- Oysterville School: OCC Meeting Place
The rumor mill seems to thrive on this peninsula and nowhere is it more productive than in Oysterville, or so it seems to me. Usually I find the ‘guzz ‘n gossip’ entertaining at best; time-wasting at worst. Sometimes there is a bit of truth to what is being said but more often than not the information is twisted and not in a good way.
Yesterday I heard the latest rumor about Nyel and me. It seems we are planning a ‘take-over’ of the Oysterville Community Club. Whew! It sounded like we were planning a military coup. (Well, we do have a cannon in our garden – but that’s another story.) The interesting part of this rumor is that we do not even belong to the Oysterville Community Club and haven’t for several years. And therein lies the basis for the rumor, or so I believe.
A month or so ago, one of our neighbors (who does belong to the OCC) told me that the club was making an outreach effort and asked if we wouldn’t rejoin. I told her we’d be glad to but we haven’t received any sort of dues renewal notice for a couple of years and it’s one of those out-of-sight-out-of-mind-things. We’d like to be supportive, though we wouldn’t be going to any of their get-togethers or meetings which are Fridays, a day that we are always otherwise occupied. End of conversation.
A few days later I happened to see the secretary of the OCC at the post office and I asked him how much the dues were and should they be sent to him. He told me $20 and to P.O. Box 21. End of conversation.
I still haven’t gotten around to sending the dues. And now the rumor is that Nyel and I are planning to rejoin in order to take over. I repeat: whew! So, now I’m wondering if we should rejoin or not. We probably will – just to see what new rumor surfaces as a result.
Ha! Like you and Nyle have nothing more going on in your lives than to stage a take over of the town community club! Clearly the rumor mongers clearly have too much time on their hands. My friend Christopher has always said that you could start a rumor in Ocean Park, get in your car and it would get to Ilwaco before you did.
I agree with your friend, Christopher! About 15 years ago (while I was still teaching) the school district had a workshop concerning emergencies and what we were to do should one occur during school time. The focus, of course, was a tsunami. The workshop leader asked us, “What would you folks in Ocean Park do if all communication on the peninsula was knocked out and you needed to communicate with the district office in Ilwaco?” Before I could stop myself I blurted, “Start a rumor.” It got a big laugh from the teachers but was certainly not appreciated by the visiting experts. But, I was halfway serious.
Sidney,when you send in your dues, you should tack on an extra ten dollars as a donation. It will certainly feed new theories of what you and Nyle are planning!
Great idea, Mark! Thanks!
The way of all small towns the coutnry and probably the world over. I grew up in the midwest and dynamics were the same. As you say; most of the time amusing and on occasion annoying. And, I find it interesting that in situations like you explain the preprators give you that much power that you don’t even want.
Nice running into you yesterday at the PO in Oysterville.