# 228 - September 29th, 2010

Greetings one and all - if you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin... Following my ‘exploits’ at the Fair I will keep it relatively brief this week and so apart from these few quick Public Service Announcements (P.S.A.’s) to add to your calendars and a whine about a specific winery (for a change?), I shall leave you in peace...
P.S.A. #96 – The Vets from Mendocino Animal Hospital will be visiting the Valley twice in October. They will be at The Farm Supply north of Philo on Hwy 128 from 2pm on both the 7th and the 14th... #97 – Dinner and Bingo at The Senior Center is, as always, the 2nd Tuesday – October 12th, and the meal will be one of chef Natalie’s specialties – Chicken Fried steak... #98 – No Barn Sale in September; the next one will not be until October 30th/31st...
Not wishing to be just another Turkey Vulture with a surly attitude and whiney outlook, but I must just say that once again, this time in the early hours of last Wednesday morning, I was disturbed by the incessant grinding and creaking of machinery in the low hills of the Christine Woods/Floodgate region of the Valley. It’s now 6am as I sit here and write, wide-awake as the noise continues. I have lived, and slept, in many noises places - within ¼ mile of Spaghetti Junction in England (Europe’s largest freeway intersection); just a block from Interstate 75 on Detroit’s north side; deep in the heart of the high jinks campus of the University of Texas in Austin; and right in the center of San Francisco’s Western Addition neighborhood – all very loud and major noise polluting vicinities. Yet, perhaps because the Valley is so serene and peaceful so much of the time, my spring and summer this year has been the worst for sleep that I can ever remember. I am not the only one of course – there are many tired and disgruntled Valley folks like myself at this end of the Valley, and we all have Golden Eye Winery and its ‘Narrows Vineyard’ to ‘thank’ for that. It’s shameful and if they cared about the Valley and its residents those guys would do something about it. Apart from making money here, I guess the welfare of the Valley and its citizens is not a high priority for them. I’m not sure what else to say or do and for now this will be my final comment on this particular topic - my apologies to those who are already sick of it. I’m even boring myself at this point. Meanwhile, the ‘guilty’ can kiss my ugly, red, featherless head...
Well now I think it’s time to take my leave... With the warm, even hot, weather still with us, please remember to keep your windows cracked if you have pets in your vehicle... Otherwise, 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”… Poking and stroking egos wherever necessary and, as always, humbly yours, Turkey Vulture...
p.s. Keep the Faith...
p.p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse at turkeyvulture1 @ earthlink.net
p.p.p.s. Hi, Silver Swan – behaving yourself? Hopefully not!
p.p.p.s. On the sheep, Grace...

