The show must go on, unless you’re a Blue Devil | Life in Ludlow

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You could call it an “education-oriented” week. Kind of. 

The scheduled speaker for our weekly East Jefferson Rotary Club meeting was a “no-show” last week. 

Fortunately for us, Scott Mauk, the superintendent of the Chimacum Schools and a member of our club, was in attendance and gave an update on everything happening at the school as he answered questions from the other members of the club. He claimed to be not completely up to speed since the new baby in his home has been limiting necessary sleep. 

After all these years of competing against Port Townsend on the athletic fields and in the arenas, it was interesting to note the progress of the East Jefferson Rivals, the combined sports teams of Port Townsend and Chimacum high schools. More competitive and complete teams have been the result of the joining of their resources. (Note to the other Washington, the Redhawks and the Cowboys have learned to play nice; you might try it.) We appreciate the information from Scott on his second day back in the office after the birth of his new daughter. 

As I wrote last week, the Associated Student Body, or ASB, of the Chimacum Schools held their annual dinner/auction last Saturday evening. This fundraiser is held every year to provide funding for various school activities/programs which are not funded by the school district. 

We went with Steve and Fran Gross, then were joined by Ed and Sarah Davis to enjoy some lasagna and review the items up for auction. BJ’s bid lost out to Fran on a Lady Bug sculpture. Fran will no doubt be the target of BJ’s sarcasm for years to come. 

The school staff was well represented with the aforementioned Superintendent Mauk with his wife and new baby getting a lot of attention. Babies do that to most of us. Teacher Brian MacKenzie, School Board member Kathryn Lamka and husband Neal, Board Member Tami Robocker, Assistant Superintendent Art Clarke, and many more were there. Art and Tami did themselves proud with winning bids on not one but two desserts each! And they were at the same table. 

I planned to bid on the carrot cakes but the action passed my financial limits too quickly. Probably best for my diet, such that it is. 

The next higher education subject is probably moot in terms of being educational. But maybe basketball is educational. 

Yep, it is “March Madness” time with the onset of the NCAA College Basketball Tournament beginning yesterday. 

Fans know that many of the players never actually finish college as they move on to the professional teams here in the USA and Canada as well as teams around the world. The teams in Russia do not offer as attractive an opportunity as they did before providing the world with a war, but there are other international teams with lucrative options for players. 

As a fan of the Duke Blue Devils, Leader editor Brian Kelly doubtless wanted me to note that first-year coach Jon Scheyer is the only person to win the championship of the Atlantic Athletic Conference, ACC, as a coach and a player! Actually, I don’t think Brian is a fan of the Blue Devils. Nonetheless, they are playing well and earned a spot in the tournament. 

Just down the road in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the mood is not quite so rosy. The basketball team from the University of North Carolina was ranked No. 1 in the country before the season started last October but their season was full of failure and they did not even make this year’s tournament. 

Then, when invited to play in the NIT, they declined. 

Maybe a little arrogance? 

My friends who are fans of the University of Kansas team, (why do I have friends like that?), are no doubt pleased their team earned a No. 1 seed in the tournament even after losing the Big 12 Championship Game.  

A notable education I get from the tournament is to avoid creating a bracket without the sage advice of my grandsons. 

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week. 

(Ned Luce is a retired IBM executive and Port Ludlow resident who delights in tormenting his editor’s incessant University-of-Kansas boosterism, made necessary under Kansas law by marriage into a Jayhawk family. At heart, Ned knows the editor is a rabid Ducks fan. Alas, Ned would be an Oregon fan as well, but cannot overcome his displeasure with Oregon’s claim to fame as being the first team ever to win an NCAA Championship, as Ned almost choked on popcorn kernels while watching the game during a visit to the World’s Fair in
San Francisco during his Navy days.)