It’s four-ish and still dark outside and the freeway noise is beginning to get louder in the distance, as usual about this time in the a.m. (Who needs a watch?) For some reason, thoughts about Bill Soberanes begin to flow thnrough the “old” gray matter. It’s been a while since I reflected about “Mr. Petaluma” … our one-of-a-kind columnist and peopleologist. But … why now?

Now, that I think about it, I believe that my personal behavior patterns are beginning to match Bill’s. Haven’t I written about the “tuning fork” demonstration in a previous blog? Do you remember a science teacher who placed several tuning forks, with prongs of different lengths and diameters, around the classroom? Then he/she would take another one to the front lab table and strike it with a rubber mallet. It would fibrate and hum. In a few moments, the class would hear one or more of the other forks begin to hum and vibrate, too. Why? They were of the same pitch, or frequency.

It’s beginning to dawn on me that Bill Soberanes and I “are” and have been “on the same frequrency” or wave length since the day we first met. Yes, I’ve heard all the stories and tales about his earlier days and youthful pranks; but there was something else … underneath the surface that motivated this most unique Petaluman to initiate so many community events that put Petaluma on the world map. It was his love of people and his home town that motivated him to write his daily columns and to tell his readers about his “Fascinating World of People.” He was the city’s biggest booster and wanted to tell people all about Petalalumans, in print as well as face-to-face, as he mingled here and there.

It’s true; I’ve been writing a blog about Petaluma and Petalumans; but have no fear, I won’t be doing it for 49 years. It’s also true that I peck away on a keyboard with my two fingers every day; just as Bill would “H&P” on his old typewriter. (H&P = hunt and peck). Just like Bill, I also use a camera; however, mine is digital while he used an old Brownie. It’s true, Bill had his own unique style of writing stories; so do I … but, don’t we all? Don’t many of us also use three dots … from time to time?

Here’s the clincher … this is the real reason why Bill’s “tuning fork” and mine are in sync and vibrate together … our so-called file system. Following Bill’s death in 2003, I was allowed to search the file cabinets that he mentioned many times in his columns as “locked and fire proofed.” In addition, there were many (and I mean several olther boxes in his office and the basement that stored coopies of his columns and other memorabilia. Guess who else has files and boxes that resembles Bill’s? You are correct! Yours truly … this blogger … and wantabe columnist-peopleologist. However, my boxes, bookshelves, and six file cabinets make Bill “look like a piker.” My collection of stuff also includes another 35 cartons of books and papers stored in the garage. They’ve been there ever since we moved to town over a dozen years ago. (Thank goodness for a three-car garage.)

Whew! I’m glad I got that confession off my chest. I feel better now. However, how do I solve the problem? What do I do now? How does one part with so many items that help one “remember.” Unfortunately, my conversations with Bill Soberanes never got around to that topic. Guess I’ll have to wait for the “vibrations.” After all, Bill and I are “tuning fork” buddies. It’s beginning to get light … time to go back to bed for more zzzzzz. Maybe the answer will come in my next remembrance about Bill. Stay tuned.