Ken:  I started buying Enron again this morning because I know
that all the sellers have vastly underestimated Ken Lay!  And I wanted
to say that more of them should be remembering what has been
accomplished at Enron.

Aside from ENE stock price, I trust all is well with you and your
familyand that you, like us, were all relatively unaffected by Sep
11.  We are fortunate to have work and other commitments to keep us busy

so that we don't have time to worry too much about anthrax, etc.  Our
base technology merger and acquisition business has remained steady this

year and we are now seeing increased activity again.  Our "B2B" semi
spare parts supply chain integration company, netMercury, has weathered
the downturn, with most of its competitors out of business now, and its
future looks bright.

I am starting a small venture capital fund to take advantage of great
investment opportunities in semiconductor and optical processing
technologies.

I am now commuting from Sonoma most days and I do think about terrorism
every time I cross the golden gate bridge--what a spectacular event an
attack on it would be!  I am reading the daily obituaries in the NYTimes

of the "best and brightest" that were lost in the World Trade Center so
that I can try to personalize and share, just a little, of what happened

and I have to admit that reading them gets me down some days.   I feel
now that we must achieve something very great and long-lasting in this
battle as a memorial to those who have been lost. And I believe that if
we project our power very strongly and determinedly, as is being done at

present, we can bring resolution, clarity and better balance to many
trouble spots around the world and that we can--and must--make the world

better for the next generation of Arab peoples and Islamic believers
everywhere.  I am so proud of our system and the way that both parties,
for the most part, are cooperating in these challenging times.

I believe that we must take steps to educate our next generation about
Islam and find a way indirectly to educate the next generation in the
Middle East especially about how Islam  (at least the moderate
interpretations of the Koran) can thrive in our inclusive Western
culture.  I am re-reading Seven Pillars of Wisdom (T.E. Lawrence) and
find the first chapter on the history of the Semitic people, the Arab
tribes and Islam to be especially topical just now.  Even bought a
two-volume set of the Koran and a book on Islamic Art, to try to
understand better the situation we will be in for a few years now, if
not the next generation.

Although we still have the SF house, our main address now is 19400 Wyatt

Road, Sonoma 95476, where we have our guest house completed and extra
bedrooms in the main house, just waiting for the Lay family to come
visit the wine country!!  I miss our past times together and look
forward to an opportunity to visit in person with you one of
these days.  We are preparing for a thanksgiving here in the country
with all the children home, together, which will be even more special
this year after all that has happened.  Polly doing great, retired as a
first grade teacher this Summer, now a volunteer ESL teacher at local
Sonoma non-profit (La Luz),helping the immigrant Mexican families cope
with their life here (Polly's effort was featured in a front page
article in the local paper!!).

We are off to parents' weekend in Tucson. Best (the very best) regards,
Gary and Polly