Several members of the crew of East Jefferson Rotarians who put up the U.S. flags on five holidays each year in Port Ludlow gather at Snug Harbor Cafe for breakfast afterward. If the work occurs on a Saturday morning, they always encounter a regular group of, dare I say, curmudgeons. The group includes 8-10 local men who claim they get together to solve the world's problems. The distinguished crowd includes David Armitage, John Arscott, John Weaver, Dick Grieves, Jim Brannaman and others, who claim that by the end of breakfast they have solved the world's problems and are now off to solve bigger ones, like taking a nap. Last Saturday saw such a gathering, with the restaurant full of tourists, locals, Rotarians and the aforementioned group. I was having a nice conversation with local luminary and Rotarian Pat Cooper when we jointly decided that Donald Trump's plan to build a wall on our southern border was a great idea for the financial stability of future Americans. After all, the Chinese built a wall and now it is a tourist attraction!

Speaking of tourism, my sister and her husband were in town last week from Los Angeles for a visit. As many times as they have been here, they confessed to not ever going on a hike to Marymere Falls followed by lunch at the Crescent Lake Lodge. After some mist in the morning, the day turned beautiful again, proving why this activity has turned into our "go to" tourist adventure for out-of-town visitors. On the way back, we vectored into Port Townsend for drinks at Taps at the Guardhouse at Fort Worden and dinner in Port Townsend. It was our first time at Taps, and it was interesting and fun, particularly since we ran into Kristan McCary, owner of the Ajax Cafe in Port Hadlock. And how about all the tourists around for Labor Day weekend? Ferry lines, Hood Canal Bridge lines, folks walking from their boats anchored or docked in Ludlow Bay into the village to find something to eat, get a newspaper or enjoy the trail. We may have to build our own wall soon!

We have some superb friends here in Port Ludlow, but a recent act of trust has exceeded any definition of the word. One of the couples we count as friends has been out of town for a few weeks, but apparently had a need to order some wine for delivery here. They know some folks who own a winery in northern California and decided to order some from them, asking us if the delivery could be made to our home since they are out of town. No problem. Shortly thereafter, seven cases, that's right, seven cases of wine from one winery, came to be stored in our garage. No, I am not going to share the couple's names with you, because, well, I'd prefer that they stay good friends with me and not you.

Back to the subject of curmudgeons, it was fun to have Bob Ammerman back in town for our biweekly poker game, even though he again took some of my hard-earned money.

Love a curmudgeon and have a good week.

(Contact Port Ludlow resident Ned Luce at nedluce@sbcglobal.net.)