The holiday season must be starting because there was a “cocktail party” at the Beach Club last weekend. It was in place of the normal monthly potluck dinner, and I know a lot about it because, well, BJ coordinated it. Normally Fran Bodman puts the dinners together, but she and Steve Gross were on a cruise or trip to California or something, so she roped BJ into the job. Billy Fong was supposed to put together background music for the event, but uh-oh, he was out of town, too.

As a result, BJ roped me into doing the music, always dangerous since my preferred music generally falls into a genre populated by Jerry Lee Lewis, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Chuck Berry and, well, you get my drift. Nonetheless, it was a nice evening with several new folks, like the Prangers, mixing in with some seasoned salts, like the Ryans, Bev Smith, the Drapers, the Durands, Dave and Elizabeth, Ramsey Smith and others. As the evening went on, the guys tended to sit at one table and the women at another. At my table, the guys got into a semi-political discussion of astronomical CEO compensation. I did a little research and found a couple of relevant statements from a couple of luminaries. Arnold Schwarzenegger said, “Having more money doesn’t make you happier. I have $50 million and I am just as happy as when I had $48 million.” Howard Hughes said, “I’m not a paranoid, deranged millionaire. I’m a billionaire.” But I digress. We arrived early to set up and walked in behind Art and Virginia Moyer, who successfully got the best seats. Actually, there were no bad seats to be had, and there was good conversation, great treats and some fine drinks in all corners! The real question is, are we going to make it through to the end of the holiday season after setting this tone? Oh yeah, may you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

The end is near. The annual Pot o’ Gold raffle is over a week from tomorrow, Dec. 3. The odds remain excellent with fewer than 400 tickets sold, 13 prizes and a first prize of $10,000. See your favorite East Jefferson Rotarian for your ticket!

Maybe it was the rain last week, I don’t know. It could be because BJ’s car is 14 years old. In any case, something has put a “gremlin” in her Mini Cooper. The car occasionally just rolls down its windows and opens the sunroof all by itself. As you may suspect, a problem like this breeds distrust in your car’s ability to stay closed when you park someplace. This is not good in the winter rains. Those who remember the 1983 movie “Christine,” about a rogue 1958 Plymouth, will know the feelings I am developing for BJ’s car. I mean, they are actually the same color.

How about those Seahawks? Maybe they have turned it around. Those Wabash College Little Giants won their first-round game in the NCAA Division 3 football playoffs. Hey, inquiring minds wanted to know.

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week!

(Contact Port Ludlow resident Ned Luce at nedluce@sbcglobal.net.)