# 482 - 28th October, 2015

    Greetings one and all. Are you are sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin… And surely an important place to do that would be to remind you that this weekend sees the end of Daylight Savings Time and therefore the clocks will go back… So, when it is almost dark on Sunday evening, it will be 6pm, not 7pm…

    And writing of ‘time,’ how about staying with that topic for some Quotes of the Week?… Here we go… First, these words from Josh Billings, the pen name of 19th-century American humorist Henry Wheeler Shaw (1818-1885) who in the latter half of the 19th century was a famous humor writer and lecturer in the United States, perhaps second only to Mark Twain, “Time is like money; the less we have of it to spare the further we make it go”… And next is this observation from Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), the American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, and historian, etc, who said, “As if you could kill time without injuring eternity”… Then there is this thought from American author John H. Aughey (1828-1911), “Lost time is never found again”… And let’s finish with this piece of wisdom from Benjamin Franklin (1705-1790) one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and much more, who commented, “Dost though love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of”…

    Public Service Announcements (P.S.A.’s)… Calendars and pens at the ready… #475 - On Halloween (which this year is October 31st), the Handmade Carnival presents: A Woodland Adventure. They tell me that the Anderson Valley Grange will be transformed into a woodland paradise to raise money for the Valley Fire Relief Fund. The event, beginning at 5pm, is family friendly with lots of handmade games to play, prizes, dancing, and local food and drinks for all ages. The main stage will feature live music from Valerie Kim, The Ukeholics, The Raging Grannies, and a special guest headliner! The outdoor "Side Show Stage" will feature Jeremy Meyer and friends along with hip hop acts and an open mic (sign-up at 5pm). Kids games and prizes open until 8.30pm when the costume contest will be judged. Beer and Wine will be served by the Anderson Valley Grange. and alcohol proceeds will go to support the Grange.  $10 admission. Kids 12 and under are free… #476 - The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital will be visiting the Valley on one more occasion this month - that’s tomorrow! -Thursday, October 29 at the Anderson Valley Farm Supply on Highway 128, north of Philo from 2-3.30pm…#477 - The Mendocino Bookmobile returns to the Valley on Tuesday, November 3. They are here on alternate Tuesdays for 45 minutes at each of these places and times: Navarro Store 9am (for just 30 minutes); the Floodgate 12.30pm; Philo 1.30pm; Boonville (Apple Hall) 2.30pm. Phone 463-4694 for further details… #478 - The A.V Museum is open every Saturday and Sunday, from 1pm-4pm. Situated in The Little Red Schoolhouse next to the Elementary School on A.V. Way, this is a perfect thing to do in the Valley when you have a couple of hours spare on a weekend afternoon. It is not without reason that it is generally regarded as ‘The Best Little Museum in the West’… #479 - From local professional drinker, beer maker, and personal friend, Jack Ridley, comes this invitation… “Thanks for letting me discuss home-brewing and beer fermentation at the Fermentation Fest at the Grange recently. As I mentioned in that session, I'll will be brewing a simple “malt extract" beer (probably a clean, drinkable Pale Ale) on Saturday November 7 at my place to support "National Learn to Brew Day”. I'll start at 10 am, finish by 3pm. Anyone interested is invited. Address: 12040 Anderson Valley Way. Look for the Ridley Vineyards sign on AV Way, turn down dirt road, first drive on left, address on tree next to drive entrance. Attendees could bring some light munchies to share. I'll have plenty of beer samples. No RSVP necessary. Cheers, Jack” - Note - this will not be an alcohol free event…

    As a bonus P.S.A. here is the menu for the Community lunches over the next week in 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, October 29, the lunch, served by Marti Titus and her crew at Noon, will be Beef Stew and Pineapple-Cherry Dumps Cake for dessert… Then, next Tuesday, November 3, the lunch will feature Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes with gravy, and then Birthday Cupcakes 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… 

    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 (yet surprisingly reliable) Rumors” from my favorite gathering place in the Valley, a somewhat secret location that sees people get together and share their thoughts about life in Anderson Valley and often far beyond, and where we subscribe to the Winston Churchill philosophy that “A lie will get halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put on its pants”… So, with that in mind, I shall quickly put my pants on and continue…
… A couple of regulars expressed disappointment that the Aquarelle Cafe and Wine Bar has already closed for the winter. It seems very early but, given that the owner (and tremendous chef) Christina Jones has recently had a baby and finding a replacement at her level for the kitchen is far from easy, then perhaps it is not… One positive result has been the significant increase in business at two other downtown Boonville eateries - The Buckhorn and Lauren’s Restaurant… Maybe the Redwood-Drive-In and The Boonville Hotel too - I do not know… With Libby’s Restaurant in Philo presumably closing for their usual extended winter break sometime soon, and Stone and Embers at The Madness continuing to tease us by opening for just 16 hours a week (and not at all in the evenings), it seems that the Valley is going to be a little short on dining options before, during, and following the holidays (apart from all the Christmas parties of course)… It will leave folks bewildered (and hungry) if the new restaurant at the Floodgate - The Beguiling Pig, does not get its doors open soon to take advantage of this situation…
… It was unanimously voted that any party where the hosts place a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey on the dining table, with an open invitation for the guests to help themselves, is a very good party indeed…
… Several regulars were of the opinion that the need to have Sheriff’s Deputy Craig Walker patrolling the highways and backroads of Anderson Valley after midnight, when 99% of the Valley is in bed, was hardly a good use of his time. Surely he would provide a greater service to the community if he was around in the daytime and into the evening until around 10pm or so, with perhaps some weekends excepted? Are you still reading my column, Sheriff Tom Allman? We’re just sayin’…
… School Board update… Well, three of the five members will be leaving in November, either because their terms are running out and they are not applying for reelection, or because they no longer wish to carry on - Martha Bradford, Patti Wilson, and Stacy Soboleski… There are two members staying on - Dick Browning and Erica Lemons… These changes have resulted in two new members being decided upon somehow, while one place still remains to be filled… I do not know who is involved in these developments, and those members of the public in general whom I have asked are even less informed than me…
    Well now I think it’s time to take my leave… Besides I’ve got see a man about a sheep… So, that’s enough for now, “take me drunk, I’m home,” and until we talk again – ‘Keep the Faith’; be careful out there; if you break a leg don’t come running to me; 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 - saddened but ultimately comforted in the knowledge that the old hare has safely moved to his new burrow in the sky…
p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse either through the Letters Page or by e-mail at
p.p.s. Skylark – read any good books lately?… Hi, Silver Swan – behaving yourself? Hopefully not!… Everything cool with you, O.J.? Of course it is…