The summer has arrived with events, parties, barbecues, fireworks, concerts, holidays, grandson visits and cold beverages. At least we can watch the Women’s World Cup in the relative comfort of the Pacific Northwest instead of the ninety-degree heat of host country France. Our son and his family were not quite as wimpy as they actually attended the semi-final game between the U.S. and England in Lyon, France yesterday. BJ and I were content to go see the movie “Yesterday” at the Rose Theatre over the weekend. The movie is about a man who is the only person in the world who remembers the music of the Beatles after a natural disaster. So we went to the movie as we are not really that intense as soccer fans. We think our blasé attitude about the game has to do with our upbringing in the Midwest a long time ago in environments where it was neither played nor understood. Very few places in America today are so insulated from “soccer mania” although I confess to having a few friends who seem to avoid such events.

The Rotary International year runs from July 1 through June 30 so this is the time for new officers in the local clubs. The Port Townsend club inducted Carla Caldwell as their new president while longtime Rotarian and local lawyer Chuck Henry took over the Port Townsend Sunrise club. Port Ludlow’s Paul Wynkoop took the reins of the East Jefferson club. This summer, Paul will oversee the club’s coordination of the Hadlock Days Parade on August 3 and the first ever “Cycle Marrowstone” on August 25. You can find out more about the bike ride on the club’s website at ejcrotary.club.

We took a day and headed west to Port Angeles for lunch and a stop at Camaraderie Cellars. Lunch was at Lake Crescent Lodge. Even though the air temperature was sixty degrees and the water was probably twenty degrees cooler, there were a couple of hardy souls swimming. Far more were kayaking or canoeing. It must have been warmer than I thought because for the first time I have ever been in that building there was no fire in the fireplace. We are in Camaraderie’s ”Wine Club” so we pick up a couple of bottles every three months. We stopped in for a taste and our quarterly allotment on the way back through Port Angeles. (They did not have a fire going either.) We needed to pick them up since our daughter is visiting this week and I really suspect she comes here to drink better wine than she has at home. And frankly, it ain’t that great here!

Next week the youngest grandson Is headed for the “Little Scuppers” half day camp at the Maritime Center in Port Townsend. All three of the other grandsons have also enjoyed programs there in previous summers. Last week Wally and Kay Cathcart were feted at a going away recognition at the yacht club. They are headed for sunnier climes in Arizona and will be missed. They have made significant contributions in the Yacht Club, the Port Ludlow Performing Arts and more. Local barberess Sonja Hathaway will particularly miss Wally coming in for a haircut! Season tickets for the Performing Arts are available until July 15.

Here is an observation by Yoko Ono, wife of the Beatles’ John Lennon, about the seasons:

“Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence.

Summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance.

Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence.

Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.”

Love a curmudgeon and have a great Independence Day!