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Bird’s Eye View (Sep 9, 2015)

Greetings one and all. Are you are sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin. We have a very significant birthday celebration coming up this weekend here in Anderson Valley. Our community’s oldest man, Ross Murray, will be turning 97 years of age. Yes, Ross was born on 16th September, 1918! (The oldest resident in the Valley is Freda Fox who turned 97 back in March). In recognition of this wonderful occasion, the Elder Home is hosting a gathering on Saturday, September 12th from 1-4pm at the ElderHome side-lawn area with cake and refreshments. Friends of Ross are welcome.

On a related note, and not intended to refer to Ross in any way (particularly as I expect to celebrate with him on his 100th in 2018), there will be the second in a series of group discussions entitled “Preparation for the Rest of our Lives” at Lauren’s Restaurant on Sunday, September 13th at 4.30pm. Deliberation on life and end-of-life is invariably put on hold by many of us and having observed first hand the results of what avoiding such discourse can have, I urge folks to think seriously about attending. The group, led by Lauren and others, wants community feedback to enable them to offer a community based educational program that addresses the needs and concerns of aging folks. Topics will include creating options for living with autonomy, dignity, and joy as we age, advance directives, estate planning, hospice and palliative care, etc.

Public Service Announcements. #304. There will be an AV High School All-Year Reunion at the Senior Center in the Veterans Hall during the upcoming County Fair. This special event will be on Saturday, September 19th from 1-6pm. #305. The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital will be visiting the Valley on two occasions this month: Thursdays, September 10 (tomorrow!) and 24 at the Anderson Valley Farm Supply on Highway 128, north of Philo. #306. The AV Lending Library, run by The Unity Club, is open Tuesdays from 1.30-4.30pm and Saturdays 2-4pm at The Fairgrounds in Bookville. #307. The County Dump is open from 9am-4pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Remember, no dead animals! #308. There is no “Second Wednesday” drumming circle at The Grange until October. #309. Karaoke is the third Wednesday at The Buckhorn, Boonville at 9pm; next week, September 16. #310. The Food Bank is open on the 3rd Tuesday, September 15. Gardeners, farmers and produce growers of all kinds, remember to donate your extra produce. It is greatly appreciated. Please drop off on the Monday before, behind the 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, 895-3763. #312. The Boonville Farmers” Market continues every Saturday at the Boonville Hotel, 10am-12:30pm, featuring locally grown and produced vegetables, herbs, fruit and meat, as well as crafts. Knife and tool sharpening some weeks, music and conversation, etc. For more info, call Cindy at 895-2949.

Here is the menu for the Community lunches over the next week in the Senior Center at the Veterans Building in Boonville: $6 donation for seniors and $7 for Non-seniors. Tomorrow, Thursday, September 10, the lunch, served by Marti Titus and her crew at Noon, will be BBQ Ribs, with Strawberry Whip for dessert. Then, next Tuesday, September 15, the lunch will feature Tostadas – Chicken or Beef, and Apple Crisp for dessert. All meals include vegetables, salad bar, and fruit, plus milk, coffee, tea, and lemonade. What a deal. The best $7 you’ll spend all week! Hopefully you will be able to attend, ALL ages welcome! Hope to see you there.

Topics and Valley events under discussion this week at The Three-Dot Lounge — “Moans, Groans, Good Thoughts, and Rampant (yet surprisingly reliable) Rumors” from my favorite gathering place in the Valley,

…There was an important discussion held a least week’s School Board meeting on what the school district’s new school menu should and should not consist of. Many local people, including some Three-Dot regulars, have not been satisfied with the new ideas that have been introduced since school started a couple of week’s ago and showed up at this meeting, adorned in all-for-one black, to debate this issue. There was a good turnout and hopefully, for student health reasons, the much-criticized pre-packaged stuff will not be served up much longer. Not to mention the fact that those used package wrappers are unsightly around the campus where I am informed many seem to end up. High School Principal and new School District Superintendent, Michelle Hutchins, has had a good run in terms of winning the general public’s support since arriving in the Valley two years ago; deservedly so, I’d say. This would seem to be her first community “hiccup” as it were, so let’s not be too quick to judge. She may have stumbled a little on this one but I am sure she has the best interest of the students and the school in mind.

…From our 3-Dot regular, The Old Buzzard, comes another in his insightful series, “Signs that the Apocalypse is Approaching.” Buzzard reports, “I have been writing this series for several years and last week we came the closest yet to the Apocalypse when ‘The Big Outage’ hit the Valley and beyond. Internet and cellphone services went out throughout the county and as a result grown men were heard crying, women observed tearing their hair out, high school students spotted self-consciously indulging in face-to-face conversations with each other, and Facebook users were at a loss as to whom they could share the news about the ‘awesome ham sandwich’ they just enjoyed. On a more serous note, the 911 system was down and services at hospitals, pharmacies, etc, were impaired. It was always going to be this way. For all the usefulness that the internet and cellphones provide, we are so reliant on them that when they stop functioning, many people, including myself, are at a loss and verging on mild panic. Undoubtedly this anxiety will approach hysteria if an outage lasted for a few days or more. It will not be a pretty sight. But then the Apocalypse never is.”

Time to take our leave. I’ve got see a man about a sheep. So, “Take me drunk, I’m home.” 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; remember to keep your windows cracked if you have pets in your vehicle; and may your god go with you. The final request, “Let us prey.” Sometimes poking, often stroking, but almost always humbly yours, Turkey Vulture. Contact me through the Letters Page or at turkeyvulture9@gmail.com. PS. Keep on wagging that tail, Fred. Hi, Silver Swan: behaving yourself? Hopefully not! Keep up the good work, Round-eyed Robin.

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