# 319 - August 8th, 2012

Greetings! If you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin... It was a very fond farewell party at the Philo Post Office last Tuesday as Post Master Joe Dresch called it a day and retired gracefully after serving our community for many, many years. Friends/customers – for they were often one and the same for Joe - came and went all day long with many hugs and handshakes exchanged and even a few $1 bills jokingly thrown into a collection jar for the ‘poor man’s’ dotage! With Pat Hulbert on the cake and cookies stand, also serving up ‘real’ apple juice from Gowan’s, and Ann Carr and Sheila Hibbs keeping an eye on post office business, Joe shared a number of memories and the fact that even though he was very much looking forward to the future, he would miss the job and the many people who had become ‘like family.’ Good luck and best wishes, Joe, from one and all! 

         Public Service Announcements… Calendars and pens at the ready... #233 – Jay Watkins provides the live music at the weekly Boonville Farmers’ Market on Saturday, August 11 from 10am to 12.30pm… #234 – The annual high school soccer/futbol Alumni Tournament is at 2pm this Saturday, Aug 11 at Tom Smith Field behind the high school and will feature teams made up of alumni (1995 – 2012) and the upcoming seasons’ varsity team… #235 – It’s that time again – the Annual Airport Day is also this Saturday, from noon onwards, with free plane rides over the Valley in the afternoon and a pot luck dinner at 5pm… #236 – The Vets will return to the Valley to see and treat your pets at the Farm Supply on Thursday, Aug 16 from 2pm to 3.30pm… #237 – The next Guest Chef Dinner to benefit the Senior Center will take place there on Friday, Aug 24 when the guest chef is Starr from Navarro Vineyards/Pennyroyal Cheese. The menu will be a lite summer feast, starting with a summer salad with a cheese tart; on to a stuffed chicken breast with a lychee pesto stuffing
; and finishing with a goat cheese cheesecake!

 Each course with have Pennyroyal farms cheese in it and there will be some in-between course surprises too!
 Your $30 ticket includes a $10 donation to the Center and a complimentary glass of wine with further wine and beer available at the bar. For more details call 895-3609… #238 – An early heads-up for a benefit dinner that Libby's Restaurant in Philo is having for the ElderHome on Sunday, September 30 – definitely one for your calendar...

       Moving quickly on to a few of the topics and Valley events 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 where people gather and share their thoughts about Valley life...

… Many regulars attended the wonderful celebration in honor of the 90^th Birthday of Paul Titus on the green behind the Apple Hall at the Fairgrounds last Saturday afternoon. I counted 178 people in attendance at one point as the delicious meal was served. With bbq’d chicken and tri-tip, Caesar salad, beans, a selection of side dishes, a fruit medley, and of course Birthday cake on the menu; live music provided by Paul’s sons, Craig and Dean, and their Coyote Cowboy friends; and many Valley folks who have known Paul since his arrival in the Valley in the 1950’s plus their younger generations in attendance, it was a really special Valley occasion. Perhaps it was best summed up by Deanna Parrish, who made her modest grandfather faintly blush by telling him, “This is wonderful – you are such a popular guy!’ Of that there is no doubt – ‘Many Happy Returns, Paul’…

… General Knowledge and Trivia Quiz update – Once again, The Bar Team won the weekly event held at 7pm every Thursday at Lauren’s Restaurant in Boonville…. This was their fourth victory in seven weeks - a new record!… Featuring Fred Wooley, Jeff Thomas, Willie Housley, Nickie of Sheep Dung Estates, and part-time players Hugh Scaramella and Danny the Scientist, on this occasion they beat out, among others, ‘Drama Club’, ‘The Mexican Cheese Puffs’, and the superbly named ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Kim Jong Un’…

… Zooming above the Valley and seeing tourists picking blackberries alongside Hwy 128 always makes me think that in a few hours these naive folks will be suffering from severe cases of a poison oak rash. However, when the pickers are long-time Valley dwellers, Mike and Karen Crutcher, as they were last Saturday afternoon, one has to re-think this assumption. A couple of days later I checked out their ‘secret’ spot, one that turned out to be where the poison oak is absent and the berries plentiful. I’d like to share the whereabouts of this perfect picking patch but, when it comes to food, sharing is not in a Turkey Vulture’s D.N.A….

… As I flew over the Deep End one morning last week, I decided to stop for a cup of the delicious Thanksgiving coffee available at the Navarro Store. To my surprise, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman had had a similar idea and we sat down outside and chatted for a time – he likes to get input from Turkey Vultures. After twenty minutes or so storeowner Dave Evans and Valley raconteur/musician Billy Owens, who was helping wife Wanda with her newspaper round, joined us. Following a good session of banter and stories, I had to leave and took off for the coast, but as I flew away I turned round and saw the three of them doubled-up in laughter. What a heart-warming sight it was - Mendocino characters from very different walks of life, thoroughly enjoying each other’s company… Three very wise monkeys indeed!...

… From our 3-Dot regular, The Curmudgeonly Old Buzzard, comes another in his insightful series - ‘The Approach of the Apocalypse’... Buzzard reports, “If you look really closely, you will notice that Rhys Winery of Santa Cruz, who have completely changed the landscape alongside Hwy 128 just south of Navarro with the many acres of vines they have planted over the past year or so, have actually missed a small ten square yards of hillside in which they surely could have squeezed a few more vines. Discovering that they already have five vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains, many, many miles from here, I thought they were just here to make even more money but seeing them miss that little spot makes me think that perhaps they are not as greedy as I assumed?... Oh, dear, I suppose I have now opened myself up to accusations of hypocrisy. What can I say? I like wine and the locally-owned wineries being here, but like many Valley folks who also like a little tipple now and again, I cannot help but think we have enough vines at this point, and surely we don’t need any more owned by people from Santa Cruz or wherever. How many $millions do they really need to make? As a result, for your Quote(s) of the Week let’s have a couple on the subject of hypocrisy. What about the proverb – “all are not saints that go to church”… Or, perhaps more accurately in my case, these words from Greek philosopher and tragedy writer, Euripides, “Often a noble face hides filthy ways” – yer gotta like that! 

       I guess I’ll get my coat and leave... Until we talk again - ‘Keep the Faith’; be careful out there; stay out of the ditches; think good thoughts; please remember to keep your windows cracked if you have pets in your vehicle; 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 through the Letters Page or by e-mail at <turkeyvulture1@earthlink.net>

p.p.s. You will be missed by many, Jamal…