Dixie Fix

Hanging Out With 'Olive Kitteridge'

Any book that wins the Pulitzer Prize and a zillion other awards is worth a read...and I must say, the title of "Olive Kitteridge" did nothing to make me want to read it. But when fellow reader Karen ("Sylia Plath") pressed it into my hand in exchange for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" I knew I would read it. But I knew, because it came from Sylvia, that it may not be "cheery."

We've all known an Olive, in our lives and small towns. She has good and bad qualities and we either like her -- or don't. Check. She has a complicated relationship with her older son. Check.

The genius of the book is that it is told in short story form. Some of the stories are from Olive's perspective, others are from those who know her. In short, we get that great all around picture of what others think of her vs. what she thinks of herself and how she perceives others see her. We should all be so lucky!!

At first I didn't really like Olive (the person) but by the end of the book I understood her a little better and was rooting for her happiness.

I would also recommend "Dragon Tattoo," and "The Help." I read Dan Brown's newest, "The Lost Symbol," and while it was a page-turner, I was disappointed in it, generally. Just too contrived, although it made me curious about the Masons. My father was a Mason and now I'm intrigued about the order.

My close personal friends on Twitter, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, both recommended "The Shack," so I guess that's next. On Tuesday there will be new releases by 2 of my favorites: Patricia Cornwell and David Baldacci.

What Happened at the Newspaper Tuesday Afternoon?

My sources tell me it was a physical brawl between an executive of the paper and an irate father who objected to something local that ran on the Opinion Page....if you go back to that day I'll bet you can figure it out...the rumor is that a broken finger was the result of the fight. It has been all the buzz around town!

Why Do Bullies Act the Way They Do?

We've all known people who bully -- it's a definite type. They've been in the news a lot lately, especially Internet bullying. It's easy to put people down in an Internet format rather than face-to-face, although some bullies seem to relish face to face conflict.

The San Francisco Chronicle recently ran a great story titled "Why Bosses Might Bully." Here is the lede of the story: "Bosses who feel incompetent are more likely to bully subordinates, according to a study being published in the journal Psychology Science. It goes on to say that "leaders who are in over their heads tend to resort to browbeating to protect their egos."

I always suspected that feelings of inadequacy were behind bullying in general. When people are happy and their life is going well, they usually don't feel the need to criticize everyone and everything. I've noticed that unhappy people tend to spread that unhappiness through their negative personality. That's why I avoid people whom I consider "toxic." 

Have you been bullied? Do you have theories about bullying?

The Buffalo Saga Continues -- Not So Happily

This was e-mailed to me Tuesday afternoon....

Subject: Buffalo crisis for animal lovers... Lee

Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:01:39 -0400

To all:

As you know, the buffalo mom and baby girl, who escaped, had returned home on Wednesday. The owner, Mr. Dugger, had a slaughterer call me while they were on the loose. He said if I did not purchase the animals, he was instructed to hunt them down, shoot them and slaughter them. I said I could not buy them, but I would take them. He agreed and a paper was faxed to me, "gifting" them to me. My efforts had already begun to find them, borrow a tranquilizer gun from UC Davis, and move them to a secure, safe location until I found a suitable home.So many of you generously volunteered to help.

 

After the MIRACLE of "the girls" returning home, I had been calling and e-mailing Mr. Dugger for two days so we could pick them up and take them to a hobby  buffalo ranch in Placer County. The ranch manager had contacted me when they read the owner was going to shoot them and offered to take them into their herd of 27. The ranch is 2000 acres that they put into a land conservation trust, 345 acres of it is fenced for the buffalo. I went to look at it and it was WONDERFUL. We were so excited to take "the girls" there where they could live out their lives. It was also bittersweet because we would miss them so much, and we had developed a relationship where they would come right up to us, we handfed them and we could even tough them. But we knew it was the best for them, especially the female, who is still obviously lonely and grieving for her mate, Billy. 

