Bar hopping on Father's Day! Yep! Brings me back. Reminds me of who I miss. My dad. Duh. Then, I remembered so many who have disappeared from here. Bummer. Cheers!

Ebb and flow I suspect, when the need is satisfied it's time to move on.

Never know, that's the problem with forming these cyber-relationships, folks disappear into the ether without a word or ripple, leaving only their memory. Sometimes that has to be enough..

Rated for consideration.

Seer - Hence your name. Thank you for bringing me closure to this incredible day. I hesitate to leave it. But, surely, it will leave me.

Thank you for reminding us all of those fine writers gone missing. I also miss them and to many others to list.

"We few, we happy few. We band of brothers (and sisters)"
Rated.

You are sweet. I'm about, here and there. Miss you too! Luckily we live close enough to see each other outside of OS. send me your email again please!

You hit a lot of the same people I miss. Also wish we could hear more from Writer to the Stars, Lulu and Phoebe, Persephone, 1 irritated Mother and Jodie Kasten.

More Dylan pictures, please! =o) Corgi Puppies are a sure antidote to the blues.

rated

I miss 'em too. Look, there's Sandra in the comment thread.

HI SANDRA!

I also miss Catamitebastard. When I joined OS he was one of the first people to be nice to me and make me think I might have a place here. Sandra did that too, and Lonnie, and Mary, during my infamous meth post.

HI SANDRA!

Then there's Natalie; if not for meeting her I wouldn't still be around this joint. If there's any one person to blame, it's Natalie. Damn her eyes!

HI SANDRA!

Stellaa for her garden-to-kitchen, suffer-no-fools approach to blogging ; Ablonde for her general knowledge, sense of humour & surgical commentary, & I second Natalie.
I wish Padraig had weathered the storm, and WSFTC & Mr Knight I miss as well. I mourn Zykaster Jaimond's passing, & Studsman ; wonder where Ken Honeywell went and think about Waking Up Slowly too.
As much as I miss them I'm grateful to have read them, here.
You too.

1 Irritated Mother

Amanda G

Surly

Sheldon the Wonder Horse

Squirrel

Jodie Kasten

General Brady

Cat

I miss reading Fingerlakeswanderer.

There's many folk (Many) I'd mention.
I miss many - because I come and do go.
I like the Teachers who are in Who teach.
You ask them a essential Question. Ay huh?
Then - They run off saying`Excuse me okay?
I got to go to my Law Outhouse to dump briefs.
Who was that Lawyer who calls all Hypocrites?

I see that You mentioned Lucky` Joan Walsh.
She hangs out in DC's kosher deli with Who?
Joan Walsh may regret cook cook chili beans.
If someone ask "What's your Favorite drink?"
Never be so crude you tell the truth? Alcohol.
Moonshine?
Mountain Dew?
Raw goat milk too?
Sip a gallon with who?
Pour milk in Co Co Puffs.
Real men love Trix Cereal.
Lawyers shall tone tan down.
Smear fish-smell-oder. Tuna Oil.
I miss sardine aroma moisturizer.
They preach Libertarian Psychology.
Who had the Law Degree and snarled?
They had a sigh-tattoo on the forehead.
It read`Beware of Dog & No Comments.
Joan Walsh?
She's mortified if the butter is served hard.
Where's that lawyer Who stands so naked?
He is stark butt naked except for a G- string.

Yesterday I was sad/happy. I washed sheets.
My soft pillows have fresh covers on them.
I miss Shellia. He She is a Guest I'd be shy.
She could have my bed. I'd snore under it.
I no believe thicker lips bring happy lives.

Who was the avatar jester who gave Kiss?
She had red lips. She gave us Kiss Lessons.
I recall Joan Walsh's daughter did Kiss too.
Open Salon gets me into financial straights.
I lost $102.00 in bets just in last few days.
Oh, well. There are no racks on a hearse.
I'll try to bet double on nothing. Later.
I miss people in my clean washed bed.

