Bird’s Eye View

Greetings one and all. If you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin. First let’s get to the very important list of Senior Birthdays in September. Many Happy Returns! to Gloria Abbott, James Gowan, Garth Long, Mattie Winkleman, and Clifton Kroeber. Which reminds me of a question that was asked of me recently: Who is the oldest man and woman residing in the Valley at this time? My initial guesses are Freda Fox who turned 92 in March and Ross Murray who will be 92 in September. But I would certainly like to hear from anyone who can correct me if they know otherwise.

Public Service Announcements. #120: County Fair time in Boonville is just around the corner, Sept 17th-19th. #121: The Boonville Farmer’s Market is still going on every Saturday morning in the parking lot at The Boonville Hotel from 9.30am to noon. #122: Here’s a couple reminders of the opening hours for two local small businesses in town. Laughing Dog Books is open from Friday thru’ Monday, 9am to 7pm each day, and owner Loretta Houck informs me that she is now stock­ing a number of magazines — about 20 in time but for now she has The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, Con­sumer Reports, Vanity Fair, and Skateboarder, among others. Mosswood Market’s Pillar Echeverria tells me she is open weekdays from 7am to 3pm and then from 8am to 3pm weekends #123: Talking of The Fair, you will be pleased to know that not quite everything else inexplicably stops taking place during the preceding week. Oh, no, the Senior Center just keeps on going and going and their ‘Bingo and Dinner’ night is at 6pm next Tuesday, Sept 14th (not the 13th as stated in the new Grange newsletter). It’s the hottest ticket in town and I suggest you get there early to get a good seat. All are welcome, not just seniors — prizes galore following a wonderful feast.

Topics under discussion at The Three-Dot Lounge. Yes: “Moans, Groans, Good Thoughts, and Rampant Rumors” from my favorite gathering place in the Valley.

…When a regular dropped off that recently distrib­uted Grange Newsletter one thing hit me immediately: the unsightly ‘blackout’ on the front page which is as a result of the scribbled deletion on the inner page for the Boonville Hotel advertisement. Surely The Hotel could have done a different ad one has to think. Or did the Grange people put in an old ad and then have to delete something deemed inappropriate from every issue? It seems very strange.

…I don’t know of anyone in the Christine Woods/Floodgate area who is receiving any ‘deal’ for being bombarded by noise pollution from the Gold­eneye’s Narrows Vineyard but if anyone does deserve some compensation for their inconvenience over this past few months it would surely be these sleep-deprived souls. Now this — a little bird popped into The 3-Dot the other day and informed me that in order to keep their neighbors ‘happy,’ some other wineries have been pay­ing money to the long-suffering victims of the noise pollution in certain parts of the Valley. Very interesting. Is this true? I think we should be told.

…Talking of ‘noise pollution,’ several 3-Dot regulars have informed me that the downtown Boonville area was under constant ‘attack’ from such a thing last Tuesday when the alarm on a vehicle parked behind the ice cream store intermittently pierced the peace and quiet with a very irritating alarm sound that went on and off for about four hours. Those nearby were not happy. I would have been quite annoyed too had I not been in Santa Rosa with Hummingbird — whose car it was! She had pur­posely not locked it but apparently there was an electri­cal fault that led to the problem. Upon our return to the Valley, the vehicle was stuck in “park” as a result of the alarm’s activation and could not be moved. It had to be towed to Starr Auto in Philo where it currently resides, wallowed in guilt, as we await information from the manufacturer about ‘deactivation codes.’ Hummingbird was mortified and sends her sincere apologies to all affected by her unintentional ‘pollution.’

…‘Things people say.’ I overheard these words uttered by a tourist sitting outside ‘All That Good Stuff’ in Boonville on Sunday afternoon. “Oh, yes, Hendy Woods is quite pretty.” “Quite pretty”? I think she meant to say, “Absolutely stunning and beautiful,” but she had drunk too much wine and was unable to express herself very well.

…And with these things in mind here are some thoughtful words from the historian and environmentalist writer, Wallace Stegner: “Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed; if we permit the last virgin forests to be turned into comic books; if we drive the few remaining members of the wild species into zoos or to extinction; or if we pollute the last clean air and dirty the last clean streams and push our paved roads through the last of the silence.”

I’m outta here, but not before I ask that, with the hot weather almost with us, could you please remember to keep your windows cracked if you have pets in your vehicle. Otherwise, be careful out there; stay out of the ditches; think good thoughts; and may your god go with you. One final request, “Let us prey.” Poking and strok­ing egos wherever necessary. Humbly yours, Turkey Vulture. PS. Keep the Faith. PPS. Contact me with words of support/abuse either through the Letters Page or at turkeyvulture1@earthlink.net.