Variety is the spice of life, or what

Life In Ludlow

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You have probably heard of the new “FaceApp” developed by a Russian Company that takes your picture and then modifies it according to your instructions.

The app runs on your smartphone and can make a picture of you look older or younger as you want. My friend Mike Kenna has the app on his phone and one day last week he was dedicated to taking my picture and modifying it so that I would look older or younger.

I had not seen the app before and was intrigued by using it to modify the picture that runs with this column so that I would look older because, well, I am so much older than that picture. Mike’s efforts did yield some images that made me older. Unfortunately his efforts making me look younger failed miserably as the app broke! No matter, at least it surprisingly showed me with hair as                 I got older.

On a recent trip down the Port Ludlow side of Swansonville Road I hit a fawn. Don’t get excited, my car was not injured in any discernible way. In addition, after maximum application of my brakes and honking of my horn, the fawn rolled over a couple of times on the road and scampered off into the brush. His mother was standing nearby so I admonished her to teach her offspring some safety procedures, like do not run from the bushes into the path of an oncoming car! The last time I hit a deer was almost 20 years ago and both car and deer fared much worse.

How about that yacht sailing around the area last week? I heard it was 174 feet long! Somebody started a delicious rumor that a famous actor was on board and came to town to play golf. Frankly it was a beautiful boat no matter who was on it.

It is summertime and the sun comes up early making it easier for me to visit Rotary Clubs in Sequim and Port Angeles who have their meetings at breakfast. I can get up early and have a delightful drive west in the sunshine. I came home from the meeting in Port Angeles last Friday morning and saw the large lines of cars transporting “Lavender Lovers” to Sequim. The only real problem was that I had stayed up too late the night before playing poker. For several reasons I should have quit early and gone home.

My need for a haircut had passed into the “man ponytail” status and I was having trouble successfully aligning Sonja’s three-day work schedule with my calendar. I finally got it done last week. When I arrived at the Bayside Barber Shop there was a “party goin’ on.” Not only were Tim and Cathy Pappas there, but also Sonja’s cousin Sean holding court. To top it off, Sonja was in the middle of an energy drink. Everything was in place for a noisy celebration except a band to dance to. It was great fun but I think Sonja didn’t recover until well into the next day.

These days it would be well to remember an observation by James Cabell. “The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears this is true.”

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week!

(Ned Luce is a retired IBM executive pretending to live the slow life in Port Ludlow, but known to escape in his very fast car.)