I miss some of those same people, Cathy, though I can't help but notice they often leave in a huff and come back--sometimes in as soon as one day.

Off the top of my head ... I do miss the unique and wonderful poetry of mLee S. and Divorce Bard. Scupper hasn't been around much of late either ... another wonderful poet.

Them & more.

Wondering how Catamite and Freaky are doing. Cat and Janie, who made the Canadian contingent so solid....and made up for you-know-who, he of many names. Roy Jimenez! Still miss Dakini...

I miss me on here...

Yeah as time goes on friends and family all dissappear according to the way things are. Hope to read a number of those folks words again soon. Thanks for sharing them with us because sometimes it is so easy to forget .

I'll add Fay Paxton to the list. Her fiery posts were always a pleasure. And I'm with you re Cartouche/O'Really. Still hoping for a return from both.

I'll add to the many mentioned here. Here's a few names: spotted mind, skeleton woman, dennis knight. There are some that make rare appearances too: dr. spudman

Oesheepdog and Sally both blogged last week! Sally blogged about her Flag day birthday and the sheepdog blogged again yesterday.
One of my first friends here was Rednose. Don't know where he went.
Satorri1 has pretty much disappeared, but I think will come back when OS is fixed.
Savannahmama hasn't been around since her remodel.

Sally posted last week.. But not as much as she used to.
rated with hugs

yeah OE has posted and I miss Satori too.

JK Brady, skeleton woman, Freaky T (of course) and Deven . . . damn . . . there are a lot . . .

I'm still around. R

I miss our wonderful poet and mentor, Dave R.

Verbal Remedy, too.

And Kit D. She's a hoot!

I miss Dave Rickert and his poetry, PP awards and the wonderful Rengas. Does anyone miss Mark Trost?
thanks for the memories
rated with love

there are a lot of them, aren't there? it's really a bummer that so much great writing and hilarity is missing.

~hi, sandra!! i know you're here but you could write something once in a while - sheesh!~

Oh, another addition ... Boanerges Redux.

Oh gosh yes, Stella! My northern neighbor! Her blog was first rate. A terrible loss! Dang dust ups!

Love all the responses here with some wonderful additions, which did cross my mind but failed to find my fingers on the keys.

Scylla - "Band of Brothers/Sisters - WE" Ayeeee!

Sandra - We surely will find time for a summer fling in the Bay or the Lake! Name the time and place!

Shiral - I thought I listed 1IrritatedMother but failed to add her. Yes! Miss her too! Glad you like my puppy. They are both my puppies, but the girl one has grown up so fast it makes my head spin!

Nana - Here here! Yes, Lonnie too! Another neighbor of mine!
Catamite...yes Where did he go?

Kim - Yes, you mentioned so many wonderful writers missed here.

Markin - Oh, I meant to mention Squirrel, whom I've had the pleasure of meeting. He is a very busy daddy now.

Joan H - Yes, where did she go?

Art - You are such a delight! Never ever leave us, K?!

Miguela - We can only hope to see so many departed writers return to our little community.

Little Kate - You are so right! We have lost some amazing poets and also Dave Rickert!!! He was such a wonderful poet, mentor and example of someone willing to put in the time to make poetry important and integral on any writers site.

Oops! Battery dying! Back in a bit!

On a milk carton: Steve Blevins

Some of the people you mention still post. OE Sheepdog is on quite a bit and Man Talk Now has been posting as well. I saw Sally Swift on the cover around June 10th so she's here. Emma and Stella made it very clear as to why they left. I've read a fair amount of trig lately so he's gone nowhere. Those I miss the most: Squirrel, Irritated Mom, melissa moore, m.a.h. and hello, STEVE BLEVINS. I'm happy to see Frank Apsia gracing the OS pages as of late. I know there are more, Jason Hill and Z Bitch come to mind.