# 227 - September 22nd, 2010

Greetings one and all - if you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin... Thanks to my ace team of investigative reporters, along with various Valley sleuths and historians such as Pat Hulbert and others, I can now bring you the names of the 'The Oldest Five Valley People in the Valley' *... The oldest is Walter ‘Shine’ Tuttle, who was born in May 1915 and that makes him the Valley’s oldest resident at the age of 95. In 2nd place it's Harold Perry, who was born in November 1916, making him just five months older than the 3rd placed Austin Hulbert (April 1917). These gentlemen are both currently 93 with Harold turning 94 in a couple of months... In 4th, it's Freda Fox who is 92 and therefore the Valley’s our oldest woman, while in 5th it is Ross Murray, who turned 92 years young just last week... It should be pointed out that ‘Shine’ came here 73 years ago, in 1937, when he was 22 years old, and Harold came to the Valley in 1950, a mere 60 years ago, when he was 33. However, Austin, our 3rd oldest person, can lay claim to being our longest resident as he has lived here for his entire 93 years!! (*There could be somebody we’ve missed off this top five list, but after weeks of research this is what we’ve come up with. By the way, in case anyone was wondering, Bobbie Peterson, who now lives in Ukiah at The Brookside Retirement Home, would have been the 6th person on the list as she turns 92 in December).
Public Service Announcements… #173 – Unbeknown to me and many others, the Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital made their monthly visit to the Valley last week (Thursday, 16th). I was disappointed not to be informed and the office manager there has assured me they will not forget to call me next time, as they usually do. Meanwhile I can tell you they will be back twice in October (on successive weeks for some reason?) on both the 7th and 14th – put it on your calendar, although I will be reminding you... #174 – The Boonville Farmer’s Market gathers for its weekly get-together on Saturday 25th from 9.30am to noon in the Hotel parking lot. It’s Tomato Tasting Day so try to get down there and do yourself a favor!... #175 – There will not be a Barn Sale in September...
And here’s my annual ‘fast, furious, yet fair’ County Fair review...
... Friday evening... It seemed to be the smallest crowd I can remember for the Friday night for some years – a sign of the times or perhaps people concerned about the weather forecast?... Excellent victory (8-0) for the A.V.H.S. boys’ soccer against Mendocino in the Apple Cup... Rave reviews on the corn dogs (although the after effects can be unpleasant), not nearly as positive comments for the pizza... Lots of very loud screaming on the rides – hopefully the carnies were behaving themselves (I feel I can say that because I once was a carnie myself, working the bumper cars on the boardwalk in Asbury Park, New Jersey, during the summer of 1980)... Ridiculously high prices for bangers and polish sausages - $7.50!?... Plenty of drinking by Valley folks in and around the Lions Club ‘Bar’ – even more than at the A.V.A. booth!... Lots of meeting and greeting of old friends and familiar faces...
... Saturday evening... Good crowd, perhaps above average for most Saturdays in recent years... Some wonderfully presented and cared for animals – particularly the pigs and sheep... One fight between two drunks; each was claiming to be a “better hillbilly” than the other – that’s true – before they were swiftly dealt with by the authorities... Delicious cheeseburger courtesy of the A.V. Volunteer Firefighters – gets my ‘Best Food at the Fair’ award... Some fine rodeo performances providing lots of excitement to the fans packed in the stands... Delicious looking prize-winning produce that was displayed in the exhibit halls and that was very difficult not to nibble on but I only took a few bites... Sprinkling of rain at about 10.45pm as the dance heated up in the Apple Hall...
... Sunday morning/afternoon... A great performance by sheepdog Puma and her handler, Navarro Winery’s Sarah Bennett, in the Sheep Dog Trial earning them a very impressive 3rd place... A more exciting Fair Parade than in recent times I must say... A wide variety of interesting looking people passing by the A.V.A. booth – and quite a few stopping to chat... The delightfully decorated (by Karen Ottobani and friends) Elder Home booth – someone suggested it was better than the Elder Home itself!... The Green-haired balloon lady who may have scared as many adults as kids she entertained... Only one sheep escaped from the Lamb and Wool Palace... The Gravitron, The Wheel of Fire, and The Zipper at the carnival looked less threatening in the daylight but still far too scary for me to risk so the bumper cars were my carnival highlight once again... Lots more meeting and greeting... Yet another fine time was had by all, although Fair Manager Jim Brown’s gut feeling on Sunday afternoon, before any actual numerical count had been taken, was that numbers were down a little once again this year... Thanks to all of those concerned for their hard work in putting together “The Best Little Fair in the West”...
I’m outta here... Please remember to keep your windows cracked if you have pets in your vehicle... Otherwise, 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”… Poking and stroking egos wherever necessary and, as always, humbly yours, Turkey Vulture...
p.s. Keep the Faith...
p.p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse at turkeyvulture1 @ earthlink.net

