This week I confronted myself: “Now really, which do you prefer, blogging or eating?” Okay, it isn’t quite that stark a proposition — but close enough that I finally said to Tom, “It’s time for me to hush and you to start your own blog.”
Which explains why he’s been scarce around here these last few days — he’s been busy crafting a fine place for this party to continue. He calls it “NMissCommentor.com (A blog from the hills in North Mississippi),” and when you see it, I think you’ll feel at home.
So what happened to me? Well, the truth is, addictiveness runs in my family, I’m our test case on blogging, and it proved a bad one: sucked all my time and attention right up and became impervious to my attempts at self-regulation. So tomorrow after Sunday Dinnah, I’ll be going cold turkey.
folo, though, will stay right here, accessible for your reminiscing and/or researching pleasure. Who knows — maybe at some now-unforeseen point, I can revive it as an active (though not as constantly-active) blog. But in a couple of days, I’ll be closing the comments and converting folo.us into the attic of NMissCommentor.com’s living room.
Thank you, you wonderful people, for supplying and supporting all this unforgettable fun. I’ll join you as a commenter over at Tom’s as possible but after this weekend will be refocusing the time and energy I’ve devoted to folo on my real life (which needs them more).
My very best to you, my dears, always.
Thanks lotus for FOLO,….. twas a great site,…. will now switch to NMCommentor.
Thanks from me, too. I dropped in originally for Scruggs mania but now Folo is my first stop for information about everything happening that’s worth knowing about. I hope to see you at the new site from time to time.
Ditto what Underdog said in #2, to the letter. NMC has a lovely new site. Please come visit Oxford again when you can. – DLM
Wow!Please know you have enriched and informed many folks during your time blogging. If you get this way, email Sailor and me and we’ll take you out to the best joints in town. Have enjoyed having folo as part of my daily news and look forward to your comments on NMC’s site and knowing you are leading a full rich life. What a great ride!
Say it ain’t so, lo. This is my first stop every morning. Life won’t be the same without you.
Underdog @ #2, couldn’t have said it better! We will all miss coming to folo….I’m not taking it off my Favorites yet. And if you ever get back to Oxford, you have to look us up. I’m not going to say “we’ll miss you”…. rather we look forward to seeing you at Tom’s new blog!! Thanks so much for everything!!
what you said soms.
I’m keeping Folo in my RSS feeds in case Lotus decides she has things to say…
Y’all are just Da Bes’.
Thank you Lotus for everything you are a gem!
Thank you even more for helping raise the standards in the Mississippi Media!
Sure gonna miss you Miss and all the folo contributors. Best of luck.
OK, Lotus, fellow FL resident:
First, Thanks for your window to MS & its culture. I left there in 1970 or so, but you & NMC brought it all roaring back–Like old home week–I have shared your site with other refugees & the common response is a wave of nostalgia, and a sense of gratitude for the efforts of yew all. Here lately, many more folx are commenting, even a few flakes, but, hey, it’s America.
I would suggest that as you spend more time in New Smyrna, you’ll miss your MS years increasingly. When there, I was honored to be friends with some who were 7th generation Jacksonians. You won’t find that here–
Like others, I’ll continue to watch FOLO & hope for your relapse, that there’s so much happening you will be compelled to respond.
Otherwise, if you find yourself south of Miami, drop me a line & I’ll buy you a drink with an umbrella in it–
Fair winds and following seas.
really, really hate to see you go. tom does a great job on legal issues (i don’t cook so i don’t read the rest of NMC). I am sure that will continue. but Lotus filled us all in on the Bush and more – now that is the stuff that really matters.
maybe you can still post links even without the time of commenting.
thanks for the wonderful job.
I thoroughly enjoyed being a folo’er. The community which had developed around the blog was unique. Instead of hurling insults back and forth, honest debate and arguments took place, and people actually changed their minds (I know, I changed mine a few times). This is the only place where I have experienced this and that is an awesome accomplishment.
Best wishes and see you at NMC’s new place.
My Dear Jan: a brilliant beautiful light is leaving us in the semi darkness. I thank God for you, for your heart, your genius, your words, your perspective. Thank you for everything from the bottom of my heart. Take care. If you need me, call me.
No. You simply cannot stop. You started something important to all of us and you will be greatly missed. Folo is always the first stop in the morning and the last stop at nite.
You will be greatly missed by more than you know.
ciao
Awww Mannn, where else am I gonna get my Obama-fawn on>? LOL. Me an ole Jawbreaker sure will miss the crap.
