# 88 - December 5th, 2007

Greetings one and all…And how are your umbrellas holding up?...Better than the roof here at The Nest I hope, but that’s a story for another day…Meanwhile, here’s this week’s Turkey Vulture Quiz…(answers at the end)…
1. Where in The Valley is the area known in the past as Vinegar Hill?
a) On Hwy 253 b) Signal Ridge c) Peachland Road
2. Who wrote the following ‘Anderson Valley-based books?
a) Walking Tractor b) Boonville
3. What was the significance of the Redwood Classic Basketball tournament held at the high school last weekend?

And swiftly on to the Quote of the Week...”Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy” – No, it wasn’t Archie Bunker, nor Homer Simpson…These words of wisdom were uttered by non other than, Benjamin Franklin – a great American, I think you would agree, not least because of this little gem…
And it provides an almost perfect segue to…The Wine of the Week…A good friend of mine, who wishes to remain anonymous for that very reason, is one The Valley’s finest abalone divers and once again he came up with the goods last week. Furthermore he shared his secret recipe for cooking it and together we prepared a sumptuous meal. Of course such an event should include a fine wine and on this occasion I opened a bottle of Pinot Noir brought home to The Nest by Hummingbird from the Esterlina Winery up at the top of Holmes Ranch Road…The secret recipe is quite simple, often the best way, I say – the abalone is removed from the shell, the ‘funny’ stuff discarded, and the rest hammered and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices, before being smothered in a batter mix of eggs, pulverized Ritz crackers, salt, and pepper and then sautéed in butter for about thirty seconds on each side. (Don’t tell Olie Erickson I shared this with you - oops!)…The combo of wine and abalone was perfect and the sensation of them in my mouth at the same time was, as I’ve often said in ‘The Wine of the Week’, “orgasmic” – the abalone season is just over but if you do get a chance to try it, let me know if it was as good for you as it was for me…Next week perhaps I’ll share Olie’s super secret recipe for crab – the season has just started and once again, he’s ‘The Man’…
The Whine of the Week…The phones went down at The Nest last week. I reported the problem but the best response I could get was that a technician would be here between 8am and 7pm the next day. I know many of you have experienced this ridiculous scenario yourselves but I am tired of hearing it so I suggested that the technician call my cell phone with an update on this 11-hour window when they knew more about their work day, maybe narrowing it down to “between 3pm and 7pm” or whatever. Any information would be useful and perhaps allow a frustrated customer to get something done that involves leaving the house for a short time on the day in question. I was told, rather abruptly, that this could not be done. On further questioning there was no reason for this despite the person on the line accepting the fact that such a policy would be useful. It’s pathetic and too many people will undoubtedly be forced to deal with this situation in the upcoming months. Why can’t the technician call ahead with a rough update?...I think we should be told….

‘A Wednesday Walkabout’…Quite an adventure last week as I checked out numerous people and places in The Valley…I stopped first at the Anderson Valley Inn just outside Philo on Hwy 128. It’s looking great these days and anyone with friends visiting and needing a reasonably priced, well-appointed, and delightfully yet simply designed room should consider this option…On to the high school where I bumped into Athletic Director Robert Pinoli busily preparing for the Redwood Classic Basketball tournament. He was confident the A.V. team would give a good account of itself but with a squad primarily made up of soccer players, he knew that team height would be a factor. And so it proved when they bravely went down 60-61 with their lack of rebounding being a huge factor in the loss…Next up was a brief visit to the Dump, usually a highlight of the week. This week was no exception and Smiling Bill had his hands full with a virtual gridlock situation. He sorted it out and could justifiably claim to have earned his daily wage in just 30 minutes…
Onward in to downtown Boonville…I stopped in at the hotel and walked around the ground floor, checking out the ‘gift shop’ and the kitchen, as well as the reception area, restaurant, and bar. There wasn’t a soul in sight. Having helped myself to various items from the fridge and wine collection, I made a hasty exit…No, I didn’t, I actually returned a little later (after 3pm) and bought a wonderful shower head from the gift shop. It’s ‘state of the art’, as ‘they’ say, and I can’t recommend it enough – it gets all the carcass leftovers off my head in no time…Over to the Ferrer Building where I enjoyed a gabfest with all the ‘obvious suspects’ - Ed at Buddy’s Ice Cream Shop, Sandy and Karen at Bates/Mailliard Mercantile, Leslie at All that Good Stuff, Colleen and Sharon at Mosswood, and even Major Scaramella at the A.V.A. Bunker – yes, despite the vicious rumors, he is actually quite an interesting fellow. What a good group of people, all working hard, yet each making the time to stop and have a brief chat – even with me! It made for a very stimulating afternoon in the heart of The Valley…and yer gotta like that…
Finally this week, here’s the most recent offering from my biggest fan, ‘Confused of Comptche, California’…”Dear T.V., A distant cousin of mine, whose daughter was hospitalized in a tornado in Tennessee a few weeks ago, told me that ‘God would make her better.’ Presumably, that's a different God from the one that almost killed her with the tornado in the first place?”…I’m just as “confused” as you are on this one, my friend…
On that note, it’s time to go…The roads are tricky so be careful out there; stay out of the ditches; and may your god go with you, tornados or not…Now I really must go, but first - let us prey…
Humbly yours…Turkey Vulture…
You can contact me with words of support/abuse either through the Letters Page or by e-mail at
Quiz Answers…
1. Vinegar Hill is up on the Philo-Greenwood Road, in the vicinity of Signal Ridge Road…
2. a) Bruce “Pat” Patterson b) Robert Mailer Anderson
3. It was the 50th…and “No”, our current Athletic Director has not attended every one, although he has done a wonderful job with organizing many of them…