 

After 3 days of no response from the owner, I was referred to a fantastic, retired animal loving/activist lawyer, Joan, who counseled with me at no charge. The plan was set, according to what the law requires, to give the owner notice that we would be at his property at 1 pm yesterday to take possession of the animals, and the consequences to him for not surrendering them, one of which, was to file a complaint for animal neglect for Billy, the male's death. Finally Mr. Dugger responded and said he would be there, but it was not amicable.

 

We showed up yesterday, and while waiting for the professional handler to arrive, a truck pulled into the driveway with a sign: Bear River Slaughter, the same guy who had contacted me before. Frantically. I immediately called the sherrif's department and Joan. Bob jumped out of our truck and ran to the slaughterer and told him he had better not touch those animals as we owned them. He proceeded to tell us that Mr Dugger was the owner, and he was there to shoot and slaughter "the girls" on the spot if we did not pay the owner $4000.

 

Three sheriff's trucks arrived, and I was on the phone to Joan. We had the document showing Mr. Dugger  had given the buffalo to us, but he disputed it's validity. The sheriff informed Mr. Dugger and the slaughterer, that they could not claim ownership, it needed to be determined by a judge, and they should not harm those animals in the meantime. If it were determined we owned them, they would be liable. The slaughterer left, and Mr. Dugger  said he would not do anything. Mr. Dugger complained to the sheriff that we were feeding the buffalo, trespassing on his property by throwing their food over the fence, and that we might poison them or give them bad food. The sheriff advised us to not feed them over the weekend, and Mr.Dugger mentioned  that if they were to die suddenly, it would be our fault. The sherrif said he could have the buffalo hauled off his property without our having the benefit of having their bodies tested, as we did with Billy. The comment and idea of the animals "suddenly dying" made us very frightened to leave them there without our being able to watch over them or even feed them.

 

When Bob and I told the slaughterer that $4000 was a ridiculous price, he said," well, make an offer and this will go away." We told him we would be in touch with Mr. Dugger by e-mail.  After agonizing about it, and fearing something would happen to those animals over the weekend and Monday, before we could do anything legally, we decided to make him an offer. One of you generously came up with $1000 to include Whiskey, the donkey, in with the offer. If Mr. Dugger would shoot and slaughter the buffalo, he could do the same to Whiskey. Hopefully, if a judge determines we are the owner, we can go to small claims court and get the money back for the buffalo. But we have heard no response from the owner and our offer expired.

 

Tomorrow we will move forward with another attorney who has been sympathetic to the situation, who we hope will help us. Joan can only advise, since she is retired. We ask for your prayers for us for strength and guidance and for these two innocent, sweet buffalo.

 

Thank you all for your support and I am sure I will be calling on you to help in this effort. Just a phone caIl, e-mail or letter from enough caring people can make a big difference in the outcome. I'll be in touch.

Kathy Labelle

Message From the "Old 5 Mile House"

The Old 5 Mile House Restaurant Opened this week in Nevada City.

This comes from the owner, Robert Smith

Robert, Doris & Serafina Smith have opened the doors on a beautiful and fun restaurant in the historic landmark building of The Old 5 Mile House on HWY 20, just 5 miles East of Nevada City.

This old stage coach stop built in 1890 has the charm of an old, yet elegant road house and it now boasts an exciting menu theme of "Roadhouse Food From Around The World".

They will start out serving dinner only Tues - Sun from 5-9 PM, with a bar menu from 9pm to midnight.  And they hope to soon open for lunch. The menu includes roadhouse classics like Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Roast Chicken, Great Burgers, as well as Pizza from their warm glowing hearth oven. They also offer culinary delights like their Devil's Prawns Linguini - Bourbon flambeed Prawns served with a spicy, mellow garlic red sauce - Diabloique! Don't miss the Flintstone T-Bone - Yababba Dabba Doo! 16 Ounces of Juicy goodness served with their own home made Bistro fries! Play mix and match with the Tapas. Have a great salad.

The plan is to feature specials form around the world. For instance, July could be "Roadhouse food from Spain". 

