# 102 - March 19th, 2008

Greetings one and all…Firstly, I must apologize to everyone left confused and/or disappointed by the fact that the date of The St. Pat’s Day Dinner to benefit the Senior Center turned out to be Sunday, March 16th – St. Paddy’s Eve. I had informed you in last week’s column that the event was to be this coming Saturday, March 22nd. That is what I had been reliably told by one of the organizers and also how it appears in the A.V. Grange Newsletter’s Calendar of Events. Apparently they later decided to not go with the 22nd (it’s Easter Weekend) and brought it forward six days to the 16th, still wishing to avoid the popular St. Pat’s event in Elk on Saturday, 15th – the original reason to move it in the first place. Is that clear now? Hopefully people made it to the event on Sunday and nobody is too disappointed. I’m sorry for any confusion…
There’s been so much going on around here that I’ve neglected some of the regular features of the column of late…Let’s begin to put that right immediately with The Turkey Vulture Valley Quiz…
1. At the last official count, what is the population of Navarro?
2. Who is the current owner of the gas station in Philo?...And who were the previous owners?
3. And, going all the way back to the beginning of Anderson Valley’s non-native American history, what were the names of the only two white families that were settled in the Valley between 1852 and 1855?

Now I think it’s about time we had a Quote of the Week - an appropriate one given that it is St. Patrick’s…”Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy” – non-other than one of the truly great Americans, Benjamin Franklin. What a great man!!

On to some words of advice from my #1 Fan – Confused of Comptche, who this week explains how we can all help to combat the terrorist threat around these parts…“I can't see what all the fuss is over the latest bugging row. Infringing someone's civil liberties by listening in to a conversation is a small price to pay for public safety and we should thank the security services rather than criticizing them. In fact we must all do our bit and remain vigilant if we are to defeat the terrorist menace in our midst. I myself rent out a small apartment to two female exchange students and I have installed surveillance equipment in the shower in case either of them goes in there to make a bomb of some sort.”…Err, thanks for your words of advice…err…keep up the good work, I suppose…

I must take a moment to recommend that you try to stop by Lauren’s restaurant in the next month or so to see the current art/clothing on display - the work of local designer/artist/seamstress Helen Papke, one of the ‘Cheesecake Crew’ who have been “doing their thing” in the Valley for many years. Helen is from a family that has been making clothes from an assortment of materials for many generations. Her current offerings are unique and present many “one-of-a-kind” jackets, tops, bags, and miscellaneous items. Opening night took place last Friday and there was a good turnout, particularly from the women of the Valley (“where were the men-folk?” I wondered), and hopefully Helen will sell plenty of her very reasonably priced works. The show runs until late April but don’t delay, her stuff might just sell out…

I left this event and walked into The Lodge for a beer and was greeted by a group of several men whose wives were at the art show at Lauren’s! Question answered – the women were gathered at the artistic event, whilst the men drank in the bar – things haven’t changed for centuries…The men were part of a lively happy hour scene that saw most of the barstools occupied as were quite a few of the tables in The Grill. Owner Tom Towey has certainly done a fine job over the past couple of years and the atmosphere was very friendly and welcoming. The pint of Guinness and fish and chips were pretty good too!...

Anyway, wherever you ended up, I hope your St. Paddy’s was full of good cheer and fine beer. I decided to have a “good drink” on Monday and managed to resist the temptation of the “very good drink” that I have had on this day for more years than I care to remember…As I may have mentioned before, due to the number of “amateurs” out in force on this day I am no fan of the way St. Paddy’s is celebrated in many quarters. In fact, on many a St. Pat’s, when confronted by an obnoxious drunk, I have been heard to growl “Kiss my ass, I’m Irish” rather than the more acceptable version. I should point out that in Ireland itself, until the Americanization of that fair isle over the past decade or so, St. Paddy’s has always passed with relatively mild celebrations or small parades, or at the most a fine meal and a “good drink” - which was just how I spent mine. Honestly!...

Time to go…Be careful out there, stay out of the ditches, think yours, Turkey Vulture… good thoughts, and may your god go with you…But first, “Let us prey”…Humbly yours, Turkey Vulture…
You can contact me with words of support/abuse by e-mail at turkeyvulture1@earthlink.net
Quiz Answers…
1. There are 67 Deep Enders who officially live in the town of Navarro…
2. Chris Tompkins is the main man at Philo’s gas station…Art and Sony Hatcher were there before him. All very good at their job, I should add…
3. Those first white settlers were the Andersons, led by Walter, and the family of J.D. Ball. What must they have thought?