My Curmudgeon Jim
by Joel Phillips
I have been asked to write a Bio for Jim Young, probably my best friend in fandom. I only hope I can do him justice. So here goes:
I first met Jim Young at the Montreal Worldcon. I was running the con suite and Jim was volunteering there. It did not take me long to realize some things about Jim.
1) Of all the volunteers present I knew I could count on him to do what needed to be done. It didn’t matter if it was setting up tearing down, serving, upkeep cleaning, pointing out something I missed.
2) Being snarky was normal for Jim. *
C) He has one of best RBFs ever. **
4) Also he is genuinely one of the nicest, considerate, and caring people I know. ***
Jim has got to be one of the busiest, hardest-working, at-con volunteers in fandom. If he’s not working the con suite or Staff Den he is absolutely working in the Art Show. He finds something to buy in the Art Show at every con he goes to. He loves to support new and young artists. He made a point at Windycon of buying something of my son Alec’s when he was 16. I’ve seen him do this before. I don’t think he leaves a con without some art. When he finds something he likes, he’ll take his breaks to run back to the Art Show to make sure his bids are still ok.
Since Jim and I met back in ’09 he has worked for/with me in at least 7 con suites, be it a Worldcon or a local con like Windycon. We have a tradition of taking time together for a cigar break, or a whiskey break, regardless of convention. It has been inevitable that one of us always has a bottle of scotch or Irish whiskey we share with staff in order to spread the wonderment of whiskey. This often becomes a teaching lesson on the difference between a sippin’ whiskey and shooting it. I doubt you have any problem picturing the face my good ol’ curmudgeonly friend makes to someone doing the latter.
Jim has many other interests, from riding the train across country to the next Worldcon to reading science fiction to going to church regularly and keeping up with his grandchildren to even his favorite Cleveland Monsters AHL hockey team of which he has season tickets. The Cleveland Guardians and the Cleveland Browns are also teams he doesn’t necessarily want to admit he loves and follows ;-)
He unfortunately lost his wife before we met. I would have loved the chance to meet her. Jim has a daughter and a son and 2 grandchildren. He is retired from the Social Security Office. He has always been a great friend to me and to others. A late night phone call with an ear available and that rapier comment to knock some sense into me. He drove all the way to Minnesota for my wedding. Despite the curmudgeonly appearance he helps when people need it and works tirelessly. He looks like he’s 92 and works like he’s 52. I don’t know how he does it sometimes. I mean the guy is retired and getting older yet as a roomie I have to admit he doesn’t even snore loud at all. How can you not love that? Do you know how hard it is to find a roommate for conventions THAT DOES NOT SNORE?! I’ve seen this guy work tirelessly for 12 or more hours straight, enjoy a fine cigar and Irish whiskey till the wee hours, and get right to bed and not make a sound. Not even a harrumph! Imagine my frustration when I heard he was bringing his son to ConQuesT? Now I have to find a new roomie!
I highly recommend you find time this weekend to meet Jim and chat, be it sci-fi/fantasy, sports, whiskey, cigars, trains, family and or church - he is fun to be around. I raise my glass to my best friend, my Curmudgeon and ConQuesT’s Fan Guest of Honor Jim, I hope you all will join me!
*If you’ve been around him at all you have been the brunt of one of his snarky comments (or maybe it’s just that I am the brunt of all those comments?) he’s always seemed since that day I met him to have that perfect timing for them. I don’t think he knows this but more recently I purposely say things at times as a setup for his rapier attack. He makes me giggle often!
**If you don’t know what that is, ask around. Many of you in Kansas City may remember him from the MAC II promotional video sitting in a lawn chair in his yard saying, “Get off my lawn!” I don’t know if there are many others that can do it more perfectly.
***Sssshhh don’t tell him I told you, I think he enjoys the impression “Get off my lawn!” gives people.
