I’ll never forget the day Mrs. McQuitty appeared in our driveway. She climbed out of an old white Ford, and I’ve never liked Fords since. It was a Monday, and I’ve never liked Mondays since. I didn’t want to take piano lessons, but my parents made me. At ten years old, all I wanted to do was to go swimming, and besides, piano lessons were for girls.

I remember how she looked me over, like an entomologist examining a bug, and I realized my life, as I knew it, was over. 

Sure enough, in our first lesson, Mrs. McQuitty tried to get me to memorize some scales. This was uphill work for her, as my memory was chock-full of blank cartridges…

“Ummm, Every Good Boy Eats Grass?”

“No, no, McAvoy, let’s begin again, from the top…”

I was a dismal failure, and I’m sure Mrs. McQuitty dreaded Monday afternoons as much as I did, maybe more, that is, until she introduced me to, “Mrs. McQuitty’s Boogie-Woogie.” Suddenly I had a reason to live on Monday afternoon, and even found myself sitting down to the piano to bang out that tune when nobody was around.

Still, I begged my parents to let me quit piano lessons, and probably because I could finally play a tune, they let me quit. I’m confident Mrs. McQuitty put that day on her calendar at home as the one day in the calendar year on which to take a drink.

Over the slow-moving years that followed, I would sometimes sit down to a piano that was looking for some attention, point to the sky, and bang out Mrs. McQuitty’s Boogie-Woogie. 

Then, my Mrs. McQuitty moment arrived. I was addressing a packed Nevada Room at the Governor’s Mansion as Mark Twain, when my microphone died, and there happened to be a piano behind me on the stage. While the AV guy ran for a fresh battery I glanced at that piano and a little voice deep down inside me said, “Go ahead, sit down at that piano, and call on Mrs. McQuitty.

So I shouted to the crowd, “I only know one tune on the piano, ‘I had an Old Horse, His Name Was Methusalem’…may I play it for you?”  There followed a resounding round of applause. I sat down on the bench, looked heavenward, and launched into Mrs. McQuitty’s Boogie-Woogie. The place went wild, clapping their hands and stomping their feet to the music.

When I stopped playing, and was assured the microphone was working again, I suggested to the governor that perhaps he should have the piano tuned.

When I arrived at my room that night I lifted a glass, and said out loud, “Thank you, Mrs. McQuitty, for providing me the most comforting round of applause any man in trouble was ever afforded. I love Mondays again, I love Fords again, and I love you, Mrs. McQuitty, wherever you are.”

Listen to the audio here.

Get in the holiday spirit with the annual Kings Beach Holiday Tree Lighting hosted by the Boys and Girls Club and North Tahoe Public Utility District.

Come join us to greet Santa Claus as he visits from the North Pole via a North Tahoe Fire Truck! Santa will light the Christmas Tree and then move into the Event Center for pictures.  Pictures are $5, and you can sign up for a timeslot here.

The event includes –

• Free soup & hot chocolate
• Free crafts from the Boys and Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe
• Free face painting, books and balloon twisting
• Free entertainment

From the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team

Winter has arrived in the Lake Tahoe Basin along with the holiday season. Local fire districts and their partners would like to take this opportunity to remind residents and visitors to celebrate safely.

Decorating for the holidays is a tradition in homes all over the world but be sure to decorate safely. According to NFPA, almost one third of home Christmas tree fires are caused by electrical problems and more than two of every five decoration fires happen because decorations are placed too close to a heat source.

Holiday Decorating Tips:

• Be careful with holiday decorations. Choose decorations that are flame resistant, flame retardant, or flameless.

• Keep lit candles away from decorations and other flammable materials or use battery powered flameless candles.

• Some decorative lights are only for indoor or outdoor use, but not both.

• Replace any string of lights with worn or broken cords or loose bulb connections. Read manufacturer’s instructions for maximum number of light strands to connect.

• Never plug more than two appliances into an outlet at once.

• Use clips, not nails, to hang lights so the cords do not get damaged.

• Do not block window or door exits with decorations.

• Test your smoke alarms and tell guests about your home fire escape plan.

• Keep children and pets away from lit candles.

• Keep matches and lighters up high in a locked cabinet.

