Missing women
It began with Lady Liberty, whose normally-active webpage went into suspended animation in May. I'd met Liberty through a Usenet flirtation, and had met her in person several times, the last with my wife. We weren't particularly close, and I hadn't viewed her site for awhile, so it was a surprise when I noticed it several months ago. I wasn't particularly alarmed, because she said she'd been on vacation, and I knew she was trying to get escape velocity to go out West. Maybe she'd established something there, came back to wrap things up, and then went back. Or...maybe "chucklehead", her ex, decided to do something not-nice. Certainly it wasn't like her to just let things dangle.
Then there was the retirement of Claire Wolfe. That was not left to dangle; she explained very clearly what she was doing, and why, on her blog and on theclairefiles.com (now thementalmilitia.com). We'd never met; I'd given her a few tips on playing recorder, and she had some kind words for my music. But for all her legendary stature (is it Claire Wolfe Time yet?), she always seemed like family. I was in denial about this a bit, and went to her blog, hoping to find another post...but she's let her web-hosting account expire. (The content is mirrored here.)
Now, in a time when governments claim the right to disappear people, it should be more than obvious that people have the right to disappear themselves. I have no rights to anyone's time, or to demand that they never change. And at least (unlike The Artist Formerly Known As Lady Liberty) I know that The Artist Formerly Known As Claire Wolfe is doing fine. But damnit, I miss them. And a world where semipublic figures just drop out of sight is a scary place, even if they drop out for the best of reasons. But I echo Wendy McElroy's blessings (Mac, don't YOU drop out now!)
Comments
Posted by: kishnevi
Posted on: October 15, 2007 11:08 PM
So that's what happened...I missed any formal announcement by Ms. Wolfe, and was wondering if something imploded or exploded because it seemed so sudden. Thanks for the info. She certainly will be missed.