Good Value & Good Times is their motto with pizzas and pastas starting at 9.99 and a great selection delicious, fun and affordable treats. Many vegetarian items with organic produce really make it a place where everyone can find something to get excited about. The childern's menu has organic fruit to go with each meal and the dessert menu includes home made fruit pies, the Chocolate Cherry Pot Pie and home made ice creams and sorbettos.

Stop in and check it out. It may be only 5 minutes up the road, but it's a whole other world. Take the break you deserve and get away for a fun, affordable night out. 

Many thanks to the great support from the whole community from The Smith Family.

Please forward this on to your friends and meet them there.

California Organics Expansion Update

Some of us still think of Cal Organics as Earth Song, but you know, the restaurant and health food store in the 7 Hills District of Nevada City. You've probably seen the signs on Broad Street in the old Broad Street Furnishings building that California Organics is coming, but when???

Chris Keysar, the owner, said today that the holdup is the money. He is actually getting economic stimulous funds, which evidently means "government bureaucracy." He has been working on it for more than a year, and one of the documents is 800 pages long!! And people have told him these funds are on a fast track! (Now you know why nothing happens.)

He now thinks maybe February 2010. He's demolishing the tin buildings on the far side of the parking lot and that will be free valet parking for customers. He will also have concierge service for groceries and possible a shuttle to parking lots in Nevada City. The bottom floor (below the Broad Street entrance, level w/ the parking lot in back) with be offices. The grocery store, with gifts, juice bar, coffee bar, etc. will be on the "main" floor -- what you see from Broad Street. The produce will be showcased in the middle of the store.

The upper floor will be the kitchen and restaurant, and he is installing elevators because the building isn't Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant.

If you remember, the second floor is open to the third floor in the middle, so there will be abundant light as well as skylights.

It sounds like Chris is doing everything right, and I think his move to downtown is much anticipated!! We'll have to give him a warm welcome when he's finally in the new building.

NCTV Director Resigns

Michael LaMarca has resigned as the executive director of Nevada County Television. LaMarca replaced Lew Sitzer, the station’s founder, on July 1, 2008.

 Here’s a statement released today by LaMarca:

“My tenure here at NCTV is coming to an end. I have resigned my post and will soon be moving on. 

 “NCTV is seeking an energetic person to step in and tackle the development and fundraising challenges of this young organization.  The board and the staff and I are optimistic that this is a great opportunity for NCTV to find a person experienced in developing revenues and securing grants to help our local station overcome its built-in operational handicap. 

“It’s been a pleasure following Lew Sitzer’s footsteps and serving our community here in the capacity of ED. I’m convinced that fine local talent will step up to take my place and drive the station on its steady path to maturity.

 If you know of a good candidate, please pass along the posting below and direct them to our web site for detailed information.”

 Position Available:  Executive Director of Nevada County Television (NCTV).  The Executive Director leads a non-profit community media center with an established public access television station, serves as the chief executive officer and principal spokesperson, and drives NCTV toward becoming a 21st century “new media” hub for Nevada County. Fundraising and revenue generation are the Executive Director’s top priority.  Desirable candidate is experienced with developing revenue streams, a seasoned administrator, and well versed in current community media landscape.  Salary range $28 – 36 K. Hours and salary negotiable.  Visit http://www.nevadacountytv.org/ for application details.  Send letter of introduction and resume to info@nevadacountytv.org by 5:00 pm October 23rd.

-- This was on the NC Advocate's Web site. Good scoop, Pat!

 

Two Respected Journalists Leaving Local Newspaper

And it will be a shame to see them both go. David Mirhadi is doing his 2nd stint at the paper, having left to go to Wyoming and return again to Grass Valley. He is a talented writer, especially features. David can tell a story and paint a picture that puts you right there! He is awesome. And just about the nicest man you will ever meet. I just heard about an "act of kindness" he performed a couple weeks ago, from the surprised recipient. A class act, all the way.

The other reporter is Zuri Berry, who was hired for sports (his first love) and later moved into news when Laura Brown abruptly left a few months ago. Zuri has many talents, including his journalism skills. He is extremely adept at social media, and managed the paper's Web site with style and grace -- not an easy feat in the Wild West of the Internet. Zuri is young and ambitious and I think he will go far and we can say we knew him when he was starting out. He was hired by the Boston Globe (!) to produce sports for the Web.

