Ned Luce

We are now over two weeks past our second shot of Moderna so we are verging on being immune. Just think if you had seen that written down somewhere about 18 months ago! What would it have meant? 

So, as our children are saying, we are feeling a little more frisky. The good news also is that they are not worrying about us as much as they were given that at our more vintage age we were more susceptible to the ravages of the coronavirus. 

With our newly renewed “friskiness” we actually went off the reservation last week by heading down to the Inn at Port Ludlow for lunch. We still had our masks and generally stayed away from others which was fairly easy since the Fireside Restaurant is operating at just 25 percent capacity, four tables inside and several outside requiring heaters. 

We did encounter Claudia Wicks for a nice conversation. Based on discussion with the staff it sounds as if the inn had a banner January with folks coming to Port Ludlow to escape the pandemic or the city or just get out of whatever town they were from. 

More evidence of our “friskiness” was last Saturday evening when we headed out to the Peninsula’s oldest winery, “FairWinds Winery” on Hastings Avenue in Port Townsend. They hosted three seatings of “Port and S’Mores” around a fire pit in the adjacent yard. One needed to make a reservation for the 5, 6 or 7 o’clock session. 

As you may have noted in this newspaper few weeks ago, Michelle Cavett, daughter of winery owners Mike and Judy Cavett, has found her way back to the Pacific Northwest after a career at Costco and a karate studio in New Jersey. She is now the general manager of the winery and is much more fun to talk to than Mike. Those of you who know Mike will agree! 

In any case, Michelle seems to have some ideas about programs and events that would be fun additions for the winery. She and BJ talked about a beer festival of some kind out in August. Beerfest at a winery?

While enjoying a “S’More” with a glass of Mike’s tasty “Captain’s Blend” wine we met Elaine and Bob Sullivan who moved to the area two years ago from Illinois. 

However, they have extensive experience here for several reasons, not the least of which is that Bob is the brother of David Sullivan who you should know as one of Jefferson County’s fine past county commissioners.

Reminder: This coming Saturday night is when we all advance our clocks one hour to conform to “Daylight Savings Time.” I always think of this absurdity as “spring forward, fall back” meaning that in the spring we lose an hour and in the fall we gain it back. 

BJ looks on it somewhat differently. 

For example, this weekend instead of arising at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning she will arise at 9 a.m. She claims to view this as an advantage because even though her body thinks it is 8 a.m. she will think that she has slept in until 9 a.m.

My friend Steven Gross reminds me that the Indians noted that the “white man” is the only species on earth that believes when you cut 1 foot off the end of a 12-foot blanket and sew it on the other end the blanket is longer. In my youth I spent much time working on a dairy farm and I can assure you the cows did not observe “Daylight Savings Time.”

Last week I made some aspersions against the University of Kansas, (KU), basketball team and was chided by folks who spent some time there. They were right to be offended, at least about the basketball team. I should have saved those aspersions for the KU football coach who this week was put on administrative leave due to sexual harassment allegations against him! My friends, you just can’t make this stuff up.

The USS Nimitz made a grand entrance down the shipping lanes last Sunday morning. After I told BJ she was coming in, I looked out the window and there she was with her 4,000 happy sailors.

Love a curmudgeon, have a glass of wine and a great week! 

(Ned Luce is a retired IBM executive and Port Ludlow resident who says it’s not risky to be frisky — if the COVID shot is what you got. Reach Ned at ned@ptleader.com.)