I miss a lot of people but am griped with fear if I name names I will leave someone out...and someone who hasn't been posting but still drops in and sees this post (which will be on the most rated feed all day)...will read it and feel hurt not to mentioned. So this comment is for anyone who has not posted for a long time. (I will not define long time because that is subjective.) I MISS YOU!!! HOPE YOU ARE DOING WELL & WRITING YOUR LONG AWAITED BOOK.

I was thinking about the same question lately, Cathy, and names that jumped at me in no particular order (although I see some on FB) are:

Natalie K. Munden
Persisten Muse
Doireann L. O'Dreada
Fay Paxton
Boanerges Redux
Divorce Bard
KitD
Smalltown Writer
O'Really/Cartouche
Outside Myself
Poppy Iceland

Rated for asking what was on my mind. ♥R

There's more:

Poor Woman
BigFatTraumaQueen
Kristy Isitt
Amanda G.

With love to all and apologies to any I may have missed. ♥

Some of those I miss most are gone forever. Ryan "palcebostudman" Hall in particular. Everyone else that I wonder about has been mentioned save one, Fabflamingo.

Andy left for greener pastures.He was one funny guy. But I do miss the StudMan. He was one of a kind!

I'm with Mimetalker because I know there are many more I miss.

KNIGHTWRITER, JULIET WATERS AND DENNIS KNIGHT.

I'm still here... just, you know, remember the term "lurking"? Also writing and commenting when I can. Maybe after 3+ years a little break is a good thing, but it's sure nice to be missed. I miss Sandra's gut-punch writing and Deven's hilarious Mom series too.

Some great new writers here but oh, the good old days, kerfluffles and all, eh. :)

I loved the Squirrel's stories and miss them the most.

I miss these and others that folks have named - too many to count. Mostly, I miss the us that was - warts and all!

Here are my additions:
Caroline Hagood
Steve Katz
Sparking (though I know where she is and saw her on Saturday)

LuisG needs to come home to us. ~nodding~

I'd miss Nana, but everytime he tries to leave, we pull him back with our love, or herpes, whatever.

Trig is cool too, when he takes his meds!!

I miss Tinkerertink69, he was AWESOME!!

Wait...

~wanders off~

:D

Sigh. Yes, we used to have a pretty damn tight-knit group of fine-writin' folks here. Thanks for this post.

They didn't disappear because of the ebb and flow, though. Many were experiencing a dissatisfaction with the changing direction of OS on many levels. Many of those listed have very specific critiques, trust me.

And really, some of the slow server stuff - it's deadly. To have it that way for months on end - you're going to lose people. You're going to lose readers and writers. A horrible, horrible problem that, as far as I know, still exists.

I miss the old OS. I'm trying to embrace the new one but its hard because of the hole that those writers mentioned left. Its just not the same. I miss the cover looking extraordinary and relevant. I miss being able to click on a link and not wait ten minutes for a page to appear.

I saw Steve Blevins mentioned in the comment thread. He's truly wonderful. But they all are. Really. OS has attracted some AMAZING members, but you have to DO something with that kind of strength and power. You have to support those key members. They need to feel heard, if they're being harassed, for instance. Or if they're getting no recognition after writing quality stuff for a while, that's a deterrent too.

OS has been life-changing for me. And I'll never forget those first few years. It MADE me write better, more. Now...trying to re-find myself here, if possible.

Thank you for posting this tiny stroll down OS memory lane. I miss Mon Petite Minet Adorable ~ Caruso Wegie, and his odd little animal cartoons.

Tink beat me to it on LuisG.

As I read the comments, I'm constantly asking myself, why didn't I think of her, why didn't I mention him.

I am still lurking off and on although I haven't posted -- except for a repost yesterday -- in a long time. I haven't been able to access my original emma peel account in many months, which has been a huge turnoff. When some of my closest friends left OS -- Karin Rego, Stellaa, Ablonde -- it was a huge loss for me. Add to that many, many of the other missing OSers that people have mentioned in this post, plus the technical difficulties, plus the relentless insistence on all compliments all the time that has irrevocably dumbed down the site, and there really hasn't been much reason to stay. I miss the "old" OS very much. It's been like losing an old friend. It's very, very sad to think of what OS was in all its turbulent creativity and duelling personalities and what it is now.

pretend farmer - I think the first person to comment on one of my posts - a terrific writer and raiser of alpacas in the Arizona desert.

