There are several interrelated topics to cover this week, so stay awake!

It starts with the “Mad Hatter Gala” put on by the Port Townsend Rotary Club and the peer pressure exerted by the owner of this newspaper, Lloyd Mullin, and my boss at the Printery, Mike Kenna, to join in bidding for dessert after dinner.

Actually the fabulous cake came with a bottle of Frangelico, a truly nice touch. The moderator for the evening was former Jefferson County Sheriff, David Stanko, trying to leverage the power he used to have on audience members by encouraging higher bids. He got plenty of support from Homer Smith and several others. BJ tried to hold me back, but I confess to being moved to some excess by the The Benji Project, which offers stress-reduction training for teens.

Regular readers may recall that I play in a small poker game every couple of weeks here in Port Ludlow. Our group has developed a relationship with a similar group in Port Townsend, particularly through Mike Cavett, who plays as often as he can with both groups.

Mike was unavailable last week, so John English who hosted the most recent meeting of the Port Townsend group invited me to take Mike’s place. I enjoyed myself at the game even though I had to leave a little early amid hoots and howls from a few of the other players. I am a Rotary Assistant District Governor and I had to be in Sequim for a club meeting by 7 AM the next day so I needed my beauty sleep. (I need a lot of it.)

It is interesting to note that Bill James who preceded me as ADG provided little support for me leaving early. In addition, David Stanko, who took so much of our money at the afore-mentioned auction seemed to lack understanding. Also playing that evening was John Clise who owned Aldrich’s Market during the 1980s. Of course, some of the grousing may have been due to the fact that I was leaving early with more money than I had come with. In fact I enjoyed teaching a variation of the game “Chicago” to David Stanko and then won the whole pot. I did express my appreciation.

I got up at oh-dark-thirty the next day and headed for the Rotary meeting in Sequim. One of the several ways Rotarians can recognize “Service Above Self” is the presentation of a Paul Harris Fellowship award to members of the club or community. In my role as ADG I sometimes get asked to participate in those presentations. Kathy Schreiner of the club presented longtime AARP Tax Aide and coordinator Hearst Coen and his wife Jeri each with Paul Harris Awards. I enjoyed it because BJ is one of the 77 Tax Aides in Hearst’s area so they know each other.

Former Sequim resident and current Port Townsend resident Jim Pickett was in attendance to help me and Rotary celebrate Rotary Major Donor recognition for Jim’s friends Tom and Jacque Schaafsmas. I mention Jim Pickett because he has several local friends and John Clise is his neighbor. You always get to meet new people at these events and I enjoyed meeting a woman who just got a position with the Kitsap Credit Union in Port Hadlock.

A friend of mine noted that the quotes I include at the end of this column might not always be accurate or ascribed to the right person. As a result, I include the following noting that this is what was sent to me and I do not testify to its accuracy. It is a meaningful thought to me even though Tim McMahon might not have said it. “Yes, risk taking is inherently failure-prone.  Otherwise it would be called sure-thing-taking.”

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week!