# 226 - September 15th, 2010

Greetings one and all - if you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin...
I am indebted to Pat Hulbert who informs me that her father’s cousin, Yorkville’s Austin Hulbert, was born in April 1917 thus making him, as far as I know at this point, the oldest person currently living in the Valley at 93. The oldest woman and 2nd oldest person is Freda Fox at 92 and the 2nd oldest man and 3rd oldest person is Ross Murray who comes in at a youthful 91. Two other names have been mentioned as this topic gathers momentum and my team of ace investigative reporters is trying to find out the exact ages of both Shine Tuttle and Harold Perry. Any assistance from my readership would be greatly appreciated too, of course...
Public Service Announcements… #453 – Well, I’m sure I don’t have to remind anyone but this coming weekend (Friday 17th – Sunday 19th) it’s the Mendocino County Fair here in Boonville – the ‘Best Small Town County Fair in the West!’ All the usual events (Apple Cup Soccer, Rodeo, Sheep Dog Trial, music, games, rides, etc, etc) will be taking place, plus the many exhibitions and displays that show off the County’s best livestock and all the various talents that so many people in the county possess. With food and drink in plentiful supply and so many familiar faces to see, I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t be there... #454 – And if you feel like a little something special to go with your fair weekend I urge you to swing by Lemons Market in Philo on Saturday morning after 10am to pick something up at Pat Hulbert’s Bake Sale on the porch. Now there’s a few slices of heaven waiting to be devoured... #453 – Unbelievable! You can do your Fair ‘thing’ and then zoom down to Navarro on Sunday afternoon/evening to see Eric Burden and the Animals. Yes, I did just write that! And yes, it is The Animals - those who led the British pop/rock music invasion with the Beatles and Stones following shortly behind. I don’t know how impresario and Navarro Store owner, Dave Evans, does it, but he does, and this world-renowned band is playing in the Valley this Sunday evening. Yes folks, The Animals are in the Deep End!!!
I always think that when ‘reviewing’ a restaurant or a meal, this can only be done fairly if you go more than once – to see if it was as bad or good as you first thought. Therefore when I ventured out to fly over the Valley on Sunday lunchtime, for the second time in a month I found myself zooming down and devouring the delicious Mexican bbq chicken plate prepared on his outside grill/smoker by owner/operator Ricardo at The Redwood Drive-in – something he does every Sunday. For $25 you get a whole succulent chicken with all the obvious fixings and it will certainly feed a party of four comfortably – or just myself for four meals. Check it out when you get a chance – trust me on this, you can thank me later...
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...
... The Boonville Saloon (formerly The Boonville Lodge) is open!!! I flew in to observe and briefly partake in their opening night last Friday evening (Sept 10th) and was very pleased to see a decent crowd of revelers and the joyous smiles on faces of the long-suffering owners behind the bar – Shelly and Marcia. Congratulations to you both – may you enjoy and prosper!
... Several regulars at The Three-Dot were wondering how come Bill Hill’s Big Hole, the monstrous pond alongside Hwy.128 opposite Breggo Cellars, was full of water all summer long and only now is the water level dropping? The natural run off pond near to The Nest here was empty by mid-June. Just how much water is legally allowed to be pumped into this crater from the river and its sources? Is this amount checked? Meanwhile, I have been told that the surrounding creeks have been getting more and more shallow every year... At least that wonderful family of Canada Geese had a nice home for a few months, but given all the spraying going on around here did anyone check to see how many legs the newborn baby chicks had?...
... May I just say that despite all this winery bashing I am sitting here at The Three-Dot sipping a delicious Chardonnay from the Valley’s Husch Winery. What a hypocrite! I love wine, and many of the varietals produced by our locally owned wineries are not to be missed. All I can do to explain my hypocrisy is to refer you to the proverb – “all are not saints that go to church.”... Or to give you a Quote of the Week, how about these words from Greek philosopher and tragedy writer, Euripides, “Often a noble face hides filthy ways.” Come on Euri, didn’t you mean, “Often a filthy face hides noble ways”?...
I’ll get my coat and leave shall I?... But first let me ask that with the hot weather continuing, please remember to keep your windows cracked if you have pets in your vehicle... Otherwise, 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”… Poking and stroking egos wherever necessary and, as always, humbly yours, Turkey Vulture...
p.s. Keep the Faith...
p.p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse at turkeyvulture1 @ earthlink.net

