Ned Luce

Friends, as I alluded to in last week’s column, finding something locally interesting, at least to me, to write about has been challenging. 

Last week, I highlighted the Rotary Club’s successful flag subscription program since it was the only thing other than slogging through the lockdown that has been available. Then a regular reader’s critique called it one of the worst of my offerings, or maybe he said it was the worst.  

There are certainly many more national and controversial topics I could address in this space in spite of our relative insulation out here next to the Olympics. 

For example, I watched the History Channel’s fascinating presentation of the career of Ulysses S. Grant, the famous general of the Civil War and subsequently the president of the U.S.  

The current issue of racism in the U.S. was just as controversial after the Civil War and in 1964 when I was in college and participated in the protest of an appearance by George Wallace, governor of Alabama. Surprisingly he was at a small church in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Actually it is only surprising until you know the history of the Ku Klux Klan in central Indiana. I was working in Detroit in the summer of 1967 and witnessed the terrible destruction of many parts of that city during the race riots. Who among us did not think this country would have solved this problem long ago? 

Then we have the death toll of more than 100,000 Americans as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Just a few of our leaders are looking smart on this issue, and I think Gov. Inslee might be one of them. Then the economic situation seems to be upside down as workers are getting paid more by the government to stay home than return to work. 

On more mundane matters, today I am scheduled to see Sonja for a haircut. I have grown to like the fuller head and will attempt to save some of it. I even have developed a very thin comb-over that will probably disappear. The restaurants are allowed to open for folks to eat inside on a somewhat limited basis, although that business might come back slowly. Recently BJ bought a package of ribs at QFC for $6 and we got two-and-a-half meals out of them. We compared that to the $18, $36 for two, we could have paid for a takeout from which we would also get a couple of meals with less preparation. Then we compared that to the almost $100 we might have paid to go to the movies, have dinner out with a couple glasses of wine. Kind of an educationally enlightening exercise. 

One of my favorite columnists is Dan Neal, who writes on automotive topics for the Wall Street Journal. He recently reviewed the Honda CR-V and used it as an example of Honda and other car companies continually increasing prices on their cars in spite of the lack of real innovative improvements. In today’s economy, we can expect those prices to erode. At the same time there are credible reports that the supply of used vehicles is vastly greater than demand. On top of that, Hertz rental cars recently declared bankruptcy a few days after offering a large number of 2019 Corvette Z06s at prices at least $20,000 less than the “sticker price.” Hertz, with its 560,000 cars, and other car-rental companies are now expected to begin substantially reducing their inventory. The bargains are just around the corner. 

So, send me a local topic to highlight in this space and I will make an effort to cover it. I am particularly looking for someone to claim they bought and will reopen Aldrich’s Grocery Store in Port Townsend and that the Beach and Bay Clubs will soon open safely!  

Love a curmudgeon, wear your mask, and have a great week!

(Ned Luce is a retired IBM executive stuck at home in Port Ludlow.)