# 534 - 26th October, 2016

    Greetings one and all. Are you are sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin…
    On the Valley Restaurant scene, our ‘man-on-the-spot’, Steve Sparks, confirms the re-re-opening of Stone and Embers in Philo on Friday, October 28, with new hours of Friday thru’ Tuesday, noon to 6pm each day… Other than that, Steve tell me that there is little developing news of note in the past week. This is of some concern to the many of us who will need a place to go for a few drinks and stimulating banter over the upcoming holiday period… As a result, I say it’s time for the movers-and-shakers in the restaurant world to stop pontificating, make a sound business decision, do right by this community, and buy The Buckhorn so it is open for the holidays, while making sure that no more local eateries close (accepting that Libby’s will be gone after December 10)… I’m just sayin’…

    Public Service Announcements (P.S.A.’s)… Calendars and pens at the ready… #544 - The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital have no more visits this month but they will be at the Anderson Valley Farm Supply on Highway 128, north of Philo, on November 3. New customers and their pets are always welcome and previous visitors should be aware that they can call 462-8833 and the vets will bring your pet’s charts with them - making this an even better service than it already is!… #545 - The General Knowledge and Trivia Quiz held at Lauren’s Restaurant is now on its winter/spring schedule of 7pm on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of every month - that means there will be one tomorrow, Thursday, October 27… #546 - There is live music at Lauren’s Restaurant this Saturday evening, October 29 at 9pm. ‘Boonfire’, who perform classics from the 80s and 90s, will return after their successful gig a couple of months ago. For more information call 895-3869…#547 - The Mendocino Bookmobile returns to the Valley next Tuesday, November 1. They are here on alternate Tuesdays for 45 minutes at each of these places and times: Navarro Store 9am (for just 30 minutes before heading out to Comptche); the Floodgate 12.30pm; Philo 1.30pm; Boonville (Apple Hall) 2.30pm. Phone 463-4694 for further details… #548 - The next Barn Sale will take place on Saturday/Sunday, November 5/6, from 9am-3pm at The Big Barn next to the St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church Refectory on A.V. Way just north of Boonville… #549 - 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 to 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… Tomorrow, Thursday, October 27, the lunch, served by Marti Titus and her crew at Noon, will be Cashew Chicken, with Caramel Apple Cake for dessert… Then, next Tuesday, November 1, the lunch will feature Meat Loaf & Mashed potatoes, gravy, with an Apple Crisp dessert. All meals include vegetables, salad bar, and fruit, plus milk, coffee, tea, and lemonade. What a deal - it maybe the best value for money you’ll get all week!… Tai Chi is now available every Tuesday at 11am, while on Thursdays at 11am it is Kathy’s Easy-stretch Yoga class. Also on Thursdays, the Active Life Club runs from 10am to 2pm and features games, crafts, and music. The Senior Center/Community Bus goes to Ukiah on Monday's and also Santa Rosa on the first Wednesday of the month. These trips fill up fast so don't forget to sign up early at 489-1175… Hopefully you will be able to attend some of these events and certainly the lunches and dinners, 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 joined myself and Hummingbird at Chez Marie last Saturday evening. This is the restaurant that former owners/chefs at Coq au Vin now operate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, and which is located at the Elk Cove Inn overlooking the ocean in Elk/Greenwood. It is excellent and the hospitality shown by Marie and Francis knows no bounds. I just thought you should be informed…
… So the deluge has arrived and it looks like it’s going to stick around for quite some time. This is good of course, although some of those people here in the Valley to work specifically on the recent harvests, the people known as Trimmigrants, really should think about changing their wet  clothes more often…
… Its high school sports play-off time!… Both the Boys’ soccer and Girls’ volleyball teams have qualified once again this year. There is unfortunately no play-offs for 8-man football, despite a fine season under returning coach John Toohey. The boys’ soccer team will take part in the bigger schools’ postseason tournament for the first time since 2009, a run of six seasons in the smaller schools’ playoffs that saw five Championships won… The games will begin next week and support from the community is greatly appreciated…
    From our 3-Dot regular, The Old Buzzard, comes another in his insightful series – ‘Signs that the Apocalypse is Approaching’… Buzzard reports, ‘UN human rights chief Zeid Raad Al Hussein has described the Syrian city of Aleppo as a “slaughterhouse". In a speech, he said the siege and bombardment of Aleppo's rebel-held eastern districts were "crimes of historic proportions" being committed in Syria."The ancient city of Aleppo, a place of millennial civility and beauty, is today a slaughterhouse - a gruesome locus of pain and fear, where the lifeless bodies of small children are trapped under streets of rubble and pregnant women are deliberately bombed," he said.
    Two weeks ago, following the collapse of a nationwide truce brokered by the US and Russia, the Syrian government, backed by Russian air strikes, launched a ground offensive to take full control of the city, accompanied by an aerial bombardment of unprecedented scale and intensity.
    Al Hussein continued, ”Armed opposition groups continue to fire mortars and other projectiles into civilian neighborhoods of western Aleppo, but indiscriminate air strikes across the eastern part of the city by government forces and their allies are responsible for the overwhelming majority of civilian casualties.
    "These violations constitute war crimes. And if knowingly committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against civilians, they constitute crimes against humanity.” The commissioner said the failure of the international community - particularly the UN Security Council - to protect civilians and halt the bloodshed "should haunt everyone of us”.
    Once again the UN and the international community has failed to protect innocent citizens. One is reminded of the tragedies that took place  in Rwanda, Srebrenica in Bosnia, and Grozny in Chechnya, each of which saw the world stand by and watch as innocent civilians were slaughtered in the thousands, and in Rwanda’s case, hundreds of thousands… What has become of us? Is the human race just going to stand around until the Apocalypse happens? If so, I need to know and I will get the hell outta here!…’
        I’m outta here too, Buzzard, but just for now, as I’ve got see a man about a sheep… Until we talk again – be careful out there; if you break a leg don’t come running to me; stay out of the ditches; be wary of strangers with more dogs than teeth; show love to your pets, they will be faithful and true to you to the last beat of their hearts, and please remember to keep your windows cracked if you leave them in your vehicle for any amount of time; think good thoughts; ‘Keep the Faith’; try to not let life get in the way of living; may your god go with you, and may your dog go with you too… 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…