Ned Luce

I thought the town was empty except for the tourists. The locals wanted to stay home to handle the heat. How wrong could that be? 

A lot.

Brian Belmont thinks there may have been around 300 folks attending the three years delayed annual LMC BBQ at the Beach Club on Saturday. He could be right.

BJ and I went early and still had to stand in line to get a burger, cooked well by Brian, his wife Dana, Allan Kiesler and others. Cheryl Wheeler was managing the baked beans table and Kim Bond was managing everybody else. 

We shared a picnic table with Michael/Gail Jackson and John/Christie Thomas. Both couples moved into Port Ludlow within the past year, the Thomases from Northern California where they claim they did not grow pot. They do confess to having a small winery. The Jacksons moved from Fort Worth and why wouldn’t one do that? Michael confesses to not being able to “moon walk,” though. Thanks for that. 

Kent and Wendy Chesney, Denny and Sarah Schuch, Roy and Connie Fidler, Steve and Fran Gross, Vic and Sharon Draper, Lynn and Sharon Sorenson, Teddy Clark, Sue Milner, Terry and Shelley O’Brien, and many, many more of the LMC’s finest members were enjoying the barbecue, macaroni and potato salads, cookies and renewing pandemic impacted friendships and making new friends. Dave and Twyla Jackson were happy to tell me about their new/used Porsche Panamera. Can you believe they traded in their old 911? 

The size of the gathering of these LMC members rivals the meetings where an increase in the annual assessment was being considered! I know. I was there. 

Sunday morning we went back to the Dusty Green Café for breakfast with Ramsay/Anne Burrell-Smith and John Paxson. 

After breakfast we encountered a couple from Kirkland in the parking lot. We did not get their last names because, well, they live in Kirkland. They were celebrating his 50th birthday by spending the weekend at the Inn at Port Ludlow. Shoot, that’s no big deal, BJ and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary at the Inn. 

In any case, they had been directed to the Dusty Green for a hearty breakfast. They told BJ that they were renting a boat at the marina to tour Ludlow Bay for a few hours in the afternoon which sounded like fun. We parted ways having made new friends whose names we knew not. 

Sunday afternoon held a bittersweet gathering for us as we were invited to a celebration of life for former Port Ludlow resident Jerry Purdy. Jerry and his wife Diane moved to Oregon several years ago to be closer to family but they are remembered by many for the positive contributions they made to the LMC and the Yacht Club. Diane and children arranged a slide show of Jerry’s life and played some of his favorite music, from ABBA to Patsy Cline. He had an eclectic musical taste which I appreciate and enjoy. 

Just as at the barbecue on Saturday, the opportunity for community camaraderie, contacting old friends who came from out of town, enjoying the weather from the deck at the yacht club, and remembering the fine contributions Jerry made to the community brought everybody out.

Steve Shanklin and Sherry Robinson were among the folks who came in from afar. We spent a long time talking with Peter and Jeanne Joseph. BJ claims to have only seen Peter at the grocery store for the past two years and that’s it. 

We broke bread with Don Whipple who, like Peggy Kulm and I, share a birthday with Elvis Presley. We crowed to Don that we had just seen the movie, “Elvis.”

He then told us about when he actually saw Elvis in concert. 

Diane Neesz and I discussed some health issues, problems, and solutions as I scarfed down a dessert brownie. When we were leaving, I thought I had inadvertently left my phone and wallet inside the yacht club, so BJ volunteered to go back inside and retrieve them. As it turns out, they were both in the car and I was reduced to pleading for forgiveness. 

The good news is while I waited for her return Jack Riggen stopped to talk. 

Folks took advantage of the opportunity to get out and enjoy new and old friends over the weekend. The weekend also held hamburgers, hot dogs, food from GBF, a beer for me, a margarita for BJ, and more. 

As Mark Twain is reported to have said, “Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.” 

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week.

(Ned Luce is a retired IBM executive and Port Ludlow resident who loves a hunka hunka burnin’ beef on a bun. Hey, throw a pickle on it! Contact Ned at ned@ptleader.com.)