# 356 - May 29th, 2013

       Greetings one and all – if you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin… And for a change, how about we get straight into the Public Service Announcements?…

       Calendars and pens at the ready… #341 – The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital will return to the Valley tomorrow, Thursday, May 30, from 2pm to 3.30pm. In June they will be making just one visit – Thursday, June 13. They have asked me to inform you that you do not have to arrive early and then wait a long time - everyone showing up at anytime before 3.30pm will be seen. Furthermore, 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’ from Ukiah and also order any medications your pet might need. New customers and their pets are always welcome… #342 - This coming Saturday and Sunday, June 1 and 2, will see the monthly Barn Sale take place at The St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church Refectory from 9am to 3pm each day. It’s on A.V. Way just north of Boonville and there are bargains galore!… #343 - In honor of the Mendocino Film Festival’s first foray into the Valley, ‘Somm’, a documentary following four friends’ quest to pass the Master Sommelier exam, will be shown this coming Sunday, June 2 at The Madrones ‘complex’ on Hwy 128 just south of Philo. This special event will be accompanied by wine and food pairings by ‘Stone and Embers’ - the soon-to-be new restaurant at The Madrones, and the four wineries located there - Drew, Bink, Knez, and Signal Ridge, along with nearby wineries, Balo and Golden Eye. Open houses run from 11:30 till 4:30 with the film screening at 3pm - 4:45pm followed by a party from 5:00 to 7:30pm at which two of the Sommeliers who appear in the movie will speak. It all sounds very civilized to me; I hope they let me in… #344 – The Boonville Hotel is now operating on its summer hours for the fixed price dinner. That would be Thursday thru’ Monday, seating at 6.30pm each evening. Small plates are also available on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Call 895-2210 for reservations…

       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… Tomorrow, Thursday, May 30, the lunch, served at 12.15pm, will be BBQ Tri Tip, Buttered Pasta, Oven Roasted Root Vegetables, Sourdough Bread, 3 Bean Salad, Wendy’s Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies … Then next Tuesday, June 4, the lunch served by Marti Titus and her crew will be Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes w/ Gravy, Carrots, Rolls, Quinoa Salad, and, of course, Birthday Cup Cakes... Hope to see you there…

       Before we get into the latest from The Three-Dot Lounge, I just wanted to acknowledge the wonderful efforts by the many volunteers at last Sunday’s fundraiser for the A.V. ElderHome at The Fairgrounds in Boonville. The excellent bbq was prepared and presented in fine style by the always reliable crew from the Lions’ Club; the gang from the ElderHome Board and associated friends worked the bar, the silent and live auction, and managed the overall event very effectively; and D.J. Pete with lovely assistant Jennifer provided the appropriate musical sounds. A mixed crowd of Valley folks and guests, totaling about 150 people over the three-hour event, seemed to have a wonderful time as the banter and wine flowed and the funds were raised. Well done to one and all…

       With this in mind, for your Quotes of the Week, let’s have two very short comments by the man who could say so much with so few words (as evidenced by his Gettysburg Address)… From Abraham Lincoln we have “He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help”… ‘Honest’ Abe also gave us “To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own”… Wise words indeed – I think he would have fitted in very well volunteering with our local Lions’ Club or the ElderHome folks…

       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 (and often Reliable) Rumors” from my favorite gathering place in the Valley where people get together and share their thoughts about life in A.V.…

… The ‘Drive-In Dinner’ event to raise money for the F.F.A. (Future Farmers of America) and put on by Beth Swehla’s High School Ag class was a big success… It’s an idea that works – drive in, collect your packed up Dinner-for-4, drive out - and, at $45 for the lot, it is not expensive. At least 50 orders of Tri-Tip Dinner were sold and I can vouch for the fact that the food was very good indeed. I should add that there is no truth to the vicious rumor that I had a Dinner-for-4 all to myself – I shared it with The Old Buzzard….

… The talented Christina Jones, owner/chef of Aquarelle Café and Wine Bar in Boonville, has plans to do lunches as well as her current dinner hours of 5pm-9pm Friday thru’ Monday, but until she has a few more staff members this will have to wait. Hopefully it will not be too long. Since the restaurant opened back in November, I have eaten there many times and have always found the food to be never short of very good, and often quite excellent…

…A number of regulars were in the crowd at Lauren’s last Saturday evening to take part in the monthly ‘Sing-along-a-Liddy’ community singing event with host/guitarist/singer Patty Liddy. The songs included ‘Leaving on a jet plane (John Denver),’ ‘Get by with a little help from my friends (Beatles),’  ‘Big yellow taxi (Joni Mitchell),’ ‘Will you still love me tomorrow’ (Carole King), and ‘These boots were made for walking’ (Nancy Sinatra), and many more... By all accounts a lovely evening and one which Lauren has plans to repeat on the last Saturday of every month…

… Regulars remain concerned, yet not too surprised, that the selection process for the new high school principal does not seem to be the sole domain of the School Board – those five folks elected (mostly) by the community to deal with such matters… Some informed input from others will no doubt be helpful, but at the end of the day surely the final decision will be by the Board, and the Board alone… Let’s hope so; after all, it is one of the most important decisions regarding our school in a long time, and certainly one with the potential to have significant, far-reaching, and long-term positive results…

… A few regulars informed me that Neil Darling is heading up the search for the next Fire Chief on behalf of the Community Services District. Colin Wilson will step aside later this year and he will be a hard act to follow. Good luck, Darling!…

… From our 3-Dot regular, The Old Buzzard, comes another in his insightful series – ‘Signs that The Apocalypse is approaching’… Buzzard reports, “I hoped to enjoy the Tri-Tip Dinner-for-4 as promised by my good friend Turkey Vulture. He had invited me to The Nest to share it with him saying he’d buy the dinner if I bought a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Husch Vineyards. When I arrived he greeted me at the door with a small bowl of salad in his claw and what appeared to be bits of meat on his beak. He explained that when he went to pick the dinners up at the school they had sold out of the tri-tip, baked potatoes, bread rolls, and cookies and all that was left was salad. He passed the bowl to me, took the bottle of Cab, said he was busy, and closed the door. I was very disappointed and unfortunately I have to say that it really is a sign that the Apocalypse is near when a fundraiser runs out of food and people are left feeling very hungry, especially when a thoughtful friend has gone to so much trouble to fly all the way into town and pick the dinners up…”

       Ummm, err... Thank you for your input Buzzard… 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; 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. Hi, Silver Swan – behaving yourself? Hopefully not!

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