Welcome to the special annual Harvest Fair/Wine issue of NorthBay biz magazine. Once again, this issue is one of our largest of the year. That doesn’t come as too big a surprise, since it’s long been a reader and advertiser favorite. For more than a decade, NorthBay biz has been the official print publication of the long-established and highly successful Sonoma County Harvest Fair. Inside, you’ll find the 2009 Harvest Fair schedule and guide of events to help you navigate your way around the fun. If you’ve never attended this event, or haven’t gone in a while, make sure to go this year. It’s a guaranteed good time.
This year, as usual, the special Wine issue is filled with fun, facts, figures and fancy. The cover story, “Love at First Bite,” is a virtual adventure through wine and food pairing, with a bit of history, the latest trends and some of the North Bay’s top chefs and sommeliers. Altogether, there are eight stories in this bonus issue that explore the lighter and more serious sides of growing grapes and making world-class wines in Napa and Sonoma counties. In addition to all the stories about the wine industry, you’ll find all our columnists and all our regular and new features. So, sit back, relax, pour yourself a glass of your favorite local wine and enjoy this very special issue of NorthBay biz magazine. And then, go out and enjoy the Harvest Fair.
It’s time to lighten up. After railing against incompetence in Sacramento, the budget deficit fiasco, jobs fleeing the state and national health care over the past several issues, a tour on the funny side is overdue. The following is gleaned from the Internet with no attribution, but whatever the original source, it captures some humorous truisms on life. Hope these bring a smile.
• Nothing sucks more than that moment in an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
• The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
• MapQuest really needs to start its directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
• There’s a great need for a sarcasm font.
• How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
• I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
• Was learning cursive really necessary?
• How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said?
• I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
• While driving yesterday, I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it…thanks Mario Kart.
• Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
• I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and then turn on the water.
• Bad decisions make good stories.
• Why is it that during an icebreaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they’re from, I get so incredibly nervous? I know my name, I know where I’m from, this shouldn’t be a problem….
• You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you’ve made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
• “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this ever.
• I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
• As a driver, I hate pedestrians; as a pedestrian, I hate drivers.
• I keep some people’s numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
And some people are saying the economy is so bad that: CEOs are now playing miniature golf. Hot Wheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM. McDonald’s is selling the quarter-ouncer. Parents in Beverly Hills are firing their nannies and learning their kids’ names. A truckload of Americans got caught sneaking into Mexico. The most high-paying job is jury duty. People in Africa are donating money to Americans. Motel Six won’t leave the light on. The Mafia is laying off judges. And finally…Congress says it’s looking into this Bernard Madoff scandal. Hey, great idea…the guy who made $50 billion disappear is being investigated by the people who made $750 billion disappear!
As is fitting for this issue, we’ll end with “An Old Farmer’s Advice:”
• Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
• A bumblebee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
• Words that soak into your ears are whispered…not yelled.
• Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.
• Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
• Don’t corner something you know is meaner than you.
• It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.
• You can’t unsay a cruel word.
• Every path has a few puddles.
• When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
• The best sermons are lived, not preached.
• Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen, anyway.
• Don’t judge folks by their relatives.
• Remember that sometimes silence is the best answer.
• Don’t interfere with something that ain’t bothering you none.
• Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
• If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.
• Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
• The biggest troublemaker you have to deal with watches you from the mirror every morning.
• Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
• Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.
• If you think you’re a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.
That’s it for now. Enjoy this special issue of NorthBay biz.
