Ned Luce

Why wear one of those masks covering your nose and face? Heck, they are inconvenient and until recently were not readily available. They hide the mouth so well you can’t really see whether somebody is talking to you or someone else. 

If they are talking to you, you probably can’t understand them because you can’t get the visual cues you need to understand the words they are saying. 

Let’s face it, the masks are nothing but a way to make a political statement that you are one of the so-called “sheep” blindly following direction from a government not authorized to restrict your speech or free assembly. You may even look like a “Democrat”! In spite of the gaudy designs now available on the masks they do look just god-awful silly. 

Frankly they are just a way to avoid hurting others. Just look at the history of government interference for this purpose. Seat belts, car seats, cell phone use, all those things and more have just been terrible infringes on our rights to engage in personally ignorant activity that could adversely affect lives, both ours and others. 

If these last few weeks have taught us anything it’s that stupidity travels faster than any virus on the planet! We need to escape reality by ignoring the advice, counsel and direction of those we have educated and elected! Except I do plan to wear that fine mask with the Porsche logo on it that my daughter’s family gave me for Father’s Day. As the grandsons say, “It is dope.” 

I am reading a very timely book these days. It is about Yogi Berra, a noteworthy catcher for the New York Yankees. It is called “Yogi: a Life Behind the Mask”.  

This weekend is Independence Day and I always look forward to the fireworks displays we can view from our deck. Even though all of the public displays seem to be cancelled due to that virus thing I suspect the coast of Whidbey Island will again be alive with illegal yet entertaining explosions. We just won’t be able to see the displays in Poulsbo or Everett. 

Our daughter and her family are visiting for a few days with their dog. We have not had a dog around for several years but all of my previous experience tells me that she will not enjoy the fireworks. In addition, her visit has confirmed that until one of us is gone, BJ and I will do without canine comforting even though we have had several dogs in our lives over the years.

My friend Steven Gross claims to be a regular reader of this column but every once in awhile I need to test him, like last week. I had noted that BJ and I had observed 18 “Canadian” geese whilst in Port Angeles a few weeks ago. Well, Steven’s keen editing sense called me on the fact that the official moniker is really “Canada” geese. He was disappointed that none of those supposedly charged with editing this column, whether they were my spouse or are real employees of the Leader, caught the error. Of course all of us were just testing to see if anybody caught it. You believe me, right?

Casey Stengel was a famous manager for the Yankees while Yogi Berra played and was a master of wise advice. One of my favorites is, “The secret of successful managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys that haven’t made up their minds yet.”

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

(Ned Luce is a retired IBM executive whose sarcastic wit permeates his Port Ludlow home).