Folo is an excellent place to go, and i will miss it (even though you barred some of my conservative comments under another name instead of debating). I wish you the very best, and hope you’ll be back soon.
As the farmers say, “You sowed a lotta good bermuda out there.” Thanks for everything.
It’s sad that the era had to end, Lotus. But you and NMC have a great deal to be proud of here, and so does this community.
I’m not a Southerner nor a lawyer, but there were still plenty of interesting reads about how people in places removed from me do fascinating and sometimes important things as they lead their own lives. A compilation might be fodder for an interesting novel or mini-series.
Best of luck to NMC and everyone at the new site.
I also want to express my appreciation for all your hard work in support of this wonderful site. I hope you will comment often on the new site. Great work here, and I wish you the very best going forward.
Thanks for keeping the site up for research purposes. As a writer about things Mississippi it is invaluable
As a seventh generation Mississippian and some time visitor to folo, I salute you and your folo-ers for helping make Mississippi a better place. The give and take on your blog has been very enjoyable and enlightening. Best wishes.
The wit, the wisdom, the zinging reality of Mississippi life in a format yet unrivaled. I join in the sentiments already posted and extend both a heartfelt “thank you” and prayer that many blessings to flow yo’ way!
lotus, I hope that like a good drunk will do from time to time you will pick up the bottle that is folo and take a swig….
Thank you for your time and devoted efforts over the years.
Hey, I’m betting it’s not out of your blood yet (and that you’ll be one of the most “regular” of the regulars at the new blog). Good luck to you and Tom both, I’ll see you there!
Thanks. Enjoyed it.
I will miss you!
Great good wishes to NMC for the new site, but I’ll miss you, lotus.
Here’s hoping your new, non-blogging time is rewarding in all ways.
Wow. I am a little surprised at how well everyone seems to be taking this. For me, it feels like losing a family member or going through a bad divorce. Having been at folo (with very little exception) daily since day one of Scruggsiana, and despite having been completely silent while here, lotus, NMC, and the foloers have become like family. (Case in point, I often see NMC around town and start to talk to him, forgetting we’re not real-life friends).
I’ve come to look forward to (and oftentimes anticipate) the responses of various regulars, and many times find myself looking for the response of particular foloers as I try to understand my own position on issues.
The service this place has dished out to the community of foloers, as well as the general public, has been invaluable. I am grateful to lotus for the sweat she put into keeping folo.us alive for so long and keeping us all informed and on our toes. Folo will be greatly missed.
That being said, I look forward to foloing my family to the new house. I hope everyone keeps their handles intact (though at this point I don’t think it’d take too long to figure out who’s who!).
God bless you, lotus, as you go on to do yet another great thing.and thank you in advance, NMC, for the new site.
unsure– feel free to speak if you see me around town!
I am committed to trying to encourage the same sense of community over at the new place. I’m not as likely to post so much about national politics as Lotus (or, as she noted elsewhere, the animal posts), but most of the other content I intend to try to continue in my own way. Lotus is welcome to join there, and if she resumes blogging after any hiatus, I’ll be linking and pointing toward what she writes.
thanks for everything you have done….and God Bless in your new endeavors in your life. you have given so much, time to take care of you.
wow, what a shocker. enjoyed your work, thank you.
No point in repeating everything everyone else said. You know I will miss you and please, stay in touch via email if not the blogs. I so enjoyed meeting you here in Oxford. Thank you for everything.
Naw, naw, naw, Lotus. It’s not too late to come to your senses. Colin Powell famously said (about Somalia, I think): “Just because things become difficult doesn’t mean you cut and run.” Sure, times are hard. The economy is a train wreck. And this may mean less Lotus, for all of us, but you don’t really mean that cold turkey shit do you? Say it ain’t so. Did NMC say something to hurt your feelings? If so, would it help for us to mop the streets of Oxford with his ass?
Thank you, Lotus. Wishing you the very best in everything you do –
Dang, Lotus – sure am going to miss you – your wit and word play, your little voices. You’ve had a wonderful run here – please don’t lose touch with us.
This has been one of my regular haunts, and I’ll miss it. Hope you get your real life back into whatever order it needs to be in, but don’t forget us out here on the Intertubez.
Oh,Lotus, we will miss you! Your unique combination of wit, wisdom and straight talk often fueled my day’s contemplations after browsing your site with morning coffee. All the best to you.