Haggismold - the Scottish transplant whose been gone nearly two years

Biblio Files - if it dealt with books, she was the go-to blogger

RetroDaddy - Biblio's husband and film connoisseur par excellence

Liz Emerich - An outstanding and thoughtful writer, attorney, wife, and mother

And how could I forget Verbal Remedy and Jodi Kasten?!?

And how could my previous comment confuse "who's" with "whose"?

Cathy, the reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. Thanks for your kinds words here, today.

What you all said...truly..I'll add my friend Matt Brandstein.
I want add to the chorus about Steve Blevins. And although he had a post on here a couple of weeks ago, his frequent presence is missed, our friend Bob Eckstein...hello Lauren, Liz, Sandra...Love all of you.

Myriad - Yes, oh yes, Roy Jimenez, who I do see once in a while but not for some time...and our dear Dakini, whom I met just weeks before she left us and this world. Some tragic losses here, too hard to mention.

Glenn Farrington - Right! Where have you been?

Algis - Yes, it is the human way. Coming and going; time outs, breaks and life changes.

Abrawang - Thanks for the additions. So right!

Scarlett - Your mentions are great and so missed.

Susie - Yes, I figured that out, however, I myself, was away a bit over the last month or so. Mea Culpa! I need to catch up with Sally and OESheep! Love their writing!

Linda - I know that now and will be more observant. Thanks!

Owl - Thanks for those. Yes, so many are gone or scarce these days. Too many to mention.

Trudge - And don't you go away...ever!

Belinda T - So many dearly miss Dave R. He was so valuable here and to the enduring poetic form that so many here love and appreciate.

Romantic Poetess - Yes! To Dave R. and all he stood for here. A real loss.

Candace - Thanks for encouraging Sandra!

Owl - Yes, Verbal, too!

Belinda - Kit D. was wonderful!

m.a.h -such a talented writer; sirenita lake -fantastic; Janie from Canada, and so many more... great post Cathy.
Kisses,

Catherine - Steve was once so prominent here.

Mary - Great list of those missing and very missed. I did miss some of the ones I thought had stopped writing as much, due to my own time away from here recently. Got some catching up to do! Thanks!

Mimetalker - I know how you feel! I hesitated to post this for that very reason. Both for the likely omission of some great writers gone to better pastures and also for mentioning some I miss that are still here, but escaped my timing and detection. I'm behind, I fear!

FusunA - Both of your lists illuminate just how many, when added to all the other mentions, that have taken leave from here and are very missed.

bobbot - Thanks for those, too! The list of MIA's is growing so that it is depressing!

Scanner - Yes, the Studman! Wow, this list is overwhelming!

neil paul - Yes, I realized I had missed them both recently, perhaps when I was a bit off line as well.

Mary - Yes, those 3 have been MIA for some time. The list is growing way too much.

Sally - Yes, you ARE here, but I missed you recently. Likely my fault and the feed that rushes by so quickly sometimes! Glad to know you are still "lurking" here!

kh3333 - Oh, The Squirrel was a classic here. He will always be missed more than I can say!

kitd - "Warts and all!"

Trilogy - Thanks for that and do hope she is OK! Give her our love!

Tinkertink69 - You'd better not ever go away! Big virtual hugs!

Beth Mann - Thanks very much for your thoughtful response to the OS status quo. This is one amazing place and I, too, have benefited from this experience far more than I can say. I will cherish all the writers who have moved on to other places and embrace the new ones who join us in this ebb and flo of thoughts, experiences and chatter put to writing, in all forms of communication. It's a great way to improve ones skills and get honest and open feedback. That's a huge value! Thanks much, Beth!

