On Thursday evenings, I head out of here around dinner time and drive down the coast into town. The band tries to gather at the theater around 6:30 in order to load-in and work on a sound check before our 8:00 start time. Usually I'm on time - but last night I had a kitty emergency and had to run into Safeway for bags of litter. There's nothing like standing in Safeway's "quick" checkout line when the place is crowded with pre-dinner shoppers. I had plenty of fun people watching as I waited. Guerneville is a hub of incredible diversity. Finally, I put my litter on the checkout counter while the guy behind me was stacking at least 20 plastic containers of organic baby arugula - a restaurant guy, perhaps? He was a fancy fellow. The Safeway crowd is just like our theater folks - all over the map. I always meet someone new from out of town at each gig co-mingling with our long-time loyal fans and Guerneville strays who wander in and out. Last night a new fellow approached me for piano lessons so he could "play like the guy from Little Feat" - whoa. Later in the evening, Suki usually shows up with ladies from her belly dancing class. Last night Suki and Amber burst in, loaded with energy and jangling belly dance adornments. Stephanie showed up to sing for a while, and Roger did his signature dance steps. We had our pal John Paul on bass since Chris was back east for Hannah's graduation. That was added fun since John Paul was one of Mike's prodigy students at Tomales, and Ian had even taught John Paul back in the day. We really miss Chris when he leaves, but we had a great time last night since we know John Paul so well. Mike decided to try a jazzy jam since he had John Paul on board - just like the jazz workshops in school. I did my best to tag along - quite a challenge. The whole night was full of surprises and fun. I love all the diversity and variables. By the way, I got the litter home just in time. Take care. Love, Sylvia