Much to my surprise, I’m in tears, lotus. I know you’ve gotta do watcha’ gotta do, but damn, I’ll sure miss playing in your sandbox! Please stay in touch via e-mail. Best of luck in conquering this blogging addiction, however we’ll be here for you if you fail!!!
Lotus, you did the hard work for us, you spoiled us, you found the best stories,you brought together the most unlikely bedfellows and formed a great family. Go ahead and take your little vacation(well deserved), get your life in order, visit us at NMC’s new digs and bring FOLO back when you are ready! I wish All the best life has to offer for you.
your friend,
Woo
Thanks, Jan.
Jim
I’m thinking that since George Soros did so good last year (http://www.folo.us/2009/02/01/0201-open-thread/#more-10551)you should hit him up for a(nother) grant. After all he helped MoveOn.org do everything but.
Lotus,my world has just grown incredibly smaller with this news.It has been a love affair that i will miss forever.Please don’t go! Thank you for making me feel better about my home, and brightening my day. With tears and many thanks.
Old man, Enigma
I join with others in thanking you and praying that many blessings come your way. I think my favorite posts were those about the neglected animals of Michael and Marie Salts of Booneville. You provided quite a public service in that case.
Be well, Lotus Flowah. I hate to hear that news.
As usual I am near the last to say anything.
Godspeed.
NL
You all knock me out. I’ll answer a little, as best I can, in the morning. But thank you, for starters.
“OK.” That’s what I’ve always said when folks who wormed their way close to my heart said goodbye: “OK.” It’s basically: “This is out of my hands, and it’s what you want, and you’re hellbent on doing it, whether I like it or not, and it’s not something you want to hear me rant and weep over, and I’ve still got just enough pride and self-respect and frosty reserve left to emote no further, so, OK.” “OK, Lotus, have it your way.” “OK.”
Now look, we guilted Jan into continuing to blog the last time she vowed to cut back . . . to her detriment apparently. If we are grateful members of her family, we’ll support her by not being too codependent, and we’ll help her whatever way she’ll allow.
Maybe she’s not as central to your intellectual and spiritual chords as she is to mine, DetlaLawMama, at 51. Maybe you’ve stumbled onto plenty of folks as erudite, soulful, bright, tough, fair, generous, witty, charming, modest, elegant, miraculous, wise, fearful, warm, kind, noble, unforgettable, acerbic, fearless, irreplaceable, deep, challenging, ethical, searing, daring, formidable, honest, wry, introspective, gracious, and ruby-emerald-rainbow-splendor-fine as Lotus every time you’ve blinked your eyes, or turned around. I haven’t been so lucky. Most folks I encounter are ordinary.
third @ 52: . . . And all the people said, Amen!
woof, woof, woof (doggie for thanks lotus!)
This is a sad day. I would say “Hate to see her go, but I . . .” but you would just give me another strike.
Good luck to you.
Amen.
3dS and Confounded – Lotus is extremely important to me, as she is obviously for you too. She is unique, extraordinary, and irreplaceable. Frankly I am in mourning. However, my regard and affection for her mean that I have to let her go if that is what she says she needs. I do not plan on letting her go alone into that good night, but I respect her judgment because she has been exemplary in her assessments and reasoning in the past. 3dS & Confounded, you need to know that I hold both of you in deep esteem as well. It was my hope to meet both of you in December, and I was disappointed to not have that opportunity. Getting to meet Jan, NMC, Scandaljunkie, NatureLover, LydiaLaw, AFOTL, Fishwater, My2Cents, Habeas, DMWriter and others was fun and special. This place has become a place of respite for me. Kind of like a bar where you know the regulars, and can pick up the conversation that was left hanging from the day before. Wishing that Lotus will return to us, and that we may have a big Throw Down again (celebrating pigs?), one day soon.
DLM, I love your analogy of folo and “Cheers”, the neighborhood bar. I agree with 3rdsouth-”ruby-emerald-rainbow-splendor-fine”. Now that is some fine! And I agree that what lotus wants, lotus gets, so I will follow her lead on this one and be there if and when she needs something or has something to say again. And, I do believe she will have something to say again, so I’ll bide my time.
DLM: I was amenning the complimentary adjectives in Third’s post, not a retort to you. So sorry if I offended you. No offense was intended. You are a doll and a good friend to lotus. Please forgive me. PS- you did meet me in December, you just didn’t know it was me you were meeting!
Lotus, thank you for your effort with this blog.
