# 184 - November 25th, 2009

Greetings one and all - if you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin... Happy Thanksgiving and a joyous ‘Turkey and Football Day’ to all! What a great day and a hearty “well done!” to whoever thought of it (?)... Family, friends, food, drink, and football – it doesn’t get much better than that – making this Mother-of-All national holidays my personal favorite. Meanwhile, as you sit around stuffed, recovering from the vast amount of food you’ve devoured, why not test yourself, and others perhaps, with the ‘Turkey Vulture Turkey Day Quiz’? Answers at the end...
1. How many people were aboard the Mayflower when it landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620?
a) 35 b) 88 c) 102 d) 145
2. At the first Thanksgiving which of the following was approved table manners? A) To eat with your hands b) To spit on the floor
c) To throw bones into the fire when done. d) All of these.
3.A. True or False. Thanksgiving is always the last Thursday of November 3.B. True or False. Indians attended the first Thanksgiving feast.
4. What is America’s favorite dessert on Thanksgiving?
a) Sweet Potato Pie b) Pecan Pie c) Pumpkin Pie
5. Which two teams in the N.F.L. traditionally play at home on every Thanksgiving – one since 1934, the other since the 70’s?
6. How many degrees can a Turkey see for?
a) 360 b) 270 c) 180 d) 90
7. One year after the pilgrims had arrived at Plymouth Rock half of them had died. So, as they sat down to the first Thanksgiving, what was the ration of men to women at that historical event?
a) 2:1 b) 5:1 c) 9:1
8. Who pushed for the Turkey to be the nation’s national symbol?
a) Benjamin Franklin b) Abraham Lincoln
c) F.D.R. d) George W. Bush
9.A. True or False? Male Turkeys are the ones who make the gobbling sound. 9.B. True or False? The Pilgrims bought beer with them on the voyage to the New World.
10. Fish, fowl, peas, pumpkins, veal, beef, turkey...Which of these items was not on the very 1st Thanksgiving Day menu?
Obviously we need a relevant few words for The Quote of the Week and, with the eating part of the day being of paramount importance (although seeing friends and family does come a close second), what better sentiments than those uttered by English novelist and essayist, Virginia Woolf who brilliantly said, “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” – I can’t argue with that, nor would I even try. Eat, drink, and be merry!...
Talking of eating, drinking, and being merry, finally this week I want to pass on an important P.S.A. in the form of a heads-up that the Original Crab Feed is scheduled for Saturday, Feb 6th, 2010 at The Apple Hall in Boonville. I’m giving you plenty of notice because some of you may wish to give Xmas gifts to loved ones in the form of tickets and if so please contact organizer Gloria Ross at 895-3017. After Xmas, tickets for this special event, with its sumptuous crab feast, delicious local Pinot Noir from Esterlina Winery, the fun-filled social hour, and the always-popular raffle, will be on sale at various places throughout the Valley. This is the longest-running Crab Feed, it’s the Original one, and it’s a great Valley occasion, arguably the best local event of the year. It WILL sell out - you have been warned...
Well now I think it’s time to take my leave - I have to see a man about a turkey... Be careful out there and stay out of the ditches; think good thoughts; and may your god go with you. And if there was a day to indulge in at least two of the Seven Deadly Sins this is it – two of my favorites come to mind and I encourage you to join me in a healthy amount of Gluttony and sizeable portion of Sloth… Oh, and of course, one final request, “Let us prey”… Humbly yours, Turkey Vulture…
p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse at turkeyvulture1 @ earthlink.net
Quiz Answers...
1. c) 102. 2. d) All were acceptable – rather like Thanksgiving at The Nest where guests are encouraged to partake in each of these ‘manners.’
3.A. False – it’s always the 4th Thursday of November, even when November has five Thursdays. 3.B. True – easily outnumbering the Pilgrims, more than half of who had died over that first year.
4. c) Pumpkin Pie, although Freshly Squished Squirrel covered in a creamy entrails sauce is the pie of choice here at The Nest.
5. The Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys play at home on this day every year, which for the hapless fans of the Lions, in recent years anyway, has generally meant a miserable Thanksgiving.
6. A Turkey can see for 270 degrees around it. This would explain why you’ve had little luck when trying to creep up and capture a wild one for dinner. I suggest you just buy a fresh one from Lemons’ Market!
7. With only fifty-one survivors by the time of the first Thanksgiving Day Feast, the ration of men to women was 9:1 – there were just five women remaining! I couldn’t possibly comment.
8. Benjamin Franklin – a great man and a true visionary clearly.
9.A. True – females do not. 9.B. True – Yer gotta like that. 10. Beef.

