# 82 - October 24th, 2007

Greetings one and all…Had enough rain for now? As everyone says, “we needed it”, although a few days of warm sunshine this week will be welcome break before the winter arrives. Listen to me! What a whiner! It’s not like we live in Minnesota or something is it? In fact, I’ll see you on my deck for a Bloody Mary in the sunshine on Christmas Day!...
Oh, there’s one other issue I wanted to mention at this point. It could even be The Whine of the Week…To you visitors to The Valley - please consider the fact that not everyone is out for a joyride at 35 mph, some of us are trying to work, so please follow the rules of the road - particularly California Vehicle Code #21656 – “Slower vehicles must pull over to permit passing”. Thank you in anticipation...

But I digress…Here’s the Turkey Vulture Quiz for this week…
1. What Native American tribe were the original settlers in The Valley?
2. What does the following Boontling (our local dialect) phrase mean? – “A kimmy and his wee tweed were treckin’ in the high shams near Boont”
3. Which Valley town was originally known as “Iteville”?

Quote of the Week…”A woman needs a man is like a fish needs a bicycle” – Feminist author Gloria Steinem. No argument from this Turkey Vulture in touch with his feminine side!...

Whine of the Week – Anti-Tele Snobs…I attended the “Knowledge and Trivia” Quiz at The Highpockety Ox in Boonville last Thursday evening and, apart from enjoying the company of many locals and numerous pints of Guinness, I learned from the “Film and Television” round of questions that TV’s cartoon family, “The Simpson’s”, had pets by the names of Santa’s Little Helper and Snowball II. Fifteen years ago I was at a quiz in San Francisco when the Quiz Master asked for the names of the Simpson Family members – Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Maggie. It is a sign of how this clever, cutting-edge, and often very funny program has entered the nation’s psyche that such a question cannot be asked today as it would be far too easy to answer for almost anyone…Unless, and this finally brings me to my point, the person is an “Anti-Tele Snob” (A.T.S.) who does not have a television and who, for some reason, lets people know this as often as they can. This is frequently said in such a way as to imply that by not owning or watching such a device this is some sort of sign of their intellectual superiority. It’s only my humble opinion of course, but I actually think that in many cases the opposite may be true. Their attitude shows a very narrow-minded perspective and I believe that if such people were to watch television, showing some discernment in their choices obviously, then they would discover there are many hours a week in which “The Box” is a source for interesting, informative, and intellectually stimulating entertainment, whether it be in the form of drama or documentary, humor or sports, news or cultural programming…Come on, A.T.S.’s, step down from your ivory towers and “turn on and tune in” – you might just enjoy yourselves a little and in all likelihood even learn something…

Wine of the Week…Well not a wine this week but beer instead – Guinness in fact! This superb stout from Ireland is poured at both The Ox and The Lodge in Boonville and it’s a marvelous pint at each establishment – if poured correctly. That is, in two stages, with the first two-thirds poured followed by a break until the beer settles and then topped of with the final third - the perfect pint taking 119 seconds to pour. Trust me on this, you’ll thank me later…However, a few stores in The Valley sell the black and white nectar in cans (the bottles are not nearly as good) and whilst it’s not quite the “real thing”, it comes pretty close when poured into a glass. Sipping this with an egg and bacon (the platter bacon from the deli at Lemon’s Market in Philo is excellent) sandwich and you might well believe that you’re in Ireland sitting next to the Blarney Stone with not a care in the world…and yer gotta like that!

Back to reality, I’m afraid… Last week in these pages I thoroughly enjoyed the excellent report by the A.V.A.’s brain trust of Anderson and Scaramella on the “Big Dig” that is taking place at the Philo end of Anderson Valley Way under the direction of William “Bill” Hill and his business empire. I met Bill when, unbelievable as it may sound to some regular readers, I was sober and he wasn’t. We had an interesting yet one-sided chat during which he informed me, as wealthy people so often do after a drink or ten, that he was very wealthy. He added that he wanted to get involved in a business in downtown Boonville. Apparently, when he’s not digging massive holes, amongst other things he is a winemaker at Bighorn Cellars in Napa. Really? Anyway, when I got my one sentence in, informing him that I am an observer of The Valley, he gave me his business card and asked me to get in touch if I heard of any “opportunities” for him to get in on the “local scene”. I will not be doing so. Like many others I do believe that a bank, a pharmacy, and a ‘proper’ Pizza parlor (nothing at all like the recent “joke” that was Lumberjack Pizza) would all be of benefit to The Valley…Also perhaps even a small, affordable, tastefully designed, single-storey, owner-operated motel (a “dirty” word to some, I know, but if it means less drunk-drivers on our roads late at night then surely it’s a good thing). Having said that, Billy Big Bucks would not be my choice to be a part of any of these enterprises and, by the sound of it, not many other people’s either. . But that’s just my opinion and I could be wrong…

Once again, I’ve run out of space just as I was getting going. Never mind there is always next week. It just remains for me to suggest that you think good thoughts, stay out of the ditches, and in the meantime, let us prey…Humbly yours…Turkey Vulture…..
You can contact me with your comments of support/abuse, or anything else for that matter, either through the Letters Page of the A.V.A. or e-mail me at…turkeyvulture1@earthlink.net
Quiz Answers…
1. The Pomo Indians
2. “A man and his small son were driving along in the mountains near Boonville”
3. Navarro (or Wendling) - on account of the early settlers at that end of The Valley being mainly of Italian descent…