By any measure it was a Memorial Day weekend to remember with great weather, memorable events, good friends, good food and drink. 

As I mentioned last week, several Rotarians took JJ Klaric and his friend Phoon, another Rotary Foreign Exchange Student from Thailand, to see the Mariners beat the Twins in the bright sunshine of left field’s upper deck. 

Those without sunscreen wore their scarlet reminder for a couple of days. Just ask Paul Wynnkoop about his forehead! The game was really pretty slow until the bottom of the eighth inning when the Mariners broke a 1-1 tie with a rally that got them a 3-1 victory. It was JJ’s first experience with baseball, even referring a couple of times to the innings as “outings”.   

Almost 300 U.S. flags were evident everywhere on the long weekend in Port Hadlock, Chimacum and Port Ludlow as folks celebrated the Memorial Day holiday. 

Monday brought the weekend’s highlight with the ceremony to dedicate the destruction of used flags at the Bay Club in Port Ludlow. 

Retired Marine Jerry Conover coordinated the event for many years, and when he passed away a few years ago, the event was not scheduled. 

The good news is that it came back this year, complete with singing of patriotic songs by the Port Ludlow Singers. With luck the event will become a tradition again. 

Now, it is June, school is out, high school seniors are off to prepare for the next chapter of their lives, as if one can truly be prepared for that. 

Young folks today are presented with a dizzying array of options compared to what many of us had 50 years ago. My memory is that upon graduation from high school, the options included college, work or the military. Upon graduation from college, I went to work and then was presented with two options, join the military or run to Canada. 

(I guess I could have hidden in the crowds in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury or Woodstock.) Ah, the fabulous ‘60s with Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix and a draft notice. 

Yes, options then were different than they are today. No matter, the fact is that I have everything I wanted as a teenager, only 60 years later. I don’t have to go to school or work. I married a beautiful woman whose frugal ways and knowledge has provided me a regular allowance. We have our own “pad.” I have a driver’s license, (at least for the time being), and my own car. The people I hang around with are not scared of getting pregnant. And, I don’t have acne!

So, here comes summer with all of the festivals, parties and travels. 

If you need to connect summer with a song from 60 years ago, check out the ditty with that name by looking up the version by Jerry Keller. It will bring back memories, perk up your day or make you wonder why you wasted your time! 

Also, should you even consider going to Haight Ashbury be cognizant of Mark Twain’s classic observation. 

“The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.”

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week.

NedLuce@sbcglobal.net