Too much happening yesterday, so I wasn’t able to post a blog in the early hours of the morning, as I usually do. Just like Bill Soberanes, I was about to miss a deadline. My regular viewers know that I’ve been posting “something” daily for over 60 days. Was this streak about to be broken? My thoughts turned to Petaluma’s famous Columnist-Peopleologist, Bill Soberanes, whose “My Fascinating World of People” column appeared weekly in the Argus-Courier, on schedule for years. How did he do it?
In the process of researching his MFWP columns, they would be recorded on a spreadsheet chronologically, by the person’s last name and occupation or profession. In the course of his 49 year career, Bill published over 1200 such people-centered columns, where he shared his impressions and insights about that personality, as a result of their “mingling.” He never missed a deadline! Here’s the secret. The newspaper ran many of his interviews more than once. For example: Frank Sinatra (4 times); Capt. Hans Beck (5); Mickey Mantle (6), Dr. Wernher Von Braun and commander Edward Whitehead (7 times, each).
I apologize to our younger viewers who may not recognize some of these names. Check out the web site that includes some of Bill’s interviews with both the famous and the infamous at http://www.petalumaonline.com/soberanes/ On Friday of next week (June 2), the Petaluma Press Club will gather in Bill’s memory to recall the good times that Argus-Courier reporters had working together over the years. Of course, they had a great community to write about. We’ll be Remembering Bill Soberanes, Petaluma’s greatest booster for some time, so please stay tuned.
Whew! I didn’t miss today. I was thinking about re-running one of my blogs, just like you did, but then I thought about you and revealed your secret. Thank you, Bill!
On Our Radar Screen
It’s off to Marin County this afternoon for a meeting in Sausalito about broadband. It looks like another Our Cyberspace column might be in the works. Who knows, maybe I’ll be keying it in during the early morning hours on Wednesday. Bill Soberanes wouldn’t want me to miss a deadline … would he?