Ned Luce

Today is the last day of August. Frankly, by a lot of measures, things may be getting better. 

On the health front, I graduated from the physical therapy regimen provided by Michael’s Minions of Muscle at Active Life last week after three months of recovering from my hip surgery. 

What do they give you, you ask? 

Why, it was a scrumptious mint in a wrapper with the word “Congratulations” printed on it. Talk about going all out. 

I should be less sarcastic with those purveyors of pain reduction because I will probably be back someday looking for help, maybe even sooner than later. Shoot, BJ is down there these days looking for a little help. 

As of this writing, the professional sports teams in Seattle seem to be generating a great deal of optimism in the fan base. 

The underdog Seattle Storm beat nemesis Los Vegas Aces by three points on Sunday in the exciting first game of their WNBA second-round playoffs. There can’t be much more basketball viewing fun than watching the Storm’s Sue Bird play against former UW star and Aces’ star Kelsey Plum. They are a pair of intense competitors. 

The Aces coach is Becky Hammon who is the “Coach of the Year” in the WNBA this year. She was an assistant under NBA San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Popovich for a few years and I have told BJ that I predict she may be the first female NBA coach. It is possible you have seen this prediction here first. 

The Seattle Mariners had a huge weekend as they celebrated the induction of Ichiro Suzuki into their Hall of Fame. 

There were many reminders of his time in Seattle before and during the games with the Cleveland “Guardians.” (How did they come up with that name?) 

The Mariners won three of the games and announced a huge contract with rookie star Julio Rodriguez. It appears the Mariners may have a great shot at the playoffs this year, the first since 2001. Ah, the eternal optimist.

The optimism you may have surrounding the Seahawks NFL team may stem mostly from the fact that they have not yet played a game. 

It always happens at the beginning of the year no matter how bad your team may be, and the Seahawks might have some real struggles this year. My 14-year-old grandson projects them to have a 7-10 year at best and believe me, I believe him! 

In spite of my efforts to keep the grass in my lawn healthier this year, the brown has invaded it. The weather has been great for most everything except my lawn, and maybe yours. 

Continuing in the landscaping vein, BJ started digging a hole to plant a “Mum” in the front of the house and encountered a good-sized root left over from some old bushes we had removed last year. 

I offered some help from my recently physical therapy graduated body and was able to remove the root with some heavy hitting with a pick. With a little TLC the flowers should be fabulous within a week. Or so. Maybe.

The grass is pretty brown up at nearby Kehele Park, also. However last Sunday was a beautiful day so our grandson went up to shoot some hoops. 

I followed to do some support rebounding. There were two other young boys at the park running around and kicking soccer balls almost without stopping. In another part of the park there was a woman with her dog on a leash and a young girl riding a bicycle. 

Needing some rest for my hip, I sat on a nearby bench and contemplated the scene of the park being used for several purposes for which it may have been designed. I found it delightful.

Labor Day is this coming weekend so I give you two pieces of advice. One, enjoy all the U.S. flags being put up by the East Jefferson Rotary Club. If you want to support this effort, contact Rick Smith at Edward Jones in Port Ludlow. 

Two, don’t drive too far because the tourist traffic will be substantial. 

The good news is that the traffic will be less the following weekend!  

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week. 

(Ned Luce is a retired IBM executive and Port Ludlow resident. Good thing Ned’s lawn turned brown, because he was at the point of firing the guy he hired to mow it. The guy just wasn’t cutting it. Email Ned at ned@ptleader.com.)