It is really quiet around town these days. The last time I was so thrilled about doing a small errand to get out of the house was when I was a newly licensed 16-year-old driver and loved to take a short drive. Even the errands are a little mundane until I stop at the village store and court danger by buying a Powerball ticket.
Deanne Pedersen enjoyed an unusually significant birthday celebration last week. She had gone to Scotland a while ago to be with her daughter for the birth of Pedersen’s first grandchild. A new granddaughter was soon on the scene, immediately followed by the virus and a travel ban, so Deanne remains in Scotland. Husband Olaf invited her friends to wish her well via text last Saturday and not surprisingly greetings came from all over the world including Port Ludlow, Baton Rouge, Houston and somewhere in Australia!
We hosted a somewhat impromptu driveway cocktail party one of those nice evenings last week. It was BYOE as in Bring Your Own Everything. This included your own drinks, chairs, appetizer and attitude while staying at least 6 feet apart in our driveway. It was a nice opportunity to get off Zoom and greet walkers as they passed by. BJ promised me it was going to be 45 minutes. It ended up being two hours of fun and fables.
Tom and Linda Britton broke the boredom of self-quarantining as they played a significant role in a Ludlow Bay rescue last week. Peter Joseph reports he was disapprovingly watching a jet ski speeding into the calm waters of the bay when the operator lost control and was thrown off. The jet-skier was struggling in the water to get back to the jet ski and making little progress when Peter noticed that Port Ludlow Yacht Clubbers Tom and Linda Britton were headed toward the man on their trawler, Dreamtime.
They were able to rescue the man and call 911. Aid personnel were luckily at the inn and were able to get the fire and rescue boat out to Dreamtime and transfer the man in short order. No news on his condition but we know a couple of things. The Brittons are to be recognized for their timely action and it seems like a heck of a way to break the quarantine boredom.
This practice of “social distancing” is not really a new concept for me, unfortunately. I recall in my high school days that many of the young ladies I found attractive were in fact experts in the practice. Too late now girls: I have to stay at least 6 feet away from you!
How about this guy Jay Inslee? I typically shy away from anything political but he seems to be getting a lot of positive vibes and deftly sharing it with all of us as we manage to get through this. We all need to be cognizant of the fact that our lives have and will remain changed and our governor seems to be helping folks understand that.
Several interesting changes are in the variety of products that will or will not be a part of our lives. One example I read about recently is the exploding demand for in-home bidets. The folks selling them are not even close to filling the orders. Just think what that will do to the value of the piles of toilet paper you have hoarded!
Love a curmudgeon while “social distancing,” (Can you even do that?) and have a great week!
(Ned Luce is a retired IBM executive who loves all things Ludlow.)
