# 93 - January 16th, 2008

Greetings one and all…Got your Crab Feed tickets yet?...Too late; they have sold out and you’ll have to wait until…Naaahhh, that’s just a cruel “joke”! - but they will certainly sell out. Tickets are available at numerous outlets in The Valley but my choice would be the One Horse Espresso coffee-stand in Boonville because you will definitely get a good cup of coffee and a smile when you buy your tickets. The Crab Feed is undoubtedly one of the best community events of the year in The Valley and it’s happening on Saturday, February 2nd. …You have been warned and can thank me later…
First up this week it’s the Turkey Vulture Quiz…(answers at the end)…
1. What is the important building on Hwy 128 in The Valley at the 27 mile-marker?
2. Which owner-operated business in Boonville first opened its doors in 1945?
3. Who is the author of the book, “Boonville”, published in 2003?
Now it’s a quick Quote of the Week…”It’s too bad that the people who know how to run the country are too busy driving cabs and cutting hair” – words not a million miles from the truth from comedian great, George Burns…
Wine of the Week…During last week’s storms, up here at The Nest Hummingbird came through with her superb French Onion Soup. Naturally a fine wine was needed to accompany such a culinary delight and we opened a bottle of Syrah from the Meyer Family Cellars on Hwy 128, a few miles south east of Boonville. Perrrrfect! Sitting in front of a roaring fire with the rain hammering on the roof and the wind howling, this pairing of food and wine was not only a “beautiful thing” but also as good an aphrodisiac as you can imagine. In fact as I removed…(continued on page 74)…
That’s enough of that…Let’s get quickly on to the Whine of the Week…Now you may think that only a miserable bastard like myself could possibly complain about the efforts made by PG & E during the inclement weather. You’re somewhat correct but I was not the only person who was frustrated by the fact that there was a distinct lack of power outage updates at one point when PG & E couldn’t get into their computers to give out the updates because they were out of power!?? I couldn’t possibly comment any further…
…But now it’s time for my report on the recent topics under discussion at my favorite restaurant…Yes, good readers, it’s “Good thoughts, rampant rumors, and a few moans and groans from
The 3-Dot Diner in The Valley”…
…(3 Dots, get it?)…The ‘usual suspects’ were all there sipping some strong, hot coffee and, not for the first time, the conversation turned to the subject of our “wild west” town and its lack of law enforcement. With this in mind one of the gang announced that he had been sitting at the bar in one of the local drinking establishments when suddenly a toast went up to charge your glasses and to drink to the memory of Sheriff Scott Nordin. Everyone within earshot did so. Nothing else needed to be said. It was a quiet, understated tribute to the man and surely there are not many places and sheriffs who deserved each other so much…
…Is there a worse advert on the radio than the one for the Ft. Bragg Party Works that is frequently heard on KZOT – 95.3, The Coast? Are they kidding us!!? It sound more like a commercial for a Funeral Director’s than a ‘Party’ store - pathetic…
…Our Chamber of Commerce was spotted having a meeting at Lauren’s Restaurant last Tuesday. One would hope that one of the topics under discussion was the Community Christmas Tree for Xmas 2008. Apparently, it’s never to early to plan such a thing; after all nobody has got it organized for at least 57 years according to one disgruntled local man…
…So our very own local Uncle Sam is predicted to become Mayor of Boonville according to the A.V.A.’s front-page prognostications for 2008 of clairvoyant, Suzi Starflower. May I be the first to say, “over Turkey Vulture’s dead body”…
…All this recent talk about art criticism in the Anderson Valley Advertiser (A.V.A.) forces me to repeat my mantra on the subject, one which should be held by many more people than it actually is – “I don’t know what I like but I do know art”…
…And what is this “rag”, The Anderson Valley Rag, the two-sided sheet with the recent ‘hits’ on the A.V.A.’s Supremo, Bruce Anderson? I know who is putting this out. I know where he lives. Hopefully nothing will happen to him…
…Must go; back to the finale of “Bird’s Eye View”…
This coming Monday is the day we observe Martin Luther King’s birthday and with the world facing so much chaos and uncertainty, and witnessing hatred, cruelty, and conflict in so many places, it certainly seems as appropriate as ever to pay heed to his words, “We must learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools”…
That’s all for now…Be careful out there, stay out of the ditches and think good thoughts, and may your god go with you…
Let us prey…Humbly yours, Turkey Vulture…
You can contact me with words of support/abuse by e-mail at
Quiz Answers…
1. A short way north of Boonville it’s the Anderson Valley Museum – a “must-do” for all Valley-dwellers at some point, may I suggest…
2. That would be Rossi’s Hardware store. Many thanks from many, I’m sure…
3. The author is Robert Mailer Anderson, who will be in the Valley in next week (Friday, Jan 25th) for the A.V. Film Festival screening of “The Making of ‘Pig Hunt”’ - the movie he made up here last summer…