Last Saturday was the Port Ludlow Yacht Club Officers’ Open House at The Wreck Room, preceded by the annual business meeting at The Beach Club. The outstanding business meeting was led by Commodore Anne Burrell-Smith and was attended by a standing-room-only crowd. Those in attendance enjoyed all the topics, including membership, Wreck Room participation and BJ’s financial presentation. However, a case could be made that the attendance might have also been driven by the free drink tickets issued at the business meeting for use at the subsequent open house. Yep, a not-so-subtle bribe.

Each year, the NCAA selects deserving regional athletes and coaches of the year for the Division I Indoor Track and Field season. This year, Patrick Joseph, a senior from Leesburg, Virginia, who attends Virginia Tech, earned this award for the Southeast Region. He set an ACC Indoor Championships meet record and is a member of an NCAA-qualifying distance medley relay team.

And yes, he is the grandson of the justifiably proud Jeanne and Peter Joseph in Port Ludlow. Congratulations to the whole family.

The Port Ludlow Performing Arts exceeded all expectations last weekend with the performance by the “illusionist” (formerly known as a magician) Adam Trent. First of all, the performance departed from the usual music-oriented offerings.

Adam was a performer in the truest sense, with magic tricks, humor and an incredible grasp of the audience. As I have noted before, the good performers do a great job of getting the audience to participate. He was an artist in this regard as several of the locals in the crowd joined him on stage for one embarrassing moment after another.

However, the pinnacle of the evening for audience participation included the look on Randy Verrue’s face as Adam got him on stage. Adam had Randy put his thumbs out before him, pointed inward so that Adam could put a roll of toilet paper on them. Friends, it was worth twice the price of admission. The sold-out crowd clearly got more than its money’s worth.

It seems like we have some younger folks moving into the neighborhood. I recently met Dalton Webb, who moved here from Texas last summer with his wife. He is a veterinarian at Chimacum Valley Veterinary Hospital, and his wife is a teacher. Their house is the newest on their street, at least until the other two under construction are finished. Good news for the neighborhood.

With all the rain of late, I have started to occupy my mind with different ways to measure the precipitation instead of the normal inches. My latest is to observe just how far the legs of the bison on Beaver Valley Road have sunk into the mud in the pasture. It is still below the knee, but just wait awhile.

This week’s celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day recognizes his death, even though I am advised he wasn’t really a saint. I wonder if those Rotarians are also selling green roses?

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week!

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