#28 - July 13th, 2005

By 5pm last Thursday I was ready for a drink. I had spent most of the day tuned into the BBC and CNN, watching their reports on the barbaric acts committed in London. I had phoned a couple of my friends over there to make sure they were o.k. and it was now time to head into Boonville and the Brewery Tasting Room "Bar". Just a few of the Brewery employees were in attendance and the conversation soon turned to the day's tragic events in England. One of those enjoying an after work "Early" was WDan, from our local public radio station KZYX & Z (90.7 FM), and he wisely pointed out that it was always the religious fanatics who were responsible for terrorist atrocities in today's world. "You never get an atheist who is responsible for these terrible acts", he said with a wry smile…and he's absolutely right of course…It is not known at the time of writing who is actually responsible for the attacks but I think we all have a good idea. Call me crazy but my guess is that this isn't the work of a fundamentalist Buddhist cell based somewhere in the hills of north Wales, but one never knows I suppose...
Due to past attacks over many years by the I.R.A. there exists in English cities a somewhat constant state of alertness amongst the populace. They are very cognizant of packages left unattended in public places and apparently over the years a number of tragedies have been prevented by alert and diligent members of the public. However, in a City of many millions of people going about their business, it is virtually impossible to spot every suspicious article and there would appear to be no guaranteed way of preventing an act of terror from happening if those carrying it out are determined to do so …..
We sipped our beers in a somewhat subdued atmosphere. The topic for discussion eventually turned to Frisbee golf as we spotted a couple of guys playing on the course set up outside in the Brewery grounds. It's a sport with quite a following in the Valley and particularly amongst the Brewery 'Gang' and their friends. However, at the risk of upsetting a few of my drinking buddies, I have to share with you all another of those 'Universal Truths' - "Its impossible to look cool whilst picking up a Frisbee". I'm sorry to have to point this out to the 'Frisboys' but surely they already suspected that this might be the case... On a related topic, it's also a commonly held point of view, so I've been told by those who know about these sort of things, to believe that the vast majority of male co-ed Frisbee (not Frisbee golf) players would rather be playing on a male sports team of some sort but they are just not good enough. In the meantime co-ed Frisbee provides them with the only opportunity most of them are going to get to pick up women…Obviously, I couldn't possibly comment …..
A few days later I spotted this gem in the Personals page - "Devil-worshipper, Philo area, seeks like-minded lady, for wining and dining, good conversation, dancing, romantic walks, and slaughtering cats in cemeteries at midnight under the flinty light of a pale moon"....It takes all sorts, I suppose…..
"Hard to believe" #16 - President Bush delighted an intimate gathering of White House dinner guests on Monday evening, regaling the coterie of dignitaries, artists, and friends with a spirited, off-the-cuff discussion of the Roman poet Virgule's lesser-known works" - as reported in The Onion Magazine…..
Classical poets mentioned in the Turkey Vulture column ??…Yes, dear reader, and we shall continue the discussion in this high-brow vein - particularly refreshing, I'm sure you'll agree, after the smutty depths to which this column sank last week. With that in mind, we'll keep to the 'Classic poet' theme for this issue's Word (or phrase) of the Week... I've chosen, "Even Homer nods" - this is a very "clever" / pompous way of saying, "Even the great ones make mistakes" - Homer being a classic poet who is regarded as one of the most brilliant to ever put pen to paper. It's a phrase frequently used by a Latin scholar friend of mine from many years ago when I hung out with such types trying to be clever.....
Anyway, in those days, having swooped down and picked up some fresh carrion from the road, I would on rare occasions drop the feast on my way back to The Nest. Whenever this happened in my friend's presence he would always comment, " Even Homer nods, Cathartes Aura" (Latin for Turkey Vulture)… ('That's enough of this Latin crap' - Editor)... This is a perfect example of the phrase being put to its correct use as I rarely dropped my dinner, I can assure you…As for other instances, maybe some of you have heard "Even Homer nods" uttered by your local bartender when you've spilt beer down the front of your shirt…Some associates of mine may have overheard it from my own beak when I have opened up my Super Chicken Burrito and found that the usually very efficient Moya's Taco stand in downtown Boonville has forgotten to add the sour cream…Anyway that's enough Latin / Classical Poet references for the week. This little column only cost you about two cents and that's all the "intellectual stimulation" you are going to get from this source for that price …
Ideally I'd now like to get back to the irreverence which usually dominates my efforts each week but the events in London and the continuing, and more frequent, stories of atrocities in Iraq seem to be more on my mind at this time. Therefore, I think it appropriate for me to just leave you with some of this week's comments from The Economist magazine's well-reasoned, always knowledgeable, and frequently very insightful, editorial pages….
"Once it had happened, it produced an awful feeling of inevitability. The series of terrorist attacks on London's Underground and bus systems at the end of the morning rush hour on July 7th were perhaps timed to coincide with the opening meetings of the G8 rich-country summit in Scotland. The fact that less than a day earlier London had been filled with jubilation at having won the race to host the 2012 Olympic Games may have given the perpetrators an extra dose of satisfaction. We shall never know, but nor, actually, should we care. Such a pointless display of brutality should instead bring forth two thoughts. One is that the surprise should be that this has not occurred sooner. The other is that such attacks should not, and will not, make any difference to the way Londoners live and work…
"The intelligence services in London offer unofficial estimates that Britain may be home to roughly 1,000 budding Islamist terrorists, or close supporters of them. George Bush has sometimes claimed that a silver lining to the cloud that forces are struggling through in Iraq is that at least the West's enemies are being fought there rather than at home. The attacks in London are a reminder that that view is as wrong as it is glib…
"No city can stop terrorists altogether…What can be said, though, is that terrorists are unable to stop cities, either. Perhaps an army, launching wave after wave of attacks, might succeed, especially if it were to deploy biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons. Short of that, cities will always bounce back quickly, after the initial shock. They are resilient organisms, with powerful social and economic reasons to shrug off terrorism. New York and Madrid both show that, triumphantly. The same will be true of London. Like all large modern cities it is vulnerable to disruption. Millions of people pour into or through the city every day making it easy to identify places to plant bombs and propagate fear. But that also makes the city adaptable. And there is no doubt that the experience of being attacked is likely to make Londoners more determined to resume their normal lives, not less…"
Be careful out there and may your god go with you…
Let us prey, kind regards, Turkey Vulture…..