Happy Valentine’s Day! May your flowers be fresh, your chocolates be sweet, and your day sunny!

For seven years in a row, Steven Gross and I organized a Sock Hop in Port Ludlow with the help of a lot of people. It raised several thousand dollars for the Tri-Area Food Bank. One of the features of those events was an annual performance by local luminaries who dressed up like famous singing/rock groups and entertained the attendees.

One of those groups was the “BABBAs,” who dressed up like the three female characters in the movie “Mamma Mia!” The movie is a lighthearted story featuring the music of ABBA, and one of the highlights of the movie is at the very end when Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski and Julie Walters dress up as “Donna and the Dynamos” and sing a rousing rendition of “Waterloo” by ABBA. A current version of the stage musical “Mamma Mia!” finishes a run at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle next week, and our children gave us tickets to see it on a recent drizzly Saturday afternoon. We took the Bainbridge ferry and then trudged up the hill to see the incredibly entertaining show.

However, I can testify that the performance by the “BABBAs” at the Sock Hop several years ago by Susan Erickson, Cathy Pappas and Kathy Kubesh was even more entertaining. Steven and I often talk of the energy, personality and chutzpah of the locals who sang and danced over the years as the “Extremes” (Supremes), “The Village by the Bay People” (Village People), “The Beetles by the Bay,” (Beatles) and the “BABBAs.” Of course, there was also that great duo of the Blues Brothers played by Steven and me!

BJ, Sharon Draper, Fran Bodman, Anne Burrell-Smith, Karen Hills and Joanne Racki bought a dinner of appetizers at a Port Ludlow Yacht Club Women’s Group auction. The dinner was provided by GBF Catering and prepared by Thysen Scott, who is the owner-chef. The even better news is that the women shared the tasty offerings with their spouses/partners.

It was great of Thysen and his wife to provide the item to be auctioned and thus benefit the group’s charities. This year, those recipients are Dove House Advocacy Services, the Chimacum School District and its ALEKS program. Thanks much to Thysen and his wife, Debi.

Mistakenly believing the weather forecast, I scheduled some outdoor maintenance work on the yard and a little painting on a fence and the garage door. I mean, the rain has to stop sometime, doesn’t it? Well, about the time the maintenance was half done and the painting was done, yep, you guessed it, the rain and drizzle returned. Paint has to be touched up now, and the outdoor maintenance was finished in the mists of Port Ludlow.

We certainly have our share of economic enigma over the past few weeks as the stock market displays dizzying volatility in the face of the incredible momentum of the American business climate. Wages are up, earnings are up, and the unemployment rate is at a historical low.

All this at the same time it appears the federal government seems to be in disarray and some of the state governments seem to be trying to find their way. The “talking heads” on television seem to have a different answer every day, and I have come to understand why a dog can be such a comfort in these times. The fact is the dog doesn’t tend to need to find out the reasons for all the consternation. Thus the reason for this column. Arf.

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week.

Port Ludlow resident Ned Luce writes this column weekly to keep the Port Ludlow community informed of what’s going on. Contact him at nedluce@sbcglobal.net.