Disappointingly, but not surprisingly, the American media's default reaction to this last week's terror attack in London was to assume the British people were “reeling.” The word, which means “to lose one's balance and stagger or lurch violently,” implies the country had lost its way and was staggering around in the dark, consumed by shock and fear. However, as John Oliver, a Brit himself, explained on his tv show, Last Week Tonight,” the Brits found this characterization flatly insulting. He derided the notion that Britain “was somehow weak enough to be brought to its knees by three monumental assholes."
British resilience and fortitude has never been in doubt to anyone with an insight into the country’s long and illustrious past. This is, after all, a country whose biggest cities have seen much worse. That “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster craze (and all its spin-offs) is actually from the Second World War, when Nazi bombing raids were leveling buildings in London and other British cities on a nightly basis for months on end and the Brits responded by going to work and doing their jobs as normal, taking the time to sit on the rubble and drink a hot cup of tea!
Of course, not every Brit's reaction was calm or embodied British values. Nigel Farage, the absolute tosser who led his country into Brexit on the back of xenophobic fear-mongering and outright lies about expanding the national healthcare budget, went on Fox News to declare that “the calls for internment will grow.” (Farage is a noted ally of President Trump, and is “a person of interest” in the Russia investigation according to The Guardian. He bills himself as a populist outsider.) By this, Farage meant that Britons would soon demand that Muslims in Britain be put in internment camps as, in an act of national disgrace, the US did to Japanese-Americans during World War II. That was the opposite of Britain's “Keep Calm and Carry On” ethos then, and it will not happen now, I can assure you. Farage and his ilk, together with the majority of US news outlets, have got it wrong once again. It’s pathetic. Pass me the sick bag, please.
“Evening Dining in the Valley.” Work continues on the building in the heart of Philo that until recently was Libby’s Restaurant for the past 16 years and, prior to that, various other eating and dining establishments since the mid-1940s when the whole building was transported there from Boonville (I suggest you read the local history book, “Then and Now: an AV Journey” for more information). I am reliably informed that a new restaurant will be going in there but I cannot as yet reveal what kind of restaurant that will be.
Here are “The Big Eight Eateries.” (Soon to be “The Nighttime Nine.” Lauren’s Restaurant sees Libby (of Libby’s Restaurant in Philo fame) as the Guest Chef every Monday evening from 5-9pm; regular hours remain Thursday-Sunday, 11.30am-2.30pm for lunch, and dinner on Tuesday-Saturday, 5-9pm. Lizbby’s, the Mexican Restaurant in downtown Boonville, can be enjoyed Monday to Saturday from 10am-9pm, serving breakfast on Saturday, closed on Sunday. The Buckhorn is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am-Midnight, serving weekend brunch each day from 10am-3pm; open weekdays at 11am, are closed on Tuesdays. The Boonville Hotel continues with their family-style, prix fixe menu Thursday thru’ Monday evenings. For eservations call (707)-895-2210. The Q and Aquarelle has a new “Santa Maria BBQ” menu and is open 4-8pm from Friday thru’ Taco Tuesday. The Redwood Drive-In keeps on doing what they do, with reliable hours, 6am-8pm every day! Try the donuts! Stone and Embers in The Madrones is open from Noon to 8pm Friday-Sunday and Noon to 4pm on Monday and Tuesday. In the Deep End, The Bewildered Pig is open Thursday-Saturday, 4:30-5.30pm Happy Hour, Supper served from 5.30-9pm, and then on Sunday 11.30am-7pm. Their “insane!” offerings are on their Facebook page.
Public Service Announcements. Calendars and pens at the ready. #544. The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital have one more visit this month to the AV Farm Supply on Highway 128, north of Philo, that is tomorrow, Thursday June 15, 2-3.30pm, best to turn up at around 3pm; you will definitely be seen. New customers/pets always welcome. Call 462-8833 and the vets will bring your pet’s charts with them! #545. 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 Boonville. #546. The County Dump is open from 9am-4pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. No dead animals! #547.The Boonville Farmers Market continues each Saturday at the Boonville Hotel parking lot from 9.30am-Noon, For more information, call Cindy at 895-2949.
Here is the menu for the Community lunches next week in the Senior Center at the Veterans” Building in Boonville (895-3609). $6 donation from seniors and $7 for Non-seniors. Tomorrow, Thursday, June 15, the Senior Center will be closed. However, next Tuesday, June 20, the lunch features The Sausage Skillet followed by Holy Cow Cake for dessert. All meals include vegetables, salad bar, and fruit, plus milk, coffee, tea, and lemonade. Best value for money you’ll get all week! Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-9.45am they host the “Young at Heart Exercise” with Linda Boudoures and Karen DeFalco. Diabetes workshop every Thursday with our local health center. Call 895-3477 to register. Tai Chi is every Tuesday at 11am. Thursdays 11am-Noon is Kathy’s Easy-stretch Yoga class. Also Thursdays, the Active Life Club from 10am to 2pm features games, crafts, and music. The Senior Center/Community Bus goes to Santa Rosa on the first Wednesday of the month. Sign up early at 489-1175. ALL ages are welcome at the Senior Center!
Topics and Valley events from The Three-Dot Lounge— “Moans, Groans, Good Thoughts, and Rampant (yet surprisingly reliable) Rumors” from my favorite gathering place in the Valley. The Old Buzzard reports, “Last week President* Trump said that America will withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate accord, calling it a ‘draconian’ pact that gives unfair economic advantages to poorer countries. European Union and Chinese officials, meeting in Brussels, issued a joint statement in defense of the agreement. The deal still has 194 signatories—albeit no longer including the world’s second-largest polluter, the USofA. Issues of concern over the ocean began the next day in New York as scientists, officials, executives and experts discuss how to save the sea by attending the Ocean Conference. Of particular concern will be overfishing (almost 90% of marine stocks are fished at or beyond sustainable limits), plastic pollution (by the middle of the century the ocean could contain, by weight, more plastic than fish) and the plight of coral reefs (most of which will struggle to survive the next three decades). Rising carbon-dioxide emissions are changing the ocean’s chemistry and temperature. The sea is now about 0.7°C warmer on average than it was in the 19th century. None of President* Trump’s administration’s high-ranking officials are expected to attend the Ocean Conference. Oh dear, the approach of the Apocalypse is speeding up and it’s enough to make old salts like myself weep.”
I’m outta here. Gotta see a man about a sheep. 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, remember to keep your windows cracked if you leave them in your vehicle; 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. A 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 wagging that tail, Fred. Hi, Silver Swan. behaving yourself? Hopefully not! Keep up the good work, Round-eyed Robin.
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