# 486 - 25th November, 2015

Greetings one and all. Are you are sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin…
    Once again, let’s first get you sorted out with the Public Service Announcements (P.S.A.’s)… Calendars and pens at the ready… #542 - The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital will be visiting the Valley on two occasions in December - that’s next Thursday, December 3rd and also the 17th. As always they will be at the Anderson Valley Farm Supply on Highway 128, just north of Philo from 2-3.30pm… #543 - I am told that there is a ‘fantastic opportunity’ to learn polyrhythms and dances of Guinea (West Africa) from Amadou Camara, master drummer/gifted teacher and Mariah Soumah, previously with the National Ballet and Guinea Circus. This will take place at The Grange on Tuesdays beginning on December 1. Classes will be weekly (except for the 3rd Tuesday of each month). Drum class is 6-7pm, followed by the Dance class from 7-8:30pm (The 1st class will be a donation to support our cultural ambassadors). After that it will be Drum $15, Dance $12, $20 for both… #544 - On Saturday, November 28, it’s the Open Mic at Lauren's Restaurant in downtown Boonville. Dinner served from 5-9pm 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 almost everyone else! For more information call 895-3869… #545 - If you are looking for a local spot for some Xmas shopping bargains then stop by at the final Barn Sale of the year on Saturday/Sunday, December 5/6 at The Big Barn on A.V. Way… #546 - The Boonville Farmers’ Market continues every Saturday at its winter venue, outside The Boonville General Store, from 10am-12:30 pm. For more info call Cindy at 895-2949… #547 - The Mendocino Bookmobile returns to the Valley on Tuesday, December 1. 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… #548 - The A.V Museum is open every Saturday and Sunday, from 1-4pm. 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’…

    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… However, tomorrow, Thursday, November 26, the Senior Center will be closed for Thanksgiving…Then, next Tuesday, December 1, the lunch served by Marti Titus and her crew at Noon will be Meatloaf & Mashed potatoes with gravy, with 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…
…I enjoyed a number of conversations a few years ago with Bite Hard Cider founder, Brooks Schmidt, during the early days of his venture to produce a quality cider right here in Anderson Valley, a place where apples have been grown for over 150 years. One of the things that struck me about him was his passion about the project and the ‘art’ of cider-making and, being a hard cider drinker for more than forty years, I had high hopes for his efforts. Those hopes were realized and the product was very good, with particular kudos earned for his local sourcing of the Valley’s delicious heirloom apples. However, in my humble opinion, in recent times the product is simply not as good and one cannot help but question whether the majority of the apples are still even from Anderson Valley… One may also speculate if either or both of these disappointing developments are connected to Brooks’ departure from the company? If so, I would suggest that his exit has been a significant loss…
… A few of our more ‘mature’ regulars at the Three-Dot were in deep discussion this week about the Leonard Cohen song that they generally agree does accurately list the stages that men go through regarding the changing levels of their attractiveness to the opposite sex… I’ll leave it you you to deliberate further among yourselves but it apparently goes like this - irresistible, resistible, invisible, transparent (not exactly invisible but as if you are seen through old plastic), repulsive, and finally cute… I couldn’t possibly comment any further…
… School Board update… Following last week’s meeting the Board now has its five members in place and expectations are high for the school’s future development. The Gang of Five features Dick Browning, Erica Lemons, and the three new members Eric Arbanovella, Wynn Crisman, and Natalie Matson - all of whom are parents of children at the school, which, while it should not be viewed as necessary, is seen by many as a criteria that is potentially very important and valuable. All of us here at the Three-Dot send our best wishes for a rewarding and effective tenure to one and all…
… Our high school girls’ volleyball team had a marvelous season once again and won their regular season title. However, they were finally beaten in the North Coast Section Final by what was undoubtedly an extremely talented S.F. Waldorf team. The A.V. girls had easily handled the previous opposition in getting to the Championship Game but Waldorf won in three straight sets and sometimes you simply lose to the better team… Nevertheless, Coach Kendra McEwen and her girls have had a season to be proud of and can certainly join the ver successful football and boys soccer teams as examples of the tremendous student athletes who have represented A.V.H.S. this fall…
… Many of you have been asking about the opening of the new restaurant at The Floodgate in the Deep End, the location formerly occupied by the very popular Coq au Vin. I have been trying to follow developments and I was informed a month or so ago by the owner/chef Janelle that it would be ‘late fall/early winter,’ which by my reckoning would be about now… However, apart from the ‘selected guests’ welcomed for their special event on November 5th, in which Maple Creek winery paired their wines with items off the new restaurant menu, the rest of us continue to wait… Meanwhile, the other local restaurants continue to do a fine job in their different ways and I encourage you to support them as tourist numbers dwindle and business drops off at his time of year…

    Well now I think it’s time to take my leave; besides I’ve got see a man about a sheep… Anyway, that’s enough for now, “please 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…