We had dinner with the Earl of West Seattle the other night. That is Earl Cruzen, of course, and his Lady Ada.

In fact, it was at the annual South Seattle Community college auction fund raiser and somehow Earl had wangled table No. 1. We sat next to Kay Knapton and her husband Jim Beley. I have been to a lot of these functions but never one bigger.

Earl is pretty exalted himself so I was not too surprised they honored him .He has been Mr. West Seattle for many years and deserves a bronze statue some place on the campus. Maybe right next to scores of others like Marjorie Alhadeff, Sally Brotman and Lincoln Ferris to name several of an amazing group of dedicated believers in this community's dynamic college.

We have known Dr. .Jill Wakefield, ever since she started working for the college, bringing news releases into the Herald office . She is a great success story herself . She was such a bubbling personality then, singing the praises of our school, and has not changed her tune, only now she sings louder and more people are listening. She stood up on the stage and I watched this young leader with great pride in my heart at what a remarkable accomplishment this school has become and what a tribute it is to the caring West Seattle residents who made it possible.

I could not hear a word Dr. Wakefield was saying. That crowd, which seemed like the Superbowl was about 350 people and was there to have a good raucous time. I had to remove my hearing aids. I saw a lot of spirited waving of bid cards and the army of believers contributed a generous hefty bundle to the cause. Something like $113,000 .Wow.

But this was not a rubber chicken event. Oh, no. Our table was covered with wine goblets and for every course of a gourmet offering a special wine arrived to go with it.

The dinner was called Gifts from the Earth and was created by 15 of the finest local chefs directing a raft of culinary arts students and chefs from places like the Columbia Tower or Salish Lodge. Likewise, the wines came from 30 Washington wineries, served by 19 sommeliers.

As you can tell, this was a huge event, a mammoth undertaking, produced by at least 200 hundred people. It was obviously a sell out, a rollicking financial success. I saw a lot of familiar faces. Like Aurlo Bonney. He is so big I could see him clean across the teeming hall. Big heart. too.

Earl has good reason to be proud of the quality of the culinary arts program that is a cornerstone of the curriculum there. It was a memorable feast. And as president of the College Foundation, he felt responsible for showing us a good time. He wanted to make sure I liked the Caramelized Onion Tart, the Rock Prawn Spaetzle, the Butternut Squash and the Gala Apple Soup.

I told him they were all pretty good, and those kids can really cook, though I wasn't too impressed with the Juniper Crusted Arctic Char. It was a little more spicy than they serve at the Charleston Cafe. I couldn't pronounce the rest of the miraculous treats, but everybody at our table seemed to like them, and may even serve them at home. Elsbeth said she loved the Maruno Roasted Pork Loin, until I told her I believed it was Honey Glazed Duck Breast, whereupon she burst into tears.

I was confounded, until she said she could not help thinking about Dewey Thoreau, one of our pet ducks that flew off one day for a fling with a flock of his web-footed brethren who came soaring overhead and never came back. He probably fell in love with a Mallard from Ballard.

I dried her tears and we drove home.

If we are invited next year, we will go but I will not bring Dewey Thoreau up.

Jerry is busy golfing to wear off some of the pounds from the big dinner, but he can be reached at wseditor@robinsonnews.com