Recently there have some “op-eds” in the Seattle Times concerning the “Seattle Freeze,” the real perception that locals tend to not be as welcoming or inclusive to new neighbors as they might be.

Having lived in several other parts of the U.S. via a Navy and IBM career I tend to agree. I submit that at least some of your status allowing entry into the “community” in the Northwest may be predicated not only on from whence you came, (California or the South make it more difficult), but also the length of time you have spent here. It seems that the inertia of living in the same place for a long time gives one higher status than a person who has experienced other parts of the world. I for one thought the people of Pittsburgh were the most open of anyplace as we lived there for three and a half years. However, my perspective may have been influenced by having lived in the less than friendly confines of Washington, D.C. for the two years previous. The apparent popularity of “Nextdoor” is also noteworthy as folks share and then comment on the latest antics of deer and bears in their backyards. I find it interesting that people enter such activities into a computer thus creating a record for perpetuity. Hey, why don’t you write a column for the local newspaper?

On the subject of neighbors, we were fortunate to see several last week in our activities. Like many of the locals, we tried the new Mexican restaurant in the Village Center. BJ and I went in alone and were encouraged to sit with friends Don and Anne Whipple, Grant and Laurie Colby and three others. I am no expert on food since I will rarely turn it away but I am told there are varying opinions on the quality. However, I can confirm that I like the fact that it is now open for business. It provides a local option for all of us. We also ran into Port Ludlow Village Council past and future president Bill Dean, his wife Chris, and new PLVC member Sally Franzl at the Rose Theater. We enjoyed a sold out performance of “Downton Abbey.” A bonus was an acquaintance for all of us opened a frozen yogurt shop called “O’Yummy” just two doors from the theater. I suggest that this place will do a land office business given the location. All five of us gave it a boost that evening, having mixed a variety of flavors into tasty pre-dinner treats.

Last Saturday was the annual Brewfest benefiting the Back Packs for Kids program in the Chimacum schools. I enjoyed the bratwurst and the beer as I spent time talking with Jack and Jim Moffit and their wives Anna and Kim. Jim is also a new member of the PLVC. Many of the folks in the area are involved with performing worthy service projects through the local chapter of the Boeing Bluebills. They are involved in a couple of upcoming fundraisers pertinent to the fall. This Saturday at 4 p.m. the Peninsula Support Organization, the fundraising partner of the Bluebills, is holding a wine tasting at the Beach Club. Camaraderie Cellars of Port Angeles is doing the pouring as the evening benefits the STEM programs in our schools. Contact Barbara Berthiaume at 360-437-0423 to get one of the one hundred tickets being sold in advance for $40 each. The Bluebills follow this event two days later on Monday at 11 a.m. with an Oktoberfest lunch again at the Beach Club. There will be a program on “Independent Aging” as you enjoy a bratwurst!

Dean Miller, my editor here at The Leader, is on the program at the East Jefferson Rotary Club tomorrow at the Old Alcohol Plant. He is talking about the First Amendment to the Constitution. Might be good for many of us to get a refresher.

Have a great time in October and take your friends to Munich for a beer, a brat and some free speech. (It will be fun even though Oktoberfest in Munich ended last weekend.)

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week.

(Ned Luce is a retired IBM executive whose “curmudgeon” cover story enables him to disturb the Olympic Peninsula Freeze.)