Confounded, not offended at all. I think ThirdSouth misunderstood me, and I thought you did too. Nearly ate a whole cake of Buttermilk Cornbread today. Have entertained baking another one. I always cry & drink after the burial and after the other people have left the wake. Do you know where should I send the casserole?
As a Divorce/Custody lawyer, I can seem remote sometimes. It’s for the best really, as it keeps me from ripping out my opponents spines through their mouths, and allows me to file insidious motions instead.
put the casserole in the freezer, hon, so you can take it out when jan comes back to town. I’m heartbroken. I’m signing in at the new place as Mikey’s mom ’cause I got a new pup named Mike. See u there.
Ditto @ 60 – DLM
Because folo.us changed formats and locations a couple of times, these statistics are incomplete, but nonetheless impressive.
Since the count started in folo’s most recent iteration, there have been 4,355 posts, by Lotus and Tom. In that same period, there have been more than 42,500 comments to those posts.
Since the latest statistical analysis program was put in place in February of 2008, there have been more than 2.3 million page views at folo. On folo’s biggest day in that period, there were more than 27,500 page views in a single 24-hour period.
Quite a ride.
NOMISS @46, Yes, Lotus was invaluable in helping with the Booneville Three; Jackson, Missy and Zippy. Also equally helpful was one of the above commenters (who shall remain unidentified) that actually took delivery of all three dogs and distributed them to new homes. Both were truly angels and I will never forget their good deed.
Wow, riddenword. That is quite impressive. Thanks for those stats.
I’m sorry to read this, but will bookmark NMC’s site. I don’t think you’ll get too far away, at least I hope not. I’m going to be in NSB in October – staying at a beach house with a group of moms for a great kid free weekend. I’ll email you closer to the date so we can meet up. Get your dancing shoes ready
Oh folks, what you’re saying on-blog and in email has me stunned and stammering.
If I thought I could get away with it, of course I’d keep blogging — heck, I’d be sitting here writing posts and relishing your company as the utilities crew and deputies showed up to cut me off and foreclose. I’ll lay you good odds that my folo-addiction beats yours.
But addicted bloggers better at least have reliable salaries, fees, or savings. Had I known then what I know now, instead of starting folo, I’d have been putting 100% effort into protecting my little fisc. Now that it’s gone, if I don’t turn 100% effort to income-seeking and make a success of it fast — well, beloved folo will be my least loss.
I’ve discovered that I can’t blog “in the background” while doing job-search and trying to self-train new skills. What appears on-blog is the least of this gig. Beyond the composing and editing, a news-blogger’s day also involves reiterative news-monitoring, heavy email-traffic, flurries of phone calls (none of that on a tidy or predictable schedule), and in my case, no staff.
It’s very hard work and usually wonderful fun. It contributes some value to Mississippi. It lets me hear daily from many beloveds and the occasional asshat. But darlin’s, it’s hobbling my personal renaissance in the worst way, and I just can’t do it while trying to accomplish what I must to save myself.
I promise you’ll be the first to know if I find, sometime later this year or next, that I can work at something for pay and also blog for pleasure.
Go on over to NMC.com and continue doing what made folo wonderful. I’ll be there some and maybe someday, back here too. I sure hope so. Later this mawnin’ I’ll serve some Sunday Dinnah, but here’s what I have for you now:
((((HUG))))
Special delivery:
{{{{Enigma}}}}
That goes for all of you, one by one.
Okay. Almost all.
Assuming the donate button still works, let’s all hit it to give our Lotus a proper send-off.
Good luck, lotus..guess you can go back to being that flowah on da pond! Put on some good tunes and enjoy life!
OK
I, too, first encountered this site while following all the Scruggs mania. I work at a law firm where the last couple of years have primarily been focused on Katrina litigation. I also have a literary background, namely a B.A. in English from Millsaps and aspirations of becoming a successful writer. I have never commented before but I would just like to let it be known how much I have come to appreciate the service this blog provides. Many of the stories covered here should be covered by the local Jackson media, as most of the corruption uncovered and explored here affects all citizens of Mississippi. I count on this blog for intelligent, thoughtful discourse about important legal and political issues. To NMC, Lotus, and all the commenters I have come to know, thank you for sharing your wisdom with me the last couple of years! (Though I will check out the new site, it still feels as if an era is coming to an end.)
I don’t know what to say, except good luck and let me know if there is anything I can help you with.
I wont say goodbye
You were a breath of fresh air. We will all miss you insight. You never took yourself or anyone else too seriously. And that was a good thing! God Bless and take good care.