# 183 - November 18th, 2009

Greetings one and all - if you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin...I thought it was a excellent Veterans Day gesture by The Boonville Lodge last week when they bought a drink for any Veteran who decided to drop by. Well done to all!... Talking of which, I am indebted to reader Donna Reilly for informing me of the gathering, on the same day, at the Veterans Memorial in the Evergreen Cemetery on Anderson Valley Way. I hope something happens again next year and rest assured I will remind you if there is...
And that brings me perfectly to more ‘stuff’ I need to remind you of - The Public Service Announcements... #131: The Vets from Mendocino Animal Hospital will be in the Valley for their monthly visit tomorrow, Thursday, Nov 19th. They are here at the A.V. Farm Supply north of Philo on Hwy 128 from 2pm to 3.30pm and you can sign up after 1pm on the day... #132: It’s the Dance Groove at The Grange this coming Friday, Nov 20th. My favorite Dance Groovette, Jennifer P., tells me that D.J. Jeff will be getting his groove on and all are welcome to join him from 7.30pm on. Donations are gratefully accepted; tailgate outside if you wish... #133: The final Barn Sale of the year is this Saturday/Sunday, November 21st/22nd at The Big Barn at the St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church Refectory on A.V. Way just north of Boonville from 9am to 3pm each day. The usual delicious and inexpensive burgers will be served and your Xmas gift buying can start right here!...
With dancing and grooving on my mind, I have no choice but to offer you, in the form of this week’s Quote of the Week, the very perceptive observation by Irish writer, George Bernard Shaw, who once said, “Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire.” Who am I to argue? See you at The Groove...
Moving quickly on... It’s time to inform you of another group of Valley folks in this week’s A.V. Who’s Who. On this occasion I am here to tell you exactly who does serve on the Community Services District (C.S.D.) - the group that makes decisions primarily about our Fire Department (yes, Chief Colin Wilson does have a boss!) but who also ‘govern’ the Recreation Committee, the Teen Center, and the Airport. They are: Chair – Andrea LaCampagna, Valerie Harelt, Kirk Wilder, Diane Paget, and Linda Klein, who will soon ‘retire’ and be replaced by Kathleen McKenna. It should be mentioned that Mark ‘So moved’ Scaramella of A.V.A. fame, also attends meetings but nobody seems to know exactly why, other than to keep Chief Wilson in line of course... (I kid the Major, I’m sure he does it very well, whatever it is).
Moving even more quickly on to an important topic under discussion this week at The Three-Dot Lounge, my favorite gathering place in the Valley at a location known only to ‘those in the know’...
... Once again disappointed regulars at The 3-Dot are preparing for another holiday without a community Christmas Tree. There never has been one according to my sources but surely there should be. A beautiful tree situated somewhere in downtown Boonville (The Fairground parking lot? Hotel parking lot? Somewhere else?), tastefully illuminated during a special lighting-up ceremony attended by Valley folks of all ages from all of our various communities, and visited by many others over the holiday period, would be a wonderful thing don’t you think? Most communities seem to have a group who are able to get it organized and we at The 3-Dot wondered what the Chamber of Commerce or Community Services District, amongst others, are doing over the next month?...
Oh, dear, have I upset somebody? Sorry - I’ll get my coat and leave. Be careful out there; stay out of the ditches; think good thoughts; and may your god go with you… Oh, and of course, one final request, “Let us prey”… Humbly yours, Turkey Vulture…
p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse at turkeyvulture1 @ earthlink.net
p.p.s. Hi, Silver Swan – behaving yourself? Hopefully not!
p.p.p.s. It’s not all glamour being a Turkey Vulture but we certainly do get many compliments. My favorite, which I’ve no doubt shared with you countless times before, comes from some scientist-type called Charles Darwin who said about us Turkey Vultures, “A disgusting bird whose bald scarlet head is formed to wallow in putridity” – Thank you, Mr. Darwin – I think you will go far in your field of study…

# 182 - November 11th, 2009

Greetings one and all - if you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin...Let’s take care of a couple of things before getting to the really important stuff...Public Service Announcements - #115: The monthly meeting of the I.C.W. (Independent Career Women) will take place next Wednesday, Nov 18th at Lauren’s at 7pm. I hope my invitation does not get lost in the mail yet again and meanwhile can only wonder to myself - ‘when will the men in this Women-Powered Valley get something similar organized?’... #116: An early heads-up that the Vets from Mendocino Animal Hospital will be in the Valley for their monthly visit next Thursday, Nov 19th. They will be at the A.V. Farm Supply north of Philo on Hwy 128 from 2pm to 3.30pm... #117: And another early warning for you - the final Barn Sale of the year will be on Saturday/Sunday, November 21st/22nd at The Big Barn at the St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church Refectory on A.V. Way just north of Boonville. More details next week... Now please read on...
Today, November 11th, is Veterans Day (Remembrance Day in Europe and Canada), rightfully regarded as a very important day for observance. This occasion marks the anniversary of the end of hostilities in World War One (the so-called “War to end all Wars” - if only it had been), which took place at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. It is not a day to celebrate victories but rather one to take a moment for remembrance of those who fought, and in many cases gave their lives, so that ours may be better. I’d like to share with you a few words from the very moving poem ‘For the Fallen’ by Laurence Binyon, written in 1924, that will allow you to reflect for a brief moment or two on this day. This four-line stanza is also known as ‘The Remembrance’...
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.”
And for this week’s edition of Anderson Valley Who’s Who I appropriately offer you the names of those who run the local branch of the American Legion. Keep up the good work and many thanks to all who served – Commander Ray Langevin, Adjutant Mark Fontaine, Sergeant-at-Arms Freda Fox, Vice Commander Brian Schreiner, Membership Secretary Larry Lombard, and Financial Officer Kirk Wilder...
The Quote of the Week – well, we’re not having a quote this week but rather a poem, or part of one. I thought it would be appropriate to include a poignant verse from the poem “Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori” (It is sweet and correct to die for one’s country) by World War One poet, Wilfred Owen, probably the finest war poet of all... Owen and others have suffered a gas attack by the Germans and are transporting a dying fellow soldier away from the front lines. The man’s suffering leads Owen to seriously question the persuasive argument for going to war that is often given to impressionable youth by those they may look up to...
“If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My Friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.”
Be careful out there...May your god go with you… Let us pray… Humbly yours, Turkey Vulture…
p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse at turkeyvulture1 @ earthlink.net

