A blogospheric Irish wake for a beloved free spirit

"Here's Cathy Seipp! Our great pal is leaving us soon, but while she fights (and oh god, I've never seen someone fight like her), there's nothing much to do on a site like this except to show some of her excellent babe-tastic photographs. Like this one [above left], interviewing Bill Blass" in her salad days, blogs Matt Welch in his contribution to a blogospheric Irish wake of a tribute this day to a beloved free spirit -- a shining light of the Pajamas Media crowd, the proprietress of Cathy's World -- who is passing over to the other side in her final bout with lung cancer. Never having known Cathy but having been brought to tears by the heartfelt tributes of those who knew and loved her, we were reminded of our own blogging of the life and death of another shining star we'd never met, Berry Berenson Perkins [above right], as part of the 2,996 Project last 9/11.

We were all set to blog about Viscount Monckton's challenge to Al Gore's "argument" in his film "An Inconvenient Truth," a "foofaraw of pseudo-science, exaggerations, and errors, now being peddled to innocent schoolchildren worldwide," when we learned of the imminent death of one of the blogophere's brightest lights, Cathy Seipp, a fellow Pajamas Media blogger. We'd checked out the definition of foofaraw -- a great fuss or disturbance about something very insignificant -- and were simmering with righteous indignation at the foofarawic resonance of all things Democratic, from Nancy Pelosi on down [up?] when Cathy's impending death caught us up short. We spent most of our blogging time the rest of the day checking out the tributes, which were like a river at flood tide.

"Journalist and blogger Cathy Seipp has been sick for a while but you wouldn't know it," writes Tony Pierce re the unexpectedly sudden demise of a woman being mourned and celebrated by the blogosphere this day. Cathy and her daughter Maia, left, and Berry Berenson Perkins, right.

"In between writing and blogging and being interviewed and hosting backyard parties attended by the likes of Ann Coulter to holding a roast for herself that asked (and received) no holds barred," writes Tony Pierce in"The Saddest Story We've Heard All Day"

Seipp just hasn't had time to get sick enough to be of any seriously serious concern, so friends simply cherished each encounter as if it was its last, and now it appears things have turned very bad.

As the English clergyman and metaphysical poet George Herbert said way back when, "Living is the best revenge." She outlived the doctors' dire predictions by years.

Comments

[enrevanche]

Cathy Seipp, writing everywhere from the Wall Street Journal to the National Review to her beloved blog, has made me laugh so hard that I've actually done authentic spit-takes at the computer.

She wrote about her struggle with cancer without sugarcoating it--she was raw and honest and open about it. As the husband of a cancer survivor I admired her candor so much... there's absolutely nothing noble about suffering and anyone who thinks there is hasn't ever been around any serious suffering, IMO.

Cathy has not gone gentle into that good night; she has fought every inch of the way. I hope and pray that she will find peace when she crosses over to whatever's on the other side of this vale of tears.

[hnav]

a sad story...

a wonderful life...

hearts and prayers are with the amazing Ms. Seipp...

she will not be forgotten.

and we must do her proud.

[Teresa]

She has touched many lives, she won't be forgotten.

[Gayle Miller]

God rest her beautiful soul. We can take comfort in the fact that she is no longer in pain and able to watch over all who loved her and depended on her brilliance.