# 471 - 12th August, 2015

Greetings one and all. Are you are sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin…
    Statistics continue to support the impression created by the grim sequence of mass shootings in this country that such incidents are becoming more common. These are frequently highlighted by the ramshackle system of background checks for gun-buyers. Gun lobbyists and their allies say the answer is for more law-abiding Americans to carry guns in colleges, or shopping malls, or churches. This impulse to self-defense in kind is natural - but surely mistaken… Does keeping guns or carrying them around make people safer? All research suggests it does not. In fact keeping guns at home doubles the risk of a resulting homicide. This holds for not just for homes, but for states and countries: more guns means more gun-related murders, tragic accidents and suicides… And when it comes to those who carry concealed weapons, it is far more likely for someone to perpetrate a mass shooting than to be called upon to defend themselves and prevent such occurrences - gun-wielding bystanders rarely curtail killings. However, we now have a situation wherein well-meaning, fearful individuals take the seemingly rational decision to arm themselves. Almost all of them plan to be prudent with their guns. Alas, that is not always the case…

    With this in mind, what better topic for your Quotes of the Week than a range of comments on guns and gun control?… Here we go… First we have this confused ramble from the inexplicably reestablished Ronald Reagan, who said, “As long as there are guns, the individual that wants a gun for a crime is going to have one and going to get it. The only person who’s going to be penalized and have difficulty is the law-abiding citizen, who then cannot have it if he wants protection - the protection of a weapon in his home, for home protection” - thank you for clearing that up, Ron, now go back to talking to Bonzo… Next we turn to Johnny Carson who was more succinct but of the same ilk when he commented, “You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone”… For some common sense let’s go to Robert F. Kennedy who said almost fifty years ago, “With all the violence and murder and killings we’ve had in the United States, I think you will agree that we must keep firearms from people who have no business with guns”… Finally, let’s turn to Sigmond Freud’s thoughts on what he deems to be a problem humankind has faced for a long time - “The very emphasis of the commandment: Thou shall not kill, makes it certain that we are descended from an endlessly long chain of generations of murderers, whose love of murder was in their blood as it is perhaps also in ours”… Not very comforting is it?…

    Public Service Announcements (P.S.A.’s)… Calendars and pens at the ready…
    #718 - The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital will be visiting the Valley on two occasions this month - that’s tomorrow, Thursdays, August 13 and again next week, August 20 at the usual time, 2pm-3.30pm, at the Anderson Valley Farm Supply on Highway 128, north of Philo… #719 - There will be a special event to benefit the Senior Center on Saturday, August 15 - the annual Summer Roasted Pig Luau. Happy Hour is at 5pm with a dinner served at 6pm that will feature Molokai Shrimp salad, Roasted Pig, Potato and macaroni salad, Asian slaw, and Pineapple Upside Down cake. Mai Tais and Strawberry daiquiris plus local beer and wines will be available. Tickets are pre-sale only for $35 that includes dinner and one complimentary drink plus your donation to the Senior Center. Buy them at the Center, Rossi’s Hardware, Lemons’ Market, or the A.V. Market…#720 - Also on Saturday, August 15, it’s the Open Mic at Lauren's Restaurant in downtown Boonville. Dinner served 5 to 9 before the Open mic starts at 9 pm. All are welcome - musicians, singers, poets, writers, impressionists, magicians, comedians, actors, fire-eaters, pole dancers, sword swallowers, ventriloquists, raconteurs, exotic dancers, animal callers, etc. No clowns - apparently they would scare any kids who might be there, and no mimes, please - they scare me! For more information call 895-3869… #721 - The Boonville Farmers’ Market continues every Saturday at the Boonville Hotel, 10am -12:30 pm, featuring locally grown and produced vegetables, herbs, fruit and meat, as well as crafts and the last of the plant starts for your garden. You will also find knife and tool sharpening some weeks, music and conversation every week, plus other featured events throughout the summer and fall.  For more info, call Cindy at 895-2949… #722 - The A.V. Lending Library run by The Unity Club is open Tuesday and Saturday at The Fairgrounds - Tuesday 1.30pm-4.30pm and Saturday 2pm-4pm… #723 - The County Dump on Mountain View Road, a mile or so outside Boonville, is open from 9am - 4pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Remember, no dead animals!… #724 - The A.V. Food Bank is every 3rd Tuesday and that’s next week, August 18. Gardeners, farmers and produce growers of all kinds, please remember Food Bank days as a place to donate your extra produce.  It will be greatly appreciated.  Please drop off on the Monday before, behind Boonville Methodist Church.  If you need someone to glean your produce to take to the Food Bank, contact Valerie Kim at valerie.h.kim@gmail.com. Denisse Mattei is the Food Bank director. You can reach her at 895-3763… #725 - And here’s an early heads-up for the next Lions Club fundraising bbq at the Fairgrounds in Boonville. This one is on Sunday, August 23 from 4pm-7pm and will benefit the A.V. Volunteer Ambulance…

    As a bonus P.S.A. here is the menu for the Community lunches over the next week at the Senior Center at the Veterans’ Building in Boonville. The Center asks for a $6 donation from seniors and charges $7 for Non-seniors… Tomorrow, Thursday, August 13, the lunch, always served by Marti Titus and her crew at Noon, will be General Tso Chicken, with Orange Cream Dessert for dessert… Then, next Tuesday, August 18, the lunch will feature Ground Beef Tacos with all the fixings and Coconut and Lime-berry Cake for dessert. All meals include vegetables, salad bar, and fruit, plus milk, coffee, tea, and lemonade. What a deal - it maybe the best $7 you’ll spend all week!  Hopefully you will be able to attend, and remember – ALL ages are welcome! Hope to see you there… 

    The Three-Dot Lounge is closed this week so I am unable to report on the “Moans, Groans, Good Thoughts, and Rampant (yet surprisingly reliable) Rumors” from my favorite gathering place in the Valley…
    I think it’s time to take my leave… Besides I’ve got see a man about a sheep… So, that’s enough, “take me drunk, I’m home,” and until we talk again – ‘Keep the Faith’; be careful out there; stay out of the ditches; think good thoughts; be wary of strangers with more dogs than teeth; 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”… Sometimes poking, often stroking, but almost always humbly yours, Turkey Vulture - pleased in the knowledge that the old hare has safely moved to his new burrow…
p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse either through the Letters Page or by e-mail at
p.p.s. Keep on wagging that tail, Fred… Hi, Silver Swan – behaving yourself? Hopefully not!… Keep up the good work, Round-eyed Robin…