# 367 - August 14th, 2013

       Greetings one and all – if you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin… Just stating what I thought was the obvious until a couple of recent incidents - if your dog appears to panting excessively or seems to be a little short of breath, check that the collar is not too tight! One to two fingers gap is good enough, but it is something that tends to be overlooked and should be checked periodically whatever the dog’s age. Just trying to help…

       Public Service Announcements… Calendars and pens at the ready… #389 – This Saturday, August 17 at The Fairgrounds in Boonville, will see the Sheepdog Elimination Trial that will decide the final eight dogs and their handlers that will appear at the Mendocino County Fair next month. Things get underway at 10am and all are welcome… #390 – The following day, Sunday, Aug 18, is the final Lions’ Club Tri-Tip bbq of the season. This one will benefit the A.V. Volunteer Ambulance and runs from 4pm to 7pm with The Big River Band performing… #391 - The next in the series of Guest Chef Dinners, that take place every two months to benefit the Senior Center, is coming up later in the month - Friday, August 30 to be precise, with Happy Hour at 5pm followed at 6pm by Chef Matt Ward’s Jambalaya on rice with Hush Puppies. Tickets will certainly sell out so call Gina at 895-3609 to reserve yours… #392 – In a couple of weeks, on the evening of Saturday, Aug 31, Dave Evans, hard-working owner of the Navarro Store and impresario in the world of local live music, informs me that the Deep End will once again be the scene of a very special live performance when electric blues harmonica great Charlie Musselwhite will make his much anticipated return to the Valley. In the meantime, the store’s BBQ grill is now open with cook Guy Kephart taking over from the almost but not quite irreplaceable Pablo. Guy’s Grill will be serving some of the best bbq food around from 11am to 3pm every Saturday and Sunday throughout the summer and will no doubt be doing a brisk business at the Musselwhite show… #393 - The performance by Patty Liddy scheduled for August 17 at Lauren’s Restaurant has been postponed. This was part of Patty’s ‘Happy, Sad, Crazy, Tipsy Tour’ to benefit the Hendy Woods Community Group and it will now take place in late September, date to be confirmed…

       As a bonus P.S.A. here is the menu for the next week at the Senior Center in the Veterans Hall in Boonville… The Center asks for a $5 donation from Seniors and charges $7 for Non-Seniors for lunches… Tomorrow, Thursday, August 15, the lunch, always served by Marti Titus and her crew at 12.15pm, will be General Tso Chicken, Jasmine Rice, Snow Peas, Asian Slaw, Wheat Berry Salad, and Red Velvet Cake for dessert … Then next Tuesday, August 20, the menu will feature Joe’s Chili, Corn Bread Muffins, Green Beans, 3 Bean Salad, Bulgur Salad, with a dessert of All American Sundae... Remember, all ages are welcome!... 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 (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.…

… Lots to see over a fun and busy weekend of Airport Partying and Yorkville Wine Festival imbibing, but my favorite sight was of docent Donna Reilly watering the plants and flowers at the A.V. Museum – if only a few of the folks at the other events had gone along and visited ‘The Best Little Museum in the West’ and talked to Donna about Valley history then they would no doubt have had an even better weekend…

… Fiction - the persistent and somewhat widespread rumors that The County Fair will be closing after this year… I have it on the highest authority that these are unfounded and completely untrue…

… Fact – the A.V.H.S. soccer team has been practicing in recent weeks and this is within the rules of high school sports… Summer practices have been allowed for a number of years now and any ill-informed bozo that thinks otherwise should check the facts before writing such gibberish…

… Warning – Be very aware of Valley folks who have more dogs than teeth…

… From our 3-Dot regular, The Old Buzzard, comes another in his insightful series – ‘The Approach of the Apocalypse’… Buzzard reports, “The Boonville Saloon, or as it has been more commonly known for most of the last 100-plus years, The Boonville Lodge, closes its doors permanently this coming Saturday for the third time in the last six years or so (although there is a very slim but unlikely chance they may hang on until the end of the month when the lease actually expires)…. Being more of a beer and wine Vulture, I rarely imbibe the ‘hard stuff’ and cocktails myself but, in my humble opinion, a community should have a place to enjoy these sorts of alcoholic beverages, and this is an unfortunate development. Owners Marcia and Shelly, who have put in so much hard work over the last couple of years, feel unable to carry on given the new rent increase imposed by landlord Dave Johnson, who is not of this community nor even this County – Sonoma in fact. Johnson recently evicted long-time tenant Amy Bloyd from the property behind the Lodge and long-time readers may recall that he is the same mercenary landlord whose ridiculous rental demands drove Tom Towey to close his Boonville Lodge Bar and Grill a few years ago. At that time, certain Valley folks talked of dealing with the ‘Johnson Problem’ in the traditional way, but somehow he escaped the fate of being fed to the pigs on Peachland Road… Anyway, as a result of these recent developments, the bar will soon be making a final ‘last call’ and the all-important liquor license will be up for sale. In a worse case scenario, if the license were sold to someone outside the Valley, this would mean that for the first time in over one hundred years ‘real’ alcohol will not be available in Boonville and we would have lost a veritable Valley institution. With such licenses hard to come by, hopefully someone here can step in and buy this license and either sign an equitable rental deal with Johnson at the current spot or look for a different location in the Valley. Otherwise, in the very near future, folks will no longer get to go out locally and enjoy the company of friends while sipping a martini, a fine single-malt whisky, a ‘Cosmo’, a Vodka cranberry, or even a Trainwreck – some of which are very civilized things to do. Without such an option the Apocalypse has surely moved a little closer”…

       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; 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. On the sheep, Grace…

p.p.p.s. Skylark – read any good books lately?