Rip On Seipp
Rip Rense won first place for online commentary for his column on our late friend Cathy Seipp. An excerpt:
She was a friend of a hell of a lot of people, of course, and that's not just a "fine legacy," it's an important achievement in these times of snarling and backbiting as extreme sport. She was prickly, cantankerous, reactionary, unforgiving, forgiving, brilliant, incisive, caring, compassionate, all rolled into one potent complex human. I didn't understand some of her arch positions and reactions, and how they squared with a person of such heart---but then, I hope someone might make such an observation about me some day, so that's no slight.Cathy had the smarts and the decency to know that human beings are not the sum total of their attitudes or political opinions. She did not, as far as I know, dismiss people on the basis of political litmus tests, which as I said, is The American Way, nowadays. She took them either as genuine, as good souls, or not. Churlishness, puniness, pettiness, egotism, arrogance---I think these were some of her measures of disapproval. And so did she have friends of many views and attitudes---and so did she bring them together, at least in the L.A. journalism scene, no small feat. I mean, anyone who has elicited the admiration of Susan Estrich and the vile Coulter Beast has some unique mojo going on.
This was "Cathy's World," as her blog was called, a place where mensches were mensches and women were, too, no matter their points of view.
She was, as everyone who knew her will attest, immensely affable, once you got past (if you got past) the shoot-from-the-hip opinion of something you said/did/wrote. "Stop whining" was as apt to come from her as an observation born of affection. Me, I don't understand how relating a factual story of being treated like dog leavings by an editor merits a "stop whining," as I generally relate such tales out of sheer astonishment. But that was her, take her or leave her.
By the way, when you lose somebody you care about (scratch that, I hate that term -- it always sounds like misplaced keys)...when somebody you care about dies, the most mundane stuff becomes precious, because you no longer have the luxury of the mundane with them.
In an old purse I was getting rid of, I just found an e-mail from Cathy -- dated Tuesday, October 26, 1999 -- and addressed to me, Monica Corcoran, Hillary Johnson, Sandra Tsing Loh, Nancy Rommelmann, Samantha Dunn, Denise Hamilton and Jill Stewart...basically, the writergirls of the writergirl breakfasts Cathy and I started. (We later added Emmanuelle Richard, Kate Coe, Kerry Madden Lunsford and others as we met them.)
Anyway, it was all about meeting at the Village Coffeeshop and how we had to make it a little later so Sandra could get there after her meeting, and then, so typically Cathy:
I know you all said you were coming but people forget and plans change so let me know if you still are, OK?
And then, even more Cathy:
Suggested topic: My new policy -- the 110% kill fee. What do you think?
I think it's really sad when you'll take anything you can get of a person, because that's all you can get.
The woman was treasure, and no mistake. I tried getting to her archived articles a couple of months back and don't remember what happened, but i couldn't to them. Are they still available somewhere? I'm on leave and wouldn't mind re-reading some of them today.
WolfmanMac at June 23, 2008 7:29 AM
I'd like to get some of her work published in a book, and Charlotte Allen was trying to help me (get to some people at NRO to see if they'd do it), but I've been so consumed with my own book, some of which I wrote while being there with Cathy at her house, and other stuff, that I don't really have time to pursue it.
NRO has some online, LATimes has some, too. You can search in each of their archives.
Amy Alkon at June 23, 2008 7:45 AM
I have a grocery list and a note from my mom asking my brother to feed and water the dogs.
You take what you can get, you know?
amber at June 23, 2008 11:46 AM
All too well.
Amy Alkon at June 23, 2008 11:57 AM
boiled moon for dinner? again?!
Kudzu Fire at June 23, 2008 5:15 PM
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