It’s The Fourth. So you’ve been Thunderstruck. Even if you weren’t invited to the party at that cavernous man cave

Giving a boost to the music, that’s what The Fourth is for:
— The song that was cranking from the oversize and garage-size, nextdoor man cave as the Hudson fireworks went off, was none other than AC/DC’s Thunderstruck. Fitting. Until the cops drove by and told them to tone down the noise a little bit. Cue in a lower-volume power ballad?
— Out on the Sunday night prior to The Fourth were some people, mostly in a connected group, wearing the Stars and Stripes in a single seamless garment, from head to foot, male and female. My friend Mackenzie broke away from her drink order to tell me excitedly, “I really want that outfit.” One of these male hyper-Patriots also sported very long hair, which a friend braided, producing a look like some of those old colonial types.
— As our crew watched the fireworks in Houlton across from the Next Stop bar, a pickup truck with a big flag stretched out in the payload rumbled past at least three times. And a motorcycle giving Old Glory the same treatment also ran by. Reminds me of that runner-in-the-night Bruce Springsteen song — no, not “Born In The USA” — rather “Blinded By The Light …”
— All hail the hail. That could be the company motto of a worker who hails from North Carolina, doing storm-damage roof repair, and has now spent a few weeks in the Hudson area, longer than what was anticipated. He’s staying in a motel on The Hill, and like so many others before him, needed to make the most of some rare free time, so he popped into Buffalo Wild Wings for a beer. He said that a colleague in the industry, who also comes from North Carolina but by way of New Jersey, is more enthralled by downtown Stillwater. Still, they got together and compared notes about both nightlife areas, and also threw in reference to downtown Hudson.
— The downtown bars were hopping early on the first Friday of Booster Days, not waiting until the headliner band, Rock Godz, wrapped up for the night. When it came time for an encore, a rather small but loyal group of followers took to dancing on the extended stage area provided as something new in front of the band, some wearing Godz T-shirts for the glam ’80s band. A few minutes later, the line to enter The Smilin’ Moose was backed all the way to the corner — just as a short but forceful rain shower hit. As if an encore wasn’t enough, the song playing when I headed north and entered The Village Inn was Don’t Tell Me You Love Me, something that would really seem in the realm of the Godz.
— South of Houlton, there is a new bean(bag) crop as a cash crop, along with other goodies. They’re not in the field, as far as these popular target platforms for bean toss tourneys, but displayed across the length of a ditch in the front yard. And they aren’t used for picking the vegies, but rather funneling them down a hole after lobbing them. So, if you need some additional equipment for the Kozy Korner contest on July 15 …