Monsieur Chariot - I am so happy to see more of you recently. For a while, I was missing you or just not getting to your postings in a timely manner.

Markin - No worries! The list is far longer than I ever imagined! I have been here 2.5 plus years and it staggers the mind how many beloved writers have left OS.

Emma - Happy to know that you are here, despite the very perplexing loss of your original work That is awful! Have you asked the editors for help in reinstating your blog? Can't imagine how it got lost and do hope there is a solution. You make some very good points on how this site has changed in time, however, there are still so many worthy writers who have stuck it out here and the numerous new ones that are joining and testing the OS waters with their craft. Thank you for your thoughtful response.

Procopious - Your additions underscore how many have left and the daunting number of missed OS'ers.

OESheepdog - Can't tell you how happy I am to know that you are, indeed, here! I was trying to interject (poorly) that there were those that had gone for good and others I merely missed seeing more recently. Got some catch up to do! Thanks!

Gary - Thank you for your lovely sentiment to those gone or infrequently seen here. It would appear that everyone here is in agreement, that those who have left are truly missed and wished nothing but the very best, wherever they take their craft.

PLEASE ALLOW ME TO SAY THAT I/WE HOPE THAT NO ONE WAS LEFT OUT AND IF SO, I/WE GENUINELY WISH YOU ALL THE BEST. YOUR WRITING IS NOT FORGOTTEN...NOT BY A LONG SHOT!

Anybody remember darkside? The one going through a bloody divorce from his bisexual, bipolar STBX--w/a child and infant to boot? And then immediately began a new r'ship BEFORE the divorce was settled?

I still think about where he wound up--if anyone knows, please share.

I do remember Darkside, sure. Have no idea of what became of him, though. Hope others may know. Thanks for reaching out.

Marcela - Thanks so much for your additions! So many more just keep coming and lengthening this list!

I miss too many to name. Joan Wilder was one of the first to welcome me . I've often wondered about her and hoped she's okay. Give her my regards. I hope she's writing and prospering.

I TOTALLY miss your sisters writing! Her last post was so long ago...and so damned good!!!
She writes like nobody I know...WHEN SHE WRITES!!!!

Joan...YOU OWE US A POST!!!!!!!

::sniff::

I miss Lonnie Lazar.

I hate lists.
I suppose the person I miss most of all on OS is me. I used to be really involved and active on this site. Let me explain this conceit. By missing ME I miss YOU. I'm with me 24/7 - but I used to enjoy telling you what to think about yourself and your writing and then posting something and being told what to think about myself and my writing...ok I'm exaggerating.
The site is huge now. Every person who signed up yesterday gets to be nostalgic. And there is no point to any list.
Every blog here is written with the intent of recognition, so really we all miss ourselves as we wander about commenting and rating. Yes?
Cathy, I think you are the bees knees - sorry, but I hate lists and basically - we all reflect each other, right?

I miss JimmyMac - When are you coming back?

I miss puddin' rasslin'. And when I had to take down my C.R. blog, I thought I'd saved my old posts, but I forgot the puddin' rasslin.' I'd love to repost it for old time's sake. I remember it got more than 520 comments, but by the time I took it down, so many people had left and their comments had vanished that it was back in the 400's.

Probably no one even remembers puddin' rasslin' now. And why not? It's SO 2009.

This isn't a conclusive list. Lists seldom are conclusive, but alot of inconclusive things are still valuable.

Amanda G - boy, she was a fresh air of springtime!

Dave - who reminded me how much I love poetry.

Mother - who unwittingsly served as a muse for some of my best thoughts.

Stellaa - who I often disagreed with and nearly always admired.

Jill McLaughlin - I'm still waiting for your hat!

Mary Lin - NOT!

lemonpulp - Just because

Big Fat Trauma Queen - for her commitment to her ideals.

Kyle Dykeman - for introducing me to Monkey Sue.

fingerlakeswanderer - Whose weekly quotes I adored!