# 225 - September 8th, 2010

Greetings one and all - if you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin... First let’s get to the very important list of Senior Birthdays in September – ‘Many Happy Returns!’ to Gloria Abbott, James Gowan, Garth Long, Maddie Winkleman, and Clifton Kobler ... Which reminds me of a question that was asked of me recently – Who is the oldest man and the woman residing in the Valley at this time? My initial guesses are Freda Fox who turned 92 in March and Ross Murray who will be 92 in September, but I would certainly like to hear from anyone who can correct me if they know otherwise...
Public Service Announcements… #120 – County Fair time in Boonville is just around the corner – Sept 17th-19th – just thought you might like to be reminded... #121 – The Boonville Farmer’s Market is still going on every Saturday morning in the parking lot at The Boonville Hotel from 9.30am to noon... #122 – Here’s a couple of reminders of the opening hours for two local small businesses in town – Laughing Dog Books is open from Friday thru’ Monday, 9am to 7pm each day, and owner Loretta Houck informs me that she is now stocking a number of magazines. These will total about twenty in time but for now she has The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated,
Consumer Reports, Vanity Fair, and Skateboarder, amongst others... And Mosswood Market’s Pillar Echeverria tells me she is open weekdays from 7am to 3pm and then from 8am to 3pm at the weekend... #123 – Talking of The Fair, you will be pleased to know that not quite everything else inexplicably stops taking place during the preceding week. Oh, no, the Senior Center just keeps on going and going and their ‘Bingo and Dinner’ night is at 6pm next Tuesday, Sept 14th (not the 13th as stated in the new Grange newsletter). It’s the hottest ticket in town and I suggest you get there early to get a good seat. All are welcome, not just seniors, and there will be prizes galore following a wonderful feast...
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...
... When a regular dropped off that recently distributed Grange Newsletter one thing hit me immediately - the unsightly ‘blackout’ on the front page which is as a result of the scribbled deletion on the inner page for the Boonville Hotel advertisement... Surely The Hotel could have done a different ad one has to think. Or did the Grange people put in an old ad and then have to delete something deemed inappropriate from every issue?... It seems very strange...
... I don’t know of anyone in the Christine Woods/Floodgate area who is receiving any ‘deal’ for being bombarded by noise pollution from the Golden Eye’s Narrows Vineyard but if anyone does deserve some compensation for their inconvenience over this past few months it would surely be theses sleep-deprived souls... Now this - a little bird popped into The 3-Dot the other day and informed me that in order to keep their neighbors ‘happy’, some other wineries have been paying money to the long-suffering victims of the noise pollution in certain parts of the Valley... Very interesting... Is this true? I think we should be told...
... Talking of ‘noise pollution’, several 3-Dot regulars have informed me that the downtown Boonville area was under constant ‘attack’ from such a thing last Tuesday morning when the alarm on a vehicle parked behind the ice cream store intermittently pierced the peace and quiet with a very irritating sound that went on and off for about four hours. Those nearby were not happy. I would have been quite annoyed too had I not been in Santa Rosa with Hummingbird - whose car it was! She had purposely not locked it but apparently there was an electrical fault that led to the problem. Upon our return to the Valley, the vehicle was stuck in ‘park’ as a result of the alarm’s activation and could not be moved. It had to be towed to Starr Auto where it currently resides, wallowed in guilt, as we await information from the manufacturer about ‘deactivation codes’. Hummingbird was mortified and sends her sincere apologies to all affected by her unintentional ‘pollution’...
... ‘Things people say’ – I overheard these words uttered by a tourist sitting outside ‘All that good Stuff’ in Boonville on Sunday afternoon – “Oh, yes, Hendy Woods is quite pretty”... ‘Quite pretty’? I think she meant to say, “Absolutely stunning and beautiful” but she had drunk too much wine and was unable to express herself very well...
And with these things in mind here are some thoughtful words from the historian and environmentalist writer, Wallace Stegner – “Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed; if we permit the last virgin forests to be turned into comic books; if we drive the few remaining members of the wild species into zoos or to extinction; or if we pollute the last clean air and dirty the last clean streams and push our paved roads through the last of the silence...”
I’m outta here, but not before I ask that, with the hot weather almost with us, could you please remember to keep your windows cracked if you have pets in your vehicle... Otherwise, 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”… Poking and stroking egos wherever necessary and, as always, humbly yours, Turkey Vulture...
p.s. Keep the Faith..
p.p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse at turkeyvulture1 @ earthlink.net