Best of luck, Lotus.
If you decide to sell the site, how much do you reckon Zach will offer?
Ooh! Mebee a bidding war to help Lotus’ nest egg? Naw, we want her to come back “home” to us when she can, don’t we?
Yes, DLM, at 76, we do. But surely Lotus is not going to sign off today, her last day, without commenting on Mark Danner’s searing account in today’s New York Times, “Tales from Torture’s Dark World,” that describes with great particularity the torture techniques we performed during the Bush Administration (W called the torture we were performing an “alternative set of procedures”). And what about that looney toon, Nicholas Kristof, STILL THERE on the same page of the Times today, p. 13). How the Hell am I supposed to think for myself on these things without having the benefit of Lotus’s thinking first? Not that I just adopted her thinking as my own, just because it happened to jibe with my thinking 93% of the time. But surely she’s going to comment on these published reports before midnight, and that’s a good thing, because I haven’t prepared for her depature today — I’ve prepared for it tomorrow.
I must be one of the few people sitting here waiting for a final word from Lotus? Now that Sunday dinnah is over?
Well, she can’t just leave that torture piece lying fallow.
Maybe it’s like a rock concert. She does half a Sunday’s worth on her last day, walks off the stage, and only comes back if we stand and cheer and chant and stomp and whistle, louder and louder, making it clear we ain’t leaving the arena until she does her full schtick.
Lighter, Lighter, Lighter!!!!!
(((Hootin’ and hollerin’!!!)))
ThirdSouth, you think that will work?
Lotus, you are a “class act” in communication, blogging etc.
I discovered your wonderful “page’ , website or whatever you call it thru keeping up with the Richard Scruggs trial via the WSJ law blog, well NYC leads back to Mississippi to home folks covering what happens at home.
Bless you in keeping us informed, connecting all the good, ethical lawyers and running a wonderful blog.
P.S. Please reconsider keeping Folo alive.
Sheila Bosworth, a fine Louisiana novelist, wrote, in her best novel, Almost Innocent: “Expecting it and ready for it are two different things. You are never ready to give up someone you love. The best you can do is expect the suddenness of the goodbye. The sad old suddenness of the goodbye is one thing you can count on.”
3dS I hear ya. Know zackly what you mean. Any little crumbs she drops us will be eagerly consumed. It’s like when we lost my UM Law School classmate Pete Bagley last month. What can one say. It has been a tremendous pleasure to have found this place. Now if we can just find Lo’ a gig that’s no more than 40/wk, with paid vacations, and which pays enough, we’d probably get her back some more than we can reasonably hope to expect given the circumstances. But really, I’ve said all I can say right now.
Lighter extinguished…..poof! What a ride.
Been out of town, away from the internet this weekend. So, I have just now seen this thread and am just now responding.
Thank you Jan for a great blog site. I have enjoyed participating here the last 16 months. Your site will be missed. Hope to see you commenting again when you can.
Lotus – Have enjoyed reading your work here. Best wishes, and hope to hear from you again soon. YLHL
Well, Lotus, your departure from Folo will not do. Will not do at all! You could still provide us with something to think about, laugh about, get back to you about, get to others about — if you did so without thinking you had to start educating us before the deer wake up out here in the Wild West.
Just do your stuff, and throw something into, or on, the site when the spirit moves you. I am sure your readers would be sure you have enough in contributions to make a goodly dent on internet service fees.
But, whatever you decide to to, I want to say how much I enjoy “talking” with you and your friends (and detractors). You have provided much pleasure of a good and healthy kind.
Take care, Jan
Steve
Lotus I just want to say thank you for letting me be myself and God Loves you more than you will ever know this side of Heaven.
God Bless,
IAG
Heya Lotus. Best Wishes, fond memories and great hope for the good things in life for you. See you at NMC’s new digs.
throwing money might help if some of us could just bring ourselves to hit that donate button. (sigh).
Cruising by here this morning is like driving past your childhood home after the fire, just plain sad.
a reader for about six months, thank you lotus. Off to NMC.
Kycol @ 92, reading your pithy comment was just the salve I needed to dab in this wound.
Thank you for everything Lotus. Without a doubt, for the last 16 months you and NMC were the journalistic vanguards of Mississippi media.
Hope to hear from you often. Maybe regular guest posts at NMC’s?
J
I will not know what it is going on in North Mississippi with any reliance.
weirdharold, I think the North Mississippi part of this blog will still be covered at least to a degree.