# 181 - November 4th, 2009

Greetings one and all - if you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin...Another slight error by yours truly last week when I incorrectly informed you that the final Barn Sale of the year had taken place at the usual venue just north of Boonville. No, no, no! There is to be one more, on Nov 21st – 22nd – the perfect time to purchase holiday gift bargains and to enjoy a pre-Thanksgiving burger, I’d say...
How was your Halloween? Hopefully you did not get caught up in the annual ‘Battle on the Streets of Boonville’ between The Zombies and The Angry Villagers, thankfully won once again by the Villagers. With their burning torches and sharpened pitchforks, the Villagers saved the town from those walking corpses who would no doubt have made things very difficult around here had they been victorious – certainly with their plans to ban all speed limits, bring in a Starbucks and a Taco Bell, invite outsiders to plant even more vines, and shockingly install Brewery Supremo ‘King’ Ken Allen as Mayor of Anderson Valley. It was a narrow escape and we have much to be thankful for...
With our freedom guaranteed for another year I think for the Quote of the Week we should bring in the famous words of Abraham Lincoln on this subject – “Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves.” I couldn’t have said it better myself! Thanks go to Abe, and the mighty ‘Angry Villagers’...
Some more do-gooders around here are featured in this week’s edition of the A.V. Who’s Who which introduces to you the board members of the Navarro River Resource Center, whose office is in downtown Boonville, in the building alongside Mosswood Market – Patty Madigan, Bill Taylor, Fred Martin, Linda MacElwee, Kirk Vodopals, and Joe Scriven...
Next Wednesday, November 11th, is Veterans Day (Remembrance Day in Europe and Canada) and surely a very important day for observance. This day marks the end of hostilities in World War One (the so-called “War to end all Wars” - if only it had been), which took place at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. It is not a day to celebrate victories but rather one for remembrance of those who fought, and in many cases gave their lives (and obviously many continue to do so), in the hope that ours may be better. If there is any form of remembrance/service/gathering for this reverential occasion here in the Valley please let me know. However, to my knowledge, there is no such service and that’s really too bad…
Moving quickly on to a couple of the topics under discussion this week at The Three-Dot Lounge - yes it’s “Moans, Groans, Good Thoughts, and Rampant Rumors” from my favorite gathering place in the Valley at a location known only to ‘those in the know’...
... When not sipping a drink or two at The 3-Dot, several regulars and myself have been enjoying the Friday evening scene at Alicia’s Restaurant in Boonville. With Alicia herself on the taco grill and some excellent Mariachi bands providing the entertainment, it’s the best flavor of real Mexico in the Valley, in my humble opinion, and I urge you to check it out sometime. Before anyone hops on their burro and rebukes me for putting Alicia’s above Libby’s, I am only saying it is more ‘Mexican’ than Libby’s, which does marvelous food obviously but which is actually more CalMex than the ‘real thing.’ Trust El Zopilote on this – or just ask any Mexican friend you may have...
... Latest news on the new tenants at the old Brewery building (formerly The Buckhorn and The Ox) seems to suggest that the downstairs is definitely to be ‘King’ Ken Allen’s whisky distillery (I’m serious) while upstairs it may be a new version of The General Store. At least that would mean my pizza idea would be enacted (although a basic cheese and/or pepperoni pie without all the ‘weird’ stuff would be nice) but there’s still no sign of that bank and pharmacy...
I’m outta here, I have to see a man about a sheep – I know you understand... Be careful out there; stay out of the ditches, think good thoughts, and may your god go with you… Oh, and of course, one final request, “Let us prey”… Humbly yours, Turkey Vulture…
p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse either by e-mail at turkeyvulture1 @ earthlink.net