• If you’re smoking outside, please make sure to properly dispose of your cigarette in a large, deep ashtray a safe distance away from any vegetation.

Kitchen & Cooking Safety Tips:

• Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stovetop so you can keep an eye on the food.

• Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot, and kids should stay 3 feet away.

• Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids. The steam or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could cause serious burns.

• Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip over kids, toys, pocketbooks, or bags.

• Keep knives out of the reach of children.

• Be sure electrical cords from electric knives, coffee makers, plate warmers or mixers are not dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child.

If you have a small (grease) cooking fire and decide to fight the fire:

• On the stovetop, smother the flames by sliding a lid over the pan and turning off the burner. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled.

• For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed.

If you have any doubt about fighting a small fire:

• Just get out! When you leave, close the door behind you to help contain the fire.

• Call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number from outside the home.

For more home safety tips, visit www.nfpa.org/education.

Did you miss out on the 11/18 IVCB Community Forum? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! You can watch the recap here.

To be alerted about future forums, subscribe to the mailing list by sending an email to ivcbcommunityforum@gmail.com.

The Incline Village/Crystal Bay Community Forum will be held the 1^st and 3rd Fridays of the month at 9am in person and online using the meeting app Zoom. The Zoom meeting ID number is 815 3612 1755 and the password is 1864.

On Friday morning at 8:55am John Crockett or Amanda McPhaill from the library will start the meeting. Please join before 9am so we start on time.

If you are unable to join the Zoom meeting by computer or cell phone, you may still submit issues to be discussed to Denise Davis (ivcbcommunityforum@gmail.com).

In full disclosure, I am a terrible cook, no, I am the worst cook in the western hemisphere. When I am left in charge of dinner, guests leave Layne Haven feeling confused and disoriented for several days. However, sometimes I forget how horrible a cook I am, and impulsively invite folks over to Twain Haven for one thing or another, and oh, dinner…

This happened the other evening when I invited half-a-dozen friends over for an unveiling of Julie’s Amazing Magical Twain Quilt, handmade for Mark Twain.

I should mention here that, along with being the world’s worst cook, I am an even worse shopper, so it happened that I purchased, upon first glance, a seven-layer bean-dip party-platter, heated-it-up, sliced-it-up, and served-it-up, as an entrée.

The room got uncomfortably quiet. I heard a sigh, and Julie asked with tears in her eyes, “So…what…exactly…is this?”

I had to admit I didn’t know, and that it was an impulse purchase. Be glad you weren’t here. I don’t know about the others, but it corked-me-up-pretty-tight for three days…

On the flipside of my culinary disasters, I am working up a Christmas Cointreau that might just rescue my reputation. In fact, it is with a spring in my step that I am shopping for the ingredients today… 

First you need a bottle of brandy, and it doesn’t matter what brand it is because you are going to improve upon it. Pour that brandy into a large bell jar, add ¾ cup of sugar, and stir vigorously. Now, you need some string to suspend a navel orange above that brandy, and then, snap the jar shut, nice and tight. Place that jar where you can watch that orange sweat for thirty days, and voila! Here’s your Christmas Cointreau! But I caution you, do not, even if your best friend dares you, eat the orange. I did that once, and it might have killed a lesser man.

By the way, do not tackle this task alone. Making Christmas Cointreau requires two people because it takes three hands and sometimes four, to suspend the orange, and then seal the lid of the airtight bell jar. I shall leave a small bottle out for Santa, along with my list of wishes for Christmas…

Dear Santa, I have been good this year if you don’t count culinary, so I thank you in advance for delivering a world filled with love & justice, equality & respect, truth & compassion, oh, and peace. By the way, don’t knock this Christmas Cointreau back in one draught or you might not make it back to the North Pole by sun-up. Warm regards to Mrs. Clause, and of course, Rudolf.

PS: Please leave something for my pet blue jay, Huckleberry. He’s crazy about Beer Nuts if you happen to have any in your bag. Oh, and Huckleberry is fond of North Pole Ale also, should you happen to have a six-pack of that in your bag…

Safe Travels,

McAvoy 

Listen to the Audio: https://anchor.fm/mcavoy-layne