# 224 - September 1st, 2010

Greetings one and all - if you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin... I have been very remiss of late and failed to mention the August birthdays of the following seniors, many of who are regular attendees at the weekly Senior Center lunches and dinners – Kay Clark, Joy Daniels, Donna Reilly, Bev Burger, Fritz Kuny, Joe Hansen, Mark Fontaine, and Ellen Fontaine. Better late than never, I suppose, so it’s ‘Congratulations and Many Happy returns to all!’
With that in mind, and having spent quite a bit of time around the senior center in recent times, for the Quote of the Week I offer up these words from the great comedian George Burns, “You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old”... The group above would seem to bare that out, wouldn’t you say?
Moving on to this week’s Public Service Announcements… Well this week I think I’ll just give you a few of the Valley’s gatherings that happen every week or so. Here we go - The A.V. Lending Library run by The Unity Club is open on Tuesdays from 1.30pm to 4.30pm and on Saturday 2pm to 4pm at The Fairgrounds... Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday sees the A.V Museum open from 1pm to 4pm at The Little Red Schoolhouse on Hwy 128 by the Elementary School... Hopefully on every Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, the County Dump is open from 9am – 4pm each day up on Mountain View Road about a mile or so outside Boonville – remember ‘No Dead Animals’... And finally, on the first and third Tuesday and every Thursday there is a lunch at The Senior Center Lunch served at 12.15pm. On the second Tuesday it’s Dinner and Bingo Night at 6pm, with dinner served once more on the fourth Tuesday, again at 6pm. You don’t have to be a senior to attend – all are welcome...
Now 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...
... The dinner at The Senior Center in Boonville on Tuesday Aug 24th was simply delicious. On the menu was Cook Natalie’s Enchiladas in red sauce - some truly wonderful culinary delights, I must say. There was a good crowd once again and Hummingbird and I snapped up the final six enchiladas! Hope you were there!
... Just as tasty, and also selling out, was the bbq at last weekend’s Barn Sale cooked by Irma Sanchez. Once again, if you were hungry in the Valley you could have done yourself a big favor...
... Now if you were both hungry and thirsty, and you went to the gathering that was officially for tasting room employees held last Thursday at The Golden Eye Winery, you would have been very pleased. I would have gone but given the things this particular winery has been doing of late in terms of noise pollution in the Christine Woods region of the Valley, I decided not to. I have been told by some Three-Dot regulars that it was a very well attended event and I’m sure everything was wonderful and a nice party ensued, but a hypocritical Turkey Vulture is a bad Vulture, not that that is a bad thing of course – just not on this occasion...
... Several Mexican adult soccer league players and fans swung by The 3-Dot on Sunday and downed a few Pacifico beers following a convincing victory by Valladolid – one of three teams in the league based in the Valley, each of which features many former high school players. The other two teams are Leon and La Laguneta - named after the town in the Mexican State of Michoacan where the vast majority of the Valley’s Mexican community is either from or has heritage. The teams play every Sunday with at least one playing in the Valley at Tom Smith Field by the school every week at 10am.
I’m outta here and leave you with a few ‘instructions’ - With the hot weather almost with us, please remember to keep your windows cracked if you have pets in your vehicle... Otherwise, 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”… Poking and stroking egos wherever necessary and, as always, humbly yours, Turkey Vulture...
p.s. Keep the Faith...
p.p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse at turkeyvulture1 @ earthlink.net