# 347 - February 20th, 2013

Greetings one and all – if you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin… And let’s get immediately into the Public Service Announcements…

       … Calendars and pens at the ready… #215 - The Vets from Mendocino Animal Hospital will return to the Farm Supply in the Valley twice this month – tomorrow, Thursday, Feb 21 and then again next week on Feb 28. If you are a previous client you can call them 48 hours in advance (462-8833) to ensure that your pet’s charts are brought ‘over the hill’ and also order any medications your pet might need. New customers and their pets are always welcome… #216 – This year’s Guest Chef Dinner series that benefits the Senior Center gets underway this week, on Fri, Feb 22, when Chef K.C. McClure will prepare a meal featuring anti pasta, lasagna, salad, garlic bread and tiramisu for dessert. Happy Hour starts at 5.30pm and dinner will be served at 6.30pm. Tickets are available at the Senior Center (895-3609), and also at the two sponsors of this event - Laughing Dog Books and Philo Ridge Vineyards tasting room in Boonville. Those of you who have enjoyed these special gatherings in the past may wish to purchase a discounted $100 ‘season pass’ for all four Guest Chef Dinners planned for this year (this one and those in April, June, and August). Meanwhile, the evenings are still a great deal at $30 each for your meal and one complimentary glass of wine or beer – hope to see you there… #217 - A Fiesta Celebration sponsored by the Anderson Valley Adult School is on Saturday, February 23 at The Apple Hall from 5 to 10pm. Celebrate the adult school and all those who, because of it, have become citizens. The Big Band, actually a class of the Adult School, will play, as well as a Latin Band for live swing and cumbia dancing, along with Salsa lessons by Kevin. There will be a fresh taco dinner from 5:30 to 7:00, a salsa competition, and children's activities! Tickets are $10 per person, or $25 a family, and can be purchased at All That Good Stuff, Boont Berry, and AV Market in Boonville and Lemons’ Market in Philo… #218 – Also on Saturday evening, at 8.30pm, it’s the first in a series of sing-a-longs to be held at Lauren’s Restaurant in Boonville. Featuring pop music classics and hosted by Patty Liddy, this will be a fun evening whether you join in with the singing or not – lyrics will be provided – you know you want to!...

       As a bonus P.S.A. here is the menu for the next week at the Senior Center at the Veterans Hall in Boonville… The Center asks for a $5 donation from Seniors and charges $7 for Non-Seniors for lunches and for the dinners it is $6 and $8 respectively… On Thursday, Feb 21, the lunch, served at 12.15pm, will be Chicken with Winter Vegetables, Brown Rice, Spinach Apple Salad, and Cookies & Cream Cake for dessert … Then next Tuesday, Feb 26, at 6pm, the dinner served by Marti Titus and her crew will be Rosemary Pork Roast, Twice Baked Potatoes, Carrots, Rolls, Quinoa Salad, Orange Gelatin Salad, and “Better Cake” – which I have never heard of but I’m sure it’s, err, simply better… Hope to see you there…

       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 Three-Dot regulars attended the ‘Out There in the Woods’ book signing and discussion at Lauren’s Restaurant last weekend, the fifth such event held at various Mendocino locations since the publication of the book that gives an account of the 36-day manhunt for double-murderer Aaron Bassler among the coastal forests in 2011. Along with signing copies of the book for a wide variety of locals, the co-authors, Stephen Sparks and County Sheriff Tom Allman, answered questions from an informed audience of about 40 or so interested Valley folks that included the A.V.A.’s Mark Scaramella. The Major posed some relatively hard-hitting questions which the Sheriff dealt with deftly, even at one point making a semi-joking comment on the ‘accuracy’ of some of the A.V.A.’s articles that solicited mumerous giggles from those in attendance and even a chuckle from the otherwise stoic reporter. With books being sold at a brisk pace by Loretta from Laughing Dog Books and dining at the restaurant being the choice of many guests following the signings and discussion, the event hopefully made some money for local businesses and the three charities to which the proceeds of the book will go…

… A number of reports have reached us that Valentine’s Day was a busy night on the Valley’s dining scene, with full houses at both Lauren’s and Aquarelle among others – as it should be!...

… Good news for many of us is that the A.V. Farm Supply, already open Monday thru’ Saturday from 8am to 6pm, is now opened on Sundays too - from 10am to 4pm… Yer gotta like that…

… From our 3-Dot regular, The Old Buzzard, comes another in his insightful series – ‘The Approach of the Apocalypse’… Buzzard comments, “The phrase, ‘Does a bear sh*t in the woods?’ is used in response to a question where the answer is an obvious ‘Yes.’ Another similarly used expression would be ‘Is the Pope Catholic?’… An amusing combination on these, but in this case a phrase used to express an obvious ‘No’ answer, has been the question ‘Does the Pope sh*t in the woods?’ Well, now we have the recent announcement from the Vatican that there is to be the first papal retirement for 600 years, with Pope Benedict XVI stepping down from his position. He apparently plans to retire to ‘seclusion and solitude’ and with that in mind one has to consider that the idiom ‘Does the pope sh*t in the woods?’ may now be used when the answer is no longer a definitive “No.’ It may be the case that this should be used when the answer is ‘Perhaps,’ ‘Maybe,’ or even, dare I say it, ‘Yes’!…… Oh, come on… I’m half-kidding… Either way, a Pope retiring for the first time in 600 years is surely a sign that the Apocalypse is even closer than Hummingbird and many other Catholics, both current and lapsed like herself, had imagined.”

       Oh, dear, have I upset somebody? – I’ll suppose I should get my coat and leave… Oh, well, until we talk again – ‘Keep the Faith’; 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 through the Letters Page or by e-mail at <turkeyvulture1@earthlink.net>

p.p.s. Keep on wagging that tail, Fred…