The most important upcoming birthday | Life in Ludlow

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In the best spirit of the times may I hope your turkey breath is subsiding thus making your life and the lives of others in your zip code more tolerable. 

We had the kids and their families, (10), for turkey dinner including us and it was quite enjoyable and fun in spite of my grandson’s description. You will see it later because Foster is the featured contributor to this column this week. His older brother wrote a good piece of this column a few years back so I offered Foster an opportunity to contribute to, or probably enhance, this week’s Life in Ludlow. Hence the following description of his current life in school and his visit to Port Ludlow.

“Hello, my name is Foster. I am a third-grade kid in Seattle, Washington. I am writing an article about how I am surviving this school year. Masks are the big problem. When we are eating lunch, we have to have our mask on even when we are chewing. So, we eat something, then we put our mask on to chew it, then we eat something else, then we put our mask back on. We spend about one minute a day having our masks off. It is kind of hard to make friends because you don’t get to know one another. I’ve made a few friends, but not a lot. Being in the classroom is actually about the same, except for the masks of course. When we go out to recess, I play ‘four-square’ with some kids. Our masks get a little wet when it rains, but other than that, it is pretty normal. I know why my school is being crazy about masks though, and it is not just because of COVID-19. It is because I’m in an elementary school, and that means none of the kids are vaccinated, which means we have a ‘higher risk’ or whatever. They did just make it so that kids 5 through 11 can get vaccinated though so, pretty soon, since I am an 8-year-old I’ll be fully vaccinated! I still really like my school though, and I love to play sports, so in the winter I am going to do an indoor soccer league with some kids from my school, and in the spring, I am doing Ultimate frisbee! I am a normal kid though, it is not like I am crazy or anything, liking all these sports. My school is just like any other school. 

I went out to my grandparents in Port Ludlow for Thanksgiving week. Their job is to spoil me, my brother, and my two cousins. Then, on Wednesday, the rest of my family came out from Seattle. My cousins and family came over too, which was exciting because one of them came back from college and I hadn’t seen him for a year! Our Thanksgiving dinner was pretty normal though, turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, all the usuals. And of course, we played football in Kehele Park.

Christmas isn’t the thing I am most excited for. You know why? Because my birthday is Dec. 2. Right smack in the middle of the holiday season. And I am writing this on Sunday, Nov. 28, so I can be really excited. I tell my family that Christmas time starts on Dec. 3 so that they don’t start celebrating Christmas before I am done celebrating my birthday. Anyway, I have had a lot of fun writing this article. I hope you like it! Bye!”

It sounds like a pretty special time for him actually. 

By the time you read this he has received his second Pfizer vaccination so he can claim to be fully vaccinated and smarter than Aaron Rodgers. 

He is back in school making new friends which was hard for him last year just as I am sure it was hard for elementary school kids around the world as they “Zoomed” or “went to meeting” or whatever. 

No matter, BJ and I can legitimately claim to have successfully spoiled him with lunches at both the Spruce Goose and the Chimacum Café, among other things.  

All you mathematicians may take note of Foster’s birthday tomorrow since it is probably the only palindrome on his birthday in his life. Dec. 2, 2021. “12022021” You can bend your mind this week by trying to find a palindrome including your birthday. Actually, today is a palindrome, “12/1/21.”

Love a curmudgeon and wish Foster a Happy Birthday!

(Ned Luce is a retired IBM executive and Port Ludlow resident. And no, letting Foster help write this column was not his birthday present. Email Ned at ned@ptleader.com.)