In these times of basketball-season-ending tournaments, baseball-season-beginning optimism and political shenanigans, I find it somehow instructive to remember the words of Hall of Fame baseball player Satchel Paige. He said, “You win a few, you lose a few, and some get rained out. But, you got to dress for all of them.”

At a recent poker game with some of the local luminaries, I was actually able to win a dollar more than I spent on the QFC cookies I bought to share around the table. My friend and fellow player Steve Gross recently gave me a hat with the logo of his company, Port Ludlow Mini Storage, emblazoned on the front. I wore it to the poker game. Given my deserved reputation as having a lack of poker expertise and regular reliance on dumb luck (just ask Dick Durand), we concluded my success that evening was due entirely to the new ball cap. As testament to Steve’s entrepreneurial savvy, he has mounted a marketing campaign for the hats. Since they now have been anointed with an aura of gambling good fortune as well as a devilishly handsome appearance, I suspect the price may approach the level of a Viper sports car. If that doesn’t work, he will need to find a more lucrative poker game to get the car.

The two Port Townsend Rotary clubs plus the East Jefferson club got together for a potluck barbecue at the Kala Point clubhouse last week. Lots of good food, fellowship and foreign exchange students’ giggles were available. When we normally attend these events, BJ prepares our dish to share. Since she was out of town, Pang, the exchange student from Thailand staying with us, fried up a big dish of spring rolls. They were the hit of the evening!

For several years, the Jefferson County Community Foundation and United Good neighbors have shared administrative support and expenses to more efficiently serve the area. The boards of both organizations recently voted to become one, and further formalize the relationship. Additionally, the boards hired a new CEO, Siobhan Canty. (Pronounce her first name correctly and you win something – probably a leftover cookie from the poker game.) In any case, she comes to us with a wealth of experience and energy, and starts officially on April 10.

Tourist season officially kicked off for me last week. I was going to my car across the street from The Printery in uptown Port Townsend when a car pulled up beside me, and the driver asked for a recommendation and directions for lunch. Before they left for Doc’s, I asked from whence they came. It became obvious they mistakenly thought no one in this part of the country knew where Valparaiso, Indiana, is. I do. The man has a cousin who went to Wabash College, my alma mater, in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The woman had been a residence adviser at Valparaiso University for accomplished basketball player and now coach at Valparaiso, Bryce Drew. As it turns out, Homer Drew, Bryce’s father and then coach, was a good friend of BJ’s at Webster Groves High School. So, the tourists are back, as if they never left, and the world is a small place.

Finally, here is a place you are lucky to not be. I noted a woman at the recycling bins in Port Ludlow with one of those “pucker pickers” used to pick up trash on the ground or cereal boxes from the top shelf at the grocery store. As it turns out, she had lost her car keys and she was fishing for them in one of the bins. Hey, maybe once somebody was lucky enough to find a needle in a haystack.

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week!

(Contact Port Ludlow resident Ned Luce at nedluce@sbcglobal.net.)