It was 35 years ago, give or take, that two Petaluma friends became suddenly and unexpectedly celebrated for making spot-on jokes about motherhood that stung a little while also inspiring guffaws of undeniable maternal recognition. It was the right act at the right time. Pointedly named The Mommies, Marilyn Kentz and Caryl Kristensen soon found themselves on a wild show business adventure that would propel them to Hollywood as the writers and stars of not one but two different network television shows.

As often happens in La-La Land, of course, the spotlight of fame eventually turned elsewhere, as did the focus of Kentz and Kristensen’s lives. But now, three-and-a-half decades after it all began, the two longtime friends are re-teaming and returning to Petaluma and the Bay Area for a series of storytelling events.

Originally promoted as “comedy for women who don’t want sex more than once a month,” The Mommies were a genuine sensation, and a string point of pride for many Petalumans. Upon landing an NBC sitcom – titled “The Mommies,” of course – a huge number of locals tuned in every week to watch. The show was canceled after two seasons and 38 episodes, and was followed by a short-lived ABC talk show titled “Caryl & Marilyn: Real Friends.” It ran for a year in 1996 and 1997, and was then replaced by “The View,” which is still on the air.