Ned Luce

Yes, we are in the middle of campaign season. 

Well, not really in the upcoming election for Ludlow Maintenance Commission Trustees since I have seen no exaggerating campaign materials on these good neighbors of ours. BJ worked with Jodie McDaniels, Karen Davis and Vic and Sharon Draper to put together the packets of information for the annual meeting of the LMC membership. If you are in the LMC you should have received the information by now outlining the backgrounds of the three good people running for trustee along with information on four ballot issues. 

The folks running for trustee are Austin Kerr, Victor Gecas and Mike Nilssen. If you have not done so already please review the material and get your votes in as soon as possible. 

One of the regular struggles with almost all small groups like the LMC is to be sure there are enough voters participating to meet the quorum requirements outlined in the bylaws. So, please get your vote or proxy in to the LMC!

I hear there is another election looming. I understand the participating voters in the national election are expected to break records for participation percentage and votes. 

Back in 2000 I made a modest donation to the campaign for a candidate for President. I was surprised and disappointed that within 60 days the campaign had “snail-mailed” enough voting material to me to fully deplete the funds I had donated. 

I had already made up my mind. Why were they wasting my money trying to convince me to vote for the candidate and soliciting more money? 

Here I am 20 years later and I made another modest presidential campaign contribution. 

As of this writing I have received no less than two hundred seventy one, (271), emails from the campaign urging my support and soliciting more money. 

The good news is that I suspect that this year the candidate spent much less on communicating with me leaving plenty of money to support travel and lodging expenditures for the various campaign flacks. They need to provide information to the press and solicit more money from rubes like me. 

The incredible patience and innovation we have all seen in response to the pandemic is really heartening. It won’t be long before we will feel half naked if we walk out the door without a mask! While driving by the Port Townsend Winery the other day I noted approximately a dozen tables with umbrellas out in the side patio area to the south of their main building. I speculate that they are usable by the public in nice weather or when they put one of those outdoor heaters beside each table!

On the subject of wineries, last week I called my friend Mike Cavett, he of the FairWinds Winery in Port Townsend. 

He was president of East Jefferson Rotary whilst I was secretary and then we developed a wonderful giving relationship over local poker tables. We both learned how to give. Mike has had quite the time over the past 18 months fighting off a nasty case of cancer. I enjoyed catching up with him and listening to him talk about how great he is feeling now. Then he started to whine about having lost so much weight. Apparently he made the same complaint to his doctor who assured him he was fine and he should quit the whining and get some new clothes! 

The next day, Dick Durand, another friend from the poker table called me to see if I had talked to Mike recently. It was great to catch up with both these guys but it reminds one of how much we do miss those relationships during a pandemic. 

The other day I saw a message that was meaningful for our times given my time on a ship in the US Navy. “Ships don’t sink because of the water around them. Ships sink because of the water that gets inside of them. The moral of the story is that you can’t let what is happening around you get inside of you and weigh you down.” Whatever! 

Love a curmudgeon, wear your mask, test negative and stay positive!

(Ned Luce is a retired IBM executive who lives in Port Ludlow and, when it comes to political mailings, is a frequent flier.)