Yesterday, once again, we tested the old adage about riding bicycles and never forgetting, And once again, it proved to be true.  For Nyel and our friend Dick Hawes it was a matter of setting up croquet courts.  For me, the issue concerned giving a little talk about the Oysterville Church.

With regard to the croquet courts – for sixteen consecutive years, from 1985 to 2001, we had set up three courts each fall in preparation for our Annual Oysterville Croquet and Champagne Gala.  Often Dick came down from Seattle to help.  And, in those days we had directions which included measurements.

But time has marched on and those Croquet Galas have become pleasant memories.  The croquet sets have languished in the garage and the directions are long gone.  So, yesterday, Nyel and Dick set up one of the three courts by memory and using some old photographs for reference.  There was quite a bit of eyeballing and tape measuring and fine-tuning but, in the end we all thought the court looked fine.

(I should say here that it did occur to us to look online for measurements but our courts, like our rules, were “not recognized by the U.S. National Croquet Association or anyone else except the Oysterville Croquet and Champagne Gala Committee – now defunct – which continues to reserve all rights and take all credit for the uniqueness of those events.”)

The men also concluded that Dick and I can manage to set up the other two courts today while Nyel is off working.  We’ll see.  The practice court took them less than an hour to set up but the two today may take a lot longer…

While Nyel and Dick were futzing around with the court set-up, I was talking to the Ladies of the Presbyterian Church. (I’m sure the group has a more formal name but I’ve forgotten.)  Someone had made the date with me a few weeks back and I thought I’d have plenty of time to “prepare” remarks.

In true best-laid-plans fashion, of course, I didn’t look at that back burner until an hour before the appointed time.  But, of course, the subject was the Historic Oysterville Church – a topic near and dear to my heart.  So, I winged it and, from my perspective anyway, it went well.  I was fed a delicious luncheon, had a chance to chat with friends I don’t often see, and my remarks were received with interest.  They even laughed at my jokes!

All in all, it was a busy and productive day.  To ‘celebrate’ our successes, we went to the Pub for dinner, saw more friends and enjoyed Brian O’Connor’s music along with a great meal.  Even a ride on a bicycle couldn’t have been better!