# 106 - April 16th, 2008

Greetings one and all… Lo and behold! - I received a kind invitation to attend a “bbq and beer bash” up amongst the hill-dwellers on Signal Ridge. I was asked to bring something to drink and everything else would be provided – this was not to be a Pot Luck per se. The hosts had taken care of everything, which included four different smokers containing a variety of meats and a keg of beer, along with some delicious wines. Naturally guests brought some drinks and snacks, although it was not expected, and it was a lovely affair with plenty of everything for everyone. As one guest wisely observed, “Pot Luck, Schmot Luck –smoked meats and a keg is the way to go!”…
Meanwhile, I’ve no doubt that you locals are enjoying April’s Valley vistas? It really is getting to the most beautiful time of year with the blossoms approaching full bloom and the long, sunny days gradually outnumbering the cloudy and wet ones, although it must be said it’s still chilly in the early a.m. The baseball season has begun and our local High School heroes are playing well, the Junior High Soccer team are winning games, the Pot Lucks are about to take over our social lives, and just around the corner it’s the Wild Flower Show, the opening of the Boonville Farmer’s Market, and The A.V. Beer Festival. Where else would you rather be?...
What’s missing? Oh, yes, let’s have a The Valley Quiz, shall we?... Answers at the end…
1. The 26th Annual Boontling Classic foot race will be run on May 4th this year. What is the distance of the course?
2. As mentioned above, The Wild Flower Show is also coming up – April 26th/27th – but when did this event first take place. I’ll give you three choices…
a) 1926 b) 1946 c) 1966
3. Many of you may be aware that the first white settler in The Valley was Walter Anderson and his family in 1852, but who was the second settler and his family?
The “Sombrero Six” story will not go away with further comments on this topic appearing last week in the A.V.A. I have spoken to a couple of people who were on the trip to Mexico and, whilst there was a little “naughtiness” and some disciplinary measures were necessary on their return, the reaction of some here in the Valley has, in my humble opinion, been a little melodramatic. Future trips should perhaps be planned to include more viable chaperoning options but a little teenage drinking in Mexico, a society/culture where this is perfectly normal, is not the terrible sin that some see it as. Hopefully as much effort would be made in dealing with some of the real problems confronted by so many high school kids – the increase in methamphetamine use, early-teen pregnancies, and inappropriate relationships between predatory adults and unsuspecting children, to name just three…
Now it’s on to The Wine of the Week…At the above-mentioned gathering I found myself devouring a plate of superbly smoked pork ribs, brisket, prime rib, sausage, accompanied by David Norfleet’s potato salad with artichokes and his delicious smoked yams. It was the best feast of the year-to-date, and that includes the two Crab Feeds I attended! To wash these down, a keg of the Anderson Valley Brewery’s Poleeko Gold Pale Ale was tapped and it worked perfectly in tandem with the aforementioned culinary delights. Yes, folks, Poleeko Gold is the “wine” of the week and it is excellent with smoked meat I can assure you!…
Now, as it so often does, that brings me very nicely to The Whine of the Week… On many occasions in the past I have been known to be a “light on my feet”! Not in the gay/homosexual sense, but in the “good dancer” sense - just ask Hummingbird. Anyway, I have never understood why one particular group of individuals who seem to do lots of dancing are almost always not very good at it. I am obviously referring to Hippies. I once again witnessed this ‘phenomenon’ a couple of weeks ago in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and, whilst I’m sure they were having fun, their twirling, swirling, herky-jerky, off-balance, seizure-like movements completely lack any sort rhythm whatsoever, and the majority appeared to have some sort of physical disability. There are exceptions of course, mainly the lithe young women performing some exquisite belly dancing, but they are few and far between…None of this is of any consequence of course and it’s hardly worth a “Whine of the Week, but I just wanted to share. For those still reading this, I blame Jerry Garcia for my ‘pain’ – I imagine some of you will sympathize…
I’ll get my coat and go shall I?...Be careful out there, stay out of the ditches, think good thoughts, and may your god go with you…Oh, and of course, one last very important thing, “Let us prey”…Humbly yours, Turkey Vulture…
You can contact me with words of support/abuse by e-mail at
Quiz answers…
1. The Classic is a 5 Kilometer race and following my recent diet the chances of me winning this year are very “slim”.
2. The Wildflower Show first took place in 1926.
3. The second family to arrive and settle was that of “J.D.” Ball – named after Jefferson Davis, leader of the Confederacy. The Ball Family arrived late in 1852.