Hey, it is Veterans Day today. The banks are closed and the mail won’t be delivered but rest assured everything else is open and operating according to those lovable CDC or Washington State or WHO guidelines, probably. 

Have you seen the fines being levied by the National Football League against some teams for violating the NFL COVID protocols? It is clear to me that the coaches are in a different tax bracket than I. 

The East Jefferson Rotary Club put up U.S. flags yesterday and last weekend to help you acknowledge Veterans Day and continues to be challenged by the weather at this time of year in this project. (Thanks to whoever reinstalled the flags that blew down in Kehele Park.)

I mention the flags to clarify that they had nothing to do with the election results although some might feel justly entitled to see the flags also as a celebration of democracy. How can you not argue that KC Chief Patrick Mahomes getting votes for president is a celebration of democracy?

In spite of the noise we hear about the results of the election I have been struck by a couple of notes. 

I know some folks who predicted a Biden victory would cause the stock market to drop precipitously. Over the past two weeks when it became more and more likely that Joe would win, the market went up about 10 percent. 

In addition I have a friend who has pointed out that the only thing in more limited supply than ammunition is Champagne. Hard to quibble with that kind of economic reality. 

Two realities in my life are that if I really knew how to operate in the financial markets I would not have a guy advising me and I would have no trouble paying those NFL fines, for all the coaches!

Did you note that Harley-Davidson just announced a new electric motorcycle?

One of the current concerns about electric vehicles is that you can’t hear them coming because the electric engines are so much quieter than internal combustion engines. Some electric vehicle manufacturers even have a sound package as an option. What is interesting to me about HD in this announcement is that in 1994 HD unsuccessfully filed a sound trademark application for the distinct (?) sound produced by their heavy motorcycles. Now they have an electric model. Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. 

Concerning my mind, many of us have been excited to see that Aldrich’s is open again in “Upper Port Townsend.”

I wandered in the other day to see how it has changed, and it has. I particularly noted the ground venison in the meat cooler. One can only hope they are culling the deer herd in Port Townsend. You see, there are many of us who drive in town and when encountering the deer are subjected to the disapproving looks of the townspeople dedicated to preserving the cute devils. We are just trying to get on down the road and we are not on a “seek and destroy” mission. 

A final note on elections takes me to Rabbit Hash, Kentucky. This unincorporated community of 315 souls on the Ohio River has been electing dogs as mayor since 1994. (There’s an intriguing idea.) 

This year’s contest was won by Wilbur Beast, a French Bulldog. Jack Rabbit the Beagle and Poppy the Golden Retriever came in second and third, thusly qualifying as Rabbit Hash Ambassadors. 

You ask why does Ned even bring up this stuff? Frankly it is because BJ and I have been on a rally that stopped at the general store in Rabbit Hash. Pretty lame, huh?

Love a curmudgeon and enjoy Veterans Day 2020!

(Ned Luce is a retired IBM executive who lives in Port Ludlow. The distinctive sounds of his internal combustion have also not been successfully patented.)