that it would be better to observe first and analyze later. . . . . . .
Your group seems very thorough and dedicated and careful, observing enough to catch what happens without somebody having to roll it out of bed with a dubious announcement. . . . . . .
  I smiled at your saying Geh zum Teufel the priority (may go to the devil). My German, in spite of my German wife and many German friends, is rusty, but Der Teufel lebt an Pennsylvania Ave mit Herr William Jefferson Clinton. (The devil is described as a liar and the father of lies.)
  I am sorry you have not felt well. It is well appreciated in my house that this is your busiest time, with Mars so close. I have deliberately tried to avoid bothering you with my usual rambling letters. Also, it is well understood here that many overseas may not think highly of America right now. You have been very generous to me in space for my letters in the CMO. I have thought that it might be better to fade into the background for awhile. The last thing I would want would be for you to be hurt in any way because you have given so much attention to a dangerous American.
  Nobody in this gutless Clinton government wants to bomb China. Bullies pick on only on the weak, and everybody knows better than to pick a fight with the Chinese. Many are worried about nuclear espionage and think that China may cause problems way down the road, but nobody thinks that harming a few innocent diplomats now will do anything about that. If others do not agree, I understand and accept the disagreement.
  We are having a rare cool day here. Uta and David have gone to see the new Disney version of Tarzan. I will take Tyler out for a walk and then take him to his grandparents' home for his nap. I am on duty this afternoon at the hospital. Yesterday I was in training that was so boring that I still feel traumatized. Getting back on the front line will probably revive me.
  Now Tyler and I will be off to explore the wide, wide world.

@. . . .   I am sending as attachments scannings of drawings of Mars made in May. Your friend David made this effort possible by occupying Tyler during the process.

@. . . .   Tyler, David, and I visited Washington, DC, earlier in the week, going to the Zoo and to the Smithsonian Institution. You may be amused to read that your friend Sam road a subway train, the Metro, for the first time. Tyler summed up the experience by shouting, "Isn't this fun!"
  Today we are having a fine display of the solar halo. I have, for the first time, today seen what Dr. Greenler called the circumhorizontal arc, an arc analogous to the circumzenithal arc but seen under the sun.