No, this is not a rant about the iniquities of Blue Laws controlling and taxing the sale of wine. It just reflected two things going on this week – a wine tasting dinner at Corkscrew Cafe on Sunday and then a visit to our tax accountant to provide all the input for our annual tax return to the IRS.
The theme of the Corkscrew tasting was France and Italy – an interesting change from the usual crop of Californian wines. The actual wines were all pretty good, even if the descriptions were not always as accurate as I would have expected (the Marsanne in a Rhone white was actually non-existent). Lots of interesting nibbles to go with the wines, though harissa flavoured popcorn was a bit of a push.
Nothing interesting to report about the US tax system following our visit to the accountant. Since I pay taxes in UK on all my pensions income, this offsets all my US tax liabilities. Bit of a pity – if I could have everything taxed in USA, I am sure we could get a wide range of exemptions to reduce the total tax bill. Medical insurance and costs, property taxes (even gambling losses – not that I have any of those) can be used to reduce the tax bill. Somehow I don’t think that the IRS is going to give me a tax refund for all these allowances when I haven’t actually paid taxes in USA!
On Friday there was an interesting phenomenon, a Blue Moon. Actually this has nothing to do with how the moon appears. It is just when there are two instances of a full moon in the same calendar month. Sure enough, the moon was full and with clear skies and no manmade lighting about, the forest and clearings were brightly illuminated. Now I know what “once in a blue moon” really means – according to my calculations, it means once in 29 months. Not quite so rare as all that!
I think that one way to generate a feel of life in Lumpkin County and Dahlonega would be to include an occassional snippet of local news. You may remember my report on 28th June of the lady who shot herself with the derringer pistol she had secreted in her bra – that’s the sort of story I mean.
Fugitive caught
There was a major manhunt in Lumpkin County two weeks ago, even involving a helicopter. A man was stopped for driving a pickup truck without a windscreen. It transpired that he was known to the police and wanted for probate violations. He made a break for freedom and eluded the forces of law and order. However, his hiding place was spotted by two concerned citizens, who were aware of noises coming from their car parked in the garage. The fugitive had hidden in the boot of their car, and he couldn’t get out. When the boot was opened by the investigating owner, the fugitive bolted again – but he was finally captured later that night.