On July 3rd, I popped into the Monte Rio post office for some stamps. I babbled about not feeling too patriotic for the 4th, and the nice lady there just said, "Don't worry. It's all about the people and the community anyway." Right on. The river area just explodes (literally?) with activities over the 4th of July weekend, and it all has very little to do with patriotic fervor and a lot to do with friends, family, eating, playing, and eating some more. There's lots of red, white and blue - but I also saw plenty of tie dyes, bare flesh and even some gold lame. I had some crazed beer drinkers/gun shooters come to the property next door here, but they finally took off when the fog rolled in. That's another thing about the 4th - if it's not warm and sunny, patriotic tendencies calm down - nature's little trick. The Thugz played on the big stage Thursday evening. Vera was doing her Mermaid thing out front and near the bar, so we moved. It was hot but fun. Drew worked very hard to get the sound right, and Andre joined us to fill out the sound. I loved his version of "Loser" that night. We packed up and played under the redwoods Saturday night at Raymond's Bakery. It was obvious that all the summer home Cazadero crowd was there for "their" pizza night. We weren't a perfect fit for that crowd, but our fans mingled, and we had a good evening. One oddball guy gave us some trying times at the start - but he left to explode his personal internal fireworks somewhere else. And then, on Saturday, we set up for our Thugz picnic at the Monte Rio amphitheater - an event sponsored by the Monte Rio Community Alliance. Of course, we played "Monte Rio Town" with gusto at the beginning and end of the gig - how community oriented (possibly patriotic) is that? It was exciting to play on the same stage that features Bohemians and famous folks once a year. Hopefully, the space will be used for more local events in the future - it's up to the Alliance! After that gig, Monte Rio did its thing with the Water Carnival and fireworks display - always a 4th of July treat. Our Thugz friends participated with the "Peace Navy" float - I didn't actually see it, but it must have been a legendary production. So the Thugz had a 3-day mini tour right here in our home territory. It was great fun for me - even though I'm a bit gloomy sitting in the fog today. No problem - musical memories always light off little mini sparklers in my brain - how patriotic is that? Thank you Thugz community for a great holiday. Take care. Love, Sylvia