Yesterday I received a long mail from Gorik, one of Paul's brothers, and he wanted me to pass along his thanks to the club:
Thank you and all of them, the Alembic people all over the world, to share our sadness. Thank you very-very-very much. I never knew a bass guitar could have such a strong family. It really stunned me and I wept a lot reading those letters.
I can also share with you these thoughts, from one of Paul's close friends:
Thank you very much Bob. Paul has the - rare - capacity to sense people and to get the best out of them and by reading his posts and the reactions I really recognize him. Although I had never read them before. ?Of course he talked about the Alembic Club and I know it was very important to him. And I knew he was Paul The Bad One aso. It?s comforting to see how many people he has touched and to read all his crazy ideas...
There are two more things, for now, that I'm sure you would all like to know.
Paul was told about the COTM feature. He was very tired and not in one of his talking moments at the time, but it seems to have prompted a small smile, and a bit more life in his eyes. While we can't be certain, that sounds to me like too much to be coincidence, so I believe it was in time to make a difference.
Also, though it will be quite a while before many such details are worked out, I have been assured that Bonnie will not be sold to a stranger - or any of his other instruments, for that matter. It seems Paul has not been specific about his wishes, but his family has long understood how important they are to him. They may stay in the family, or end up with friends, but one way or another I'm sure we will eventually be hearing something further from Bonnie.