# 348 - February 27th, 2013

Greetings one and all – if you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin… Quick update for those of you who have followed the ‘All That Good Stuff’ saga over the past year that is soon to conclude happily with the move of the business, popular among locals and tourists alike, to Benntraub Square (named for philanthropists/landlords Anne Bennett and Aaron Weintraub) in SoBo – the area next to the fire house just past the Live Oak Building in ‘South Boonville.’ Co-owners Leslie Hummel and Claudia Jimenez informed me last week that their move has been slightly delayed and will now take place in mid-March. Meanwhile, there is no doubt that community support for the store and the move from The Farrer Building continues and will no doubt be present in full force for the moving-day celebration…       

       Moving on to this week’s Public Service Announcements… Calendars and pens at the ready… #252 – The Vets from Mendocino Animal Hospital will be back in the Valley tomorrow, on the afternoon of Thursday, Feb 28 at the A.V. Farm Supply just north of Philo from 2-3.30pm. You should be aware that they will also be here twice in March – on Thursdays, March 7 and 28… #253 – The Variety Show is coming up on the weekend of March 8 and 9, with a 7pm curtain on both nights. It’s the 22nd version and there is a vicious rumor going round that after all these years the host Corporal Raindrop has finally bought a new tuxedo – say it ain’t so!... #254 – there is no #254…

       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… On Thursday, Feb 28, the lunch, which is always served at 12.15pm, will be Chicken with Kale, Garlic noodles, Broccoli salad, Arugula & Rice salad, and a Mudslide dessert…Then next Tuesday, March 5, Marti Titus and her crew will be serving Meatloaf, mashed potato and gravy, Succotash, Tabbouleh salad, mixed salads, Fruit salad, and Birthday Cup Cakes for dessert… 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 get together and share their thoughts about Valley life…

… The furor over ‘The Jim Tomlin Vote’ swept through The Three-Dot Lounge last weekend as the ‘special’ School Board public meeting to discuss the future of Mr. T as High School Principal approached, and by the time you read this, Monday’s public gathering at the school cafeteria will have taken place and hopefully a satisfactory outcome for the good of the school will have resulted… Before anything official was announced, and indeed before any official votes by the Board were made, apparently rumors were spread by ‘persons unknown’ (but easily identified) that Mr. Tomlin’s tenure was to be terminated, with the result that the school faculty and Tomlin’s supporters, upset at this prospect, were mobilized into action to solicit support via face-to-face conversations, phone calls, and e-mails throughout the community – a veritable blitzkrieg of a reaction, although certainly understandable from their point of view, given the circumstances… Meanwhile, those in favor of such a move were relatively restrained in their response, preferring to share their thoughts and opinions with close friends and confidants in the various Valley communities – it should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, that people just handle situations like this differently… Whatever your thoughts on this provocative issue, no doubt you will hope that the best long-term interests of the school will remain the highest priority of those involved with the process, and the wishes of the community as a whole will be reflected when the official vote is taken - sometime on or before March 11th…Whenever that is done, it would be comforting to know that the five-person Board will have performed due diligence regarding all aspects of their decision, maintain an objective focus in their discussions, and ‘do the right thing’ – whatever that may be… 

… No doubt a far more relaxing and fun experience than it will be attending the meeting this evening, was watching Saffron Fraser and her friends enjoy themselves at her birthday party last Thursday… As most of you know, Saffron survived a nasty car crash a few months ago but I can assure you that she is well on the way to a full recovery. She seemed to have a ball, and those few tears when her cake was delivered, as the whole gathering sang ‘Happy Birthday,’ was a very special moment for a special person, surrounded as she was by some of the many people who care about her…

… What is the point of leaving phone messages on answering machines that are unintelligible to the listener, either because the words are spoken too quickly or mumbled?... Why do people who are employed to answer phone calls say simply ‘hello’ or ‘hi’ without any mention of who they are, or whom they represent?... Both of these scenarios are inexplicable to me, other than as more examples of the continuing decline in acceptable levels of social adeptness, courtesy, and competence… Phew – glad I got that off my chest…

… The Senior Center Guest Chef Dinner series got off to a great start last week when K.C. McClure and her crew served up a splendid meal for the 50+ guests… The next such event will feature Dean Titus and family as chefs and will take place on the final Friday in April - the 26th... 

… Apparently, community sing-alongs are all the rage on social calendars around the country and A.V. was not going to be left behind… With this in mind, Patty Liddy led a very enjoyable such evening in Saturday at Lauren’s Restaurant that featured many pop classics from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. It was a really good time for one and all and no doubt those in attendance are already looking forward to the next one – last Saturday of the month with host Sarah Larkin… Patty Liddy will be back in April, I believe…

       Well, given this week’s hot topic of the vote on the tenure of our local high school Principal, here are a couple of Quotes of the Week that focus on the honorable profession of teaching… Firstly, it’s this rather negative view from George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), the Irish playwright and the only person to have been awarded both a Nobel Prize in Literature (1925) and an Oscar (1938 - for his work on the film Pygmalion / My Fair Lady), who said, “He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches”… But, on the other hand, it was Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899), the American social activist, orator, and agnostic, prominent during the Golden Age of Freethought, who observed, “One good schoolmaster is worth a thousand priests”… I guess these two comments, in indirect ways, just about sum up the current debate in A.V….

       Well now I think it’s time to take my leave… So, 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. Hi, Silver Swan – behaving yourself? Hopefully not!

p.p.p.s Bobwhite Quail - keep up the knitting!