Another Dead Blogger
Jul 11th, 2008 at 7:21 am by Susie
My friend Melanie Mattson died a few weeks ago. One week from today is her birthday and she would have been 54. (I’ll have a piece of cake for you, Mel.)
An original Daily Kos regular, she was the publisher of Just A Bump in the Beltway, one of the first wave of political blogs. She was also one of the founders of the FluWiki, a comprehensive resource for those studying pandemic flu, and a contributor at Effect Measure.
She was a former symphony musician (she played the bassoon), teacher and theologian, a gourmet cook and cat lover, and yet another of the millions of Americans without health care.
We don’t know yet which of her conditions killed her, but it’s a pretty safe bet that consistent health care could have very likely prevented or at least delayed her death.
Melanie was an amazingly erudite and opinionated person; there was literally not a subject in the world on which she wouldn’t wax eloquent - whether she actually knew about it or not. She simply loved the debate, and she had a booming laugh that punctuated any discussion with her. She knew almost nothing about popular culture, but she did love the Food Channel and credited it with saving her life through a long illness last year.
She was also a dedicated traveler on the spiritual path, serving as a spiritual director to many in the D.C. area - first as a Buddhist, then as a recent Catholic convert.
Despite having two masters degrees, she was unable to find regular employment for the past five years or so. She’d recently tapped out her home equity to fund a new business, and was facing foreclosure as a result. She was so generous to so many, but there was little help for her at the end.
Melanie was one of the founding Blogmothers who nurtured many, many others along the way. I take some comfort in knowing that Mel, who was devastated by Steve Gilliard’s death, is up there with Gilly, keeping an eye on things.
She was my friend. I will miss her.
That’s really sad. I really enjoyed her writing. She was always very quick to offer encouragement.
I am so very sad about this. I wish there had been a way to keep some information about her condition posted on her site while she was sick. Maybe we could have done something for her.
I’m very sorry that you lost a friend, Susie. Sadly, I’m not familiar with her work but she sounds like such a wonderful and interesting woman. Your words of appreciation made Melanie come alive as a person.
Really this world cannot afford to lose someone like that.
Oh, no. I loved Melanie, loved her work, and corresponded with her from time to time. I really don’t know what to say, except that I’ll miss her.
Oh, no. I loved Melanie’s work. I’ve been missing her voice since March, but never suspected she was ill. I am so sorry for your loss and all of ours.
Melanie was immensely kind and generous to me when I first piped up at pogge’s place, and I find it so hard to accept that we can’t talk to her any more. I miss the early-morning snark at Bump; I miss the recipes; I miss the no-nonsense advice she used to give me. I just plain miss Melanie.
I want to thank you all for the kind words you have offered up about my sister Mel.
As you can imagine these have been very difficult days the past two weeks for our family, but I did want to thank you also for being an important part of Mel’s life these past few years.
We all will miss Mel and her passion.
Thank you again,
Erik Mattson
I felt something like this had happened when her blog stopped blogging. I loved her recipes; I just made 2 weeks ago her “divine banana bread.” I worried about her during her blogging career because of the work thing. I knew she had real issues with her business partners for whom she hocked her house. I encouraged her to go back to music. I know she referenced her brother Erik frequently because he was a chef or foodie like she was. I had already missed her before reading about her death in Avedon Carol.
sadly,
thelrd in TEXAS
I am heartbroken. Melanie was a friend and an inspiration to me. God bless you Melanie.