If you see either of these gentlemen around town, thank them for their hard work and contributions to the community! They will be missed -- but not forgotten. 

Have You Heard of the 'Fat Gap'?

There's a mention of it in the current issue of Time magazine. It's the gap between thinking you are fat vs. other people. I know for myself, I'm not one to spend hours in front of a mirror and once my hair is combed, that's it for the day. But I must say I was still shocked when I saw a photo of myself taken Memorial Day weekend. That was my "ah-ha moment" to know I had to do something about my weight.

I won't belabor the Weight Watchers cheering, but a program that gives you group support while telling you just what to do to be successful has my vote. Follow the instructions, count the points (not that hard) and you lose weight. And, if you exercise, you get more points added to your daily plan. So things like wine and chocolate are OK, as long as you count them.

I'm now at 35 pounds gone and am working on the last 12 or so, which will be hardest, I know. The best part is trying on clothes in smaller sizes, especially jeans!

Have you had an ah-ha moment lately? What was it?

When a Mole Turns Deadly

I recently found out that my ex-brother-in-law was diagnosed with melanoma. He had surgery, lymph node removal and now faces more surgery and a year on interfuron treatment. Not good news. It just brings to mind how your life can change in an instant. This man has 2 kids in college, a good marriage and financial success. He is a good person and overcame some personal demons early in his life. The diagnosis sounded dire because, when we bought our first house in Grass Valley in the 90s, the owner, Don Whitman, had just received a similar diagnosis. He was gone before we'd been in the house on Polaris Drive a year.

Although I have mentioned being treated for breast cancer in 1994, I don't mention my other cancer diagnosis as much. That same year I was diagnosed with a melanoma. I had 2 surgeries and they had "clear margins" so the only other treatment was strict follow up on all suspicious moles.

When I went to the dermatologist with a mole I wanted her to look at, it didn't really look too bad. It was slightly dark, not large, and only worth mentioning because I didn't remember it being there before. The doctor agreed "it looked fine" but had it biopsied to be certain. It came back cancer, which was a shock. But then I thought back to all those days baking on the beach. We slathered our bodies with baby oil to ensure a tan and what little sunscreen that existed in the early 60s was about a 2. The idea was to be brown, and the browner the better.

All that sunbathing had 30 plus years to incubate...no wonder I had a melanoma. And my mother had one too (in the 50s when most people died). She also had breast cancer and researchers now believe there is a connection between the 2 cancers.

If found early (like many cancers) melanoma is easy to cure. So do yourself a favor and check your whole body for anything that looks suspicious and have it checked out! No insurance? Look for free screenings at the hospital and local health fairs. I have a sinking feeling Bryan's mole had been there for some time before he finally had it checked out.

The Lure of Costco & the Mystery of the Missing Music

I know, it's not local, but you can't beat the prices on just about everything! (Even if you have to buy 1,500 of one thing -- the bulk packaging is a riot.) I love to look in people's carts and see what THEY are buying...did we miss a bargain? I saw a guy with a giant dog bed (our dog's size) in his cart and so I went wandering the aisles looking for the dog beds. Not by the dog food, of course, that would be too logical. When I found them, they were stacked in a big box and had a pattern that looked like the upholstery in my dentist's office...a sickly baby blue print. But I started rooting through the box and down toward the bottom were some cool prints in browns and beiges. Into the cart, at a bargain $18.95. When we were in line 2 different people on either side of us asked about the dog bed. One guy said he didn't see that color and I told him he had to dig deep. Both left and came back with brown dog beds. Jackson was a bit reluctant to get on it at first (didn't have his good smells? Even though I wash his other one). So, I laid down on it, and Jackson laid down right beside me and put his paw around my side!

Why doesn't Costco carry CD's any more? Is it because everyone (except me) downloads music? Does anyone know?

What do you buy at Costco? And why?