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Supplementary » July 6, 2005

A Generous Teacher

By Sheryl Larson

James Weinstein: The Man

Jimmy By Beth Maschinot
Creature Comforts
By Lee Aitken
Look, It's a Better World
By Joan Walsh
A Generous Teacher
By Sheryl Larson
The Man Who Came to Dinner By Jim McNeill
Hope and Politics By Pat Arnow
A Socialist in the Age of Triangulation By Rick Perlstein
Farewell Songs
By Teresa Prados Torreira
Jimmeth By Salim Muwakkil
A Worthy Soul By Saul Landau

There are many measures of the man, but one that I have come to believe in over time is “generosity.” More than anyone I’ve known, Jim gave meaning to that word.

Early in my tenure as managing editor of In These Times, he’d hand me the keys to his beloved Honda Accord whenever he ventured out of Chicago. After I married, he once loaned us his family’s Manhattan co-op with its grand view of Central Park and collection of Impressionist paintings. When I told him a few years ago how much I enjoyed sunsets on the Great Lakes, he insisted that my family borrow his and Beth’s weekend getaway in Lakeside, Michigan. We obliged. Four times.

He was at his most generous after he’d prevailed at a poker game the previous night. I’d inquire the next day, “How did you do?” More often than not, he would respond with a sly smile, “I’m taking you to lunch today.” This happened so frequently over the 12 years we worked together that I lost count. Yet I have not lost sight of the abiding lesson that Jimmy taught by his example: Hold on tight to your ideals but share everything else, no strings attached, with those around you. I, and scores of Jimmy’s other protegés, are indebted to our teacher.

Sheryl Larson was In These Times managing editor from 1982 to 1993.

More information about Sheryl Larson
Appeared in the August 1, 2005 Issue
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