# 86 - November 21st, 2007

Greetings one and all...I hope I find you well and about to enjoy what is, in my humble opinion, the best holiday of the year. Yes, good readers, Thanksgiving is clearly the most enjoyable, particularly if you are someone like me who enjoys eating and drinking to excess, with a little football thrown in for good measure, and no gift-giving hype beforehand. It’s the perfect day and I wish you all a very enjoyable one…With that in mind, this week’s Turkey Vulture Quiz is devoted to ‘Turkey Day’…Answers at the end…
1. How many people were aboard the Mayflower when it landed at
Plymouth Rock? a) 35 b) 88 c) 102
2. What color was ‘taboo’ to the new settlers and never worn?
a) Red b) Blue c) Purple d) Orange
3. How much food at the first Thanksgiving held by the Pilgrims was from supplies brought from England?
a) None b) Some dry crackers c) Flour and salt d) All of it
4. What is America’s favorite dessert on Thanksgiving?
a) Sweet Potato Pie b) Pecan Pie c) Pumpkin Pie

Now on to yet another argument against ‘Tit’ (‘Television is Trash’) Talk…Once again H.B.O. (which claims correctly that “it is not T.V.”) showed what an invigorating experience sitting in front of a television can actually be if you pick the right channels. I watched “Real Time” with host Bill Maher the other day and his brief interview with former World Chess Champion, Gary Kasparov, was fascinating. Kasparov is currently the ‘opposition’ leader in Russia, if there is such a thing under Vladimir Putin’s oppressive regime, and he was quite brilliant. Listening to a politician who can think on his feet, answer questions precisely and with substance, and also throw in some wit and insights, all in his second language, was most refreshing…He was followed on the program by John Edwards, arguably the best this country can offer in these terms amongst those running for President. He was good but he’s no Kasparov…
Following this program I flicked through a couple of channels before landing on a program that was about the Irish dance phenomenon, Riverdance, starring the light-on-his-feet Michael Flattley and tens of red-faced, often freckled, young Irish women. Riverdance, for those unaware, is a style of dancing that involves much movement of the lower extremities and very little of the upper – sort of tap-dancing for the armless. It is no doubt very skilful, but most odd, and after a few minutes I was bored and thought, “this is what happens when you isolate white people on an island for a thousand years!”…
Moving swiftly on…Here’s the latest contribution to my mailbox from my biggest fan - ‘Confused of Comptche, California’…”Dear Turkey Vulture, I read with interest that the U.S Air Force has decided to replace the nude paintings of popular topless models on the side of their bombers with plain silhouettes for fear of offending the thousands of Muslims they are currently bombing the s*** out of. I wholeheartedly applaud this display of sensitivity to another culture”…I couldn’t agree more…
I am reliably informed that last week’s I.C.W. (Independent Career Women) meeting was the best-attended gathering for this group in years. This group, apart from it’s monthly meetings for dinner and a post-meal ‘lecture’, give an annual scholarship to the most deserving High Scholl senior girl…It wasn’t that long ago when it was quite common for just fifteen to twenty members to show up but, with a surge in membership over the past year or two, many of whom are in their thirties, forties, and fifties, now joining the loyal and intrepid seniors who have been the group’s mainstay for a long time, and under the guidance of Chairwoman Mary Pat Palmer, Secretary Terry Ryder, and Treasurer Arlene Bloom, they get upwards of fifty in attendance…Who knows, perhaps I will be invited to attend their Christmas Party – surely there can’t be many more interesting ‘crews’ to hang with and this is clearly a hot ticket!
Another ‘hot ticket’, at any time, is a band featuring Pilar Duran, Kevin Owens, Rod DeWitt, and Raul Duran. The first three have been playing together for nearly thirty years in one form or another, and when they played at The Ox in Boonville on Saturday night, as The Rock Slingers, they were as good as ever. At one point, following a superb guitar solo by Pilar during their cover of “Free Bird”, originally by Lynyrd Skynyrd, long-time bartender Todd Capuzelo commented, “that’s the best guitar solo ever heard in this building.” He may well have been right…
Finally this week, I was very pleased to be able to attend the end-of-season party for the Boys Soccer team on Sunday afternoon at the High School cafeteria. Many of the player’s mothers had prepared a delicious “Fiesta Mexicana” and the players, their families, and numerous friends and fans, all had a wonderful time. The afternoon was capped off by Coach Smith’s brief speech honoring this season’s seniors, the first such group to win three League Championships in succession. ”Well done” to all concerned…
On a more serious note, with Jesse recovering from his injuries suffered in Iraq, allow me to pass on the best wishes of many in The Valley to the Slotte Family at this difficult time…
May I suggest that you think good thoughts and, on this wonderful holiday, eat, drink, be merry, and try to give a thought for those less fortunate…Be careful out there...
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. c) There were 102 people who landed; two had died on the journey…
2. c) Purple – the color worn by British royalty – the people they were trying desperately to get away from…
3. a) None – Is this the first ‘dissing’ (‘disrespecting’, for those not up with the current lingo) of English food on record?
4. b) Pecan Pie is the most popular, although I prefer Squished Squirrel Pie myself…