Many readers of the Press Democrat know by now that Chris Coursey’s last column appeared in today’s edition (B3). Next Monday, he’ll start a new job with SMART. (Don’t you love acronyms? SMART = Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit.)

 That lazy trio (Me, Myself &I) are still on their sabbatical and procrastinating about cleaning up the garage. (They claim to be super-busy with emergency preparedness activities this month.) It was Eagle-Eyes who spotted these thoughts about Chris’ job as a journalist, while reading his farewell column; “It paid me to get to get to know my community inside and out -. Along the way it turned me into something I’ve never been before: a citizen rather than a resident of my city, a participant rather than simply a member of my community.” WOW! Hammerhead believes these words really hit the nail on the head.

 Now that I reflect on it, retirement provided me with an opportunity to become more involved with my new community – Petaluma – by participating in various endeavors. Yes, I was a resident; but as Chris states, I was also becoming a citizen. The various themes and topics I select to blog about represent those community areas of interest with which I am now active as a participant. For example: emergency preparedness, information & communication technology, environmental quality, history, and education.

 I must admit that I envy Chris’ journalistic style. My own columnist’s journey (as an amateur), started with two columns in high school, The Stranger and So What! Along the way I had the opportunity to interview other journalists like H.L Mencken (Baltimore Sun) in the 1940s, and Bill Soberanes (Petaluma Argus-Courier) in the 21st Century. It was Bill’s numerous columns in the Argus-Courier, over a 49-year period that – just like Chris – revealed “a love for the place I call home.” When you love your community, you naturally become active and “participate.” Before you know it, you’re not only a resident, but a citizen.

Think about Chris’ message over the weekend. Come Monday, Chris states it will be a huge relief knowing that he doesn’t have a deadline for his column; but what about you and Me, Myself & I? Let’s use next Monday as our deadline for deciding how we plan to become a real “participant” in our community. BTW, PetalumaNET (2.0) is still percolating on the back burners, conceptually. One of these days, after a rather long “incubation” period, it will be “hatched” along with additional acronyms. It will then become one more community ICT project in my Petaluma “egg basket.” Stay tuned.