Ready to Shuck

     Cars and RVs lined both sides of every street and lane in Oysterville yesterday and spilled back onto the highway, as well.  No one could give me a head count, but it looked to be the best attended Jazz & Oysters event in its twenty-five year history – a far cry from the 50 attendees I remember from year one.  Carlos and Sharon Welsh, J&O’s founders, should have been proud.
     The crowd was already gathering at 8:30 a.m. as I walked up to the Red House for the breakfast send-off for my newly-married cousins. By the time the sun drove away the morning mists, the day’s mellow mood was set by local jazz performers, the Merlot Tide.  By noon, the fragrance of sunscreen mingled with that of barbequed oysters and soon Pearl Jango took the stage for the afternoon.
     “How many people live here in Oysterville?” came the familiar question from a couple tucking their motorcycles into a space near our gate.
     “Thirteen full-timers at the last count,” I replied.
     “Wow!” said a listening passer-by.  “You guys must clean up from this event!”  And they all laughed and nodded in agreement.
     “Not really.  It’s a fund-raiser for the peninsula’s Water Music Festival,” I tried to say.  But, they were already headed for the school grounds and the music, convinced that Oysterville citizens were raking in the riches.
     Later, the neighbors and I were shaking our heads over that little misconception. “Maybe we should charge for parking.”  “Or maybe a head tax?”  Mostly, we talked about how great it is that Oysterville can be the setting for such a grand event each year.  And how doubly great it is that the crowds are courteous and that, so far anyway, our picket fences and shrubbery have remained unscathed.
     So, hats off to Jazz & Oysters – to the organizers, the musicians, and the attendees!  A class act once again!