Have you ever, anywhere, had this much nice weather in October? WoW! I got out for some walking, well, since my physical therapist said I needed to get going on that program to manage the sciatica pain. OK, it was also too nice outside to stay inside. Driving around and enjoying all the fall colors in the trees has been awesome. I regularly drive Swansonville Road down to Beaver Valley monitoring the progression of the foliage to either bare limbs or deep, dark green forest. Conversely, most of your and my friends on the East Coast have had a tougher time with the weather the past couple of months.

On a side note, we moved here 10 years ago and I wish I had taken a picture every year of that barn at the corner of Beaver Valley and Egg and I Roads. The process of the earth reclaiming the structure has probably been captured by some, but not me.

In case you had not heard, Election Day is less than three weeks away. One side of us says we will be glad to be rid of the signs cluttering every square foot of accessible roadside. The other side says it is obvious testimony to the existence of democracy in our country. In addition, my opinion is that most of the candidates are sincere, qualified, and generally civil to each other. We are headed the right direction, at least locally. Of course, as Morrie Brinkman tells us, “the real beauty of democracy is that the average man thinks he is above average."

On the subject of upcoming events, here comes Halloween. It seems to me we have been preparing for it since the fourth of July. Veterans Day is right after Halloween and rumor has it that there will be a Veterans Day celebration in Port Ludlow. On Oct. 25 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Jefferson Healthcare Hospice is holding its annual Community Memorial Service remembering and honoring loved ones. The event is open to anyone in our community grieving a death. All are invited to join with friends and family in this nondenominational service. The event is being held at Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 2333 San Juan Ave, Port Townsend.

The monthly LMC Pot Luck dinner is this Saturday evening at the Beach Club. The theme is a “Tail Gate Party.” BJ and Sharon Draper are in charge and thusly Vic and I have chores. Vic is getting brats etc. while I am putting the music together. I have collected a slew of “fight songs” from most major universities, including Wabash and DePauw. If you know your fight song there will some kind of a reward for you! If you know somebody else’s fight song, rewards may be even higher. You may remember that Woody Allen claimed he was thrown out of college for cheating on the metaphysics exam he looked into the soul of the boy sitting next to him.

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week!