Ned Luce

Wow, pick your disaster. 

There is a dangerous war in Europe. Climate change is accelerating. Inflation is chewing us up. An earthquake is right around the corner, within 35 years or so. There seem to be political disagreements in abundance. 

Then you take your bum hip and encounter last weekend with time socializing with friends, great warm and sunny weather, great sports on TV and a good book to start on after you finish the good Tom Clancy book graciously given to you by Vic Draper. 

Nice and different perspective. Too bad it didn’t last longer. 

I find watching the NBA games somewhat taxing during the regular season but I do enjoy the current playoffs with more intensity and showcasing of skills. 

The Golden State Warriors hold particular interest for me as they seem to have fun personalities in addition to great teamwork. At this writing they are ahead of the Denver Nuggets three games to one in a seven-game series. 

Anybody who watched Sunday’s game in Denver was also presented with a view of former Seattle Seahawk quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife Ciara sitting in the front row at the game cheering on the Nuggets, obviously his team of choice now that he is a member of the Denver Broncos. 

Another interesting and unusual sporting event took place in Port Ludlow on Sunday. On our way up to the Dusty Green Café for breakfast we noted the unusually large number of golfers on the course, the majority whom looked to be under 12 years of age. 

Not to make too much of the demographics in our area, but there appeared to be more kids on the golf course then live in Jefferson County. 

It turns out there was a U.S. Kids Golf tournament going on with players and their families from Western Washington. This organization has eight matches in the spring at different courses in the area and this past weekend was Port Ludlow’s turn. Frankly, it was fun to see all them out on the course on a beautiful Sunday. Sadly, every one of them could beat me.

Did you see the distressing news item about the woman hiker who had a problem at the rest stop at the top of Mount Walker? I feel the need to quote and summarize much of the Associated Press story as reported by the Kitsap Sun (the story was also on The Leader website last week). “A woman who accidentally dropped her cellphone into the hole of an outhouse and fell in while trying to retrieve it had to be rescued by firefighters from Brinnon. Former Port Ludlow resident and current Brinnon Fire Department Chief, Tim Manly, said the woman had been using her phone when it fell into the toilet on Tuesday. Manly said she disassembled the toilet seat and used dog leashes to try and get the phone and eventually used the leashes to tie herself off as she reached for it. That effort failed and she fell into the toilet headfirst.

“The leashes didn’t work very well and in she went.” The woman was alone and tried to get out for 10 to 15 minutes. Reunited with her phone, she called 911, Manly said.

Responding firefighters passed her blocks to stand on to reach a harness, which they used to pull her out of the vault. The Brinnon Fire Department said the woman said she was uninjured. She was washed down and “strongly encouraged to seek medical attention after being exposed to human waste, but she only wanted to leave.” “I’ve been doing this for 40 years, and that was a first,” Manly said. This whole story is such a target rich opportunity for a demented soul such as I. And maybe you? 

The big event for tax season was Sunday afternoon as the local AARP Tax Aides gathered to celebrate the end of another successful year of tax preparation for many of the area folks needing some gratis assistance. BJ joined with them to share an appetizer, a glass of wine, and enjoy some low-pressure socializing. I would have gone but it would have required me to be a little more “hip.”

And then we come to the Seattle Mariners baseball team. Last Sunday they beat my former favorite team, the Kansas City Royals, for the third day in a row. 

Sunday’s game went to twelve innings with a final score of 5-4 and they are currently first in the Western Division of the American League. This team is hard to not like.

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week. 

(Ned Luce is a retired IBM executive and Port Ludlow resident. Contact Ned at ned@ptleader.com.)