Myron Schreck’s tribute to Arnie Green
Arnie Green was with us, all the way, with every step. And we were with him. He left our world on October 4, 2011. We last mentioned Arnie in conjunction with the Safe House CD … but he never stopped his work until the last heartbeat.
A Tribute to Arnie Green
By Myron Schreck
Originally published on The Zero, October 12, 2011
Arnie Green was one of my oldest and closest friends. We attended a
Traditional Orthodox Jewish grammar school in Chicago and, later, the
Chicago Jewish Academy. We both played on the high school basketball team
(although he was first string and I mostly sat on the bench). We both got
in trouble for violating school rules, and later we got back at school
officials with a scandalous senior play. He was a charismatic rebel at an
early age. He was always on the cutting edge; one of the first in our
group to play folk songs on guitar and one of the first to develop political
consciousness and a concern for social justice. He was a leader back then—a center of attention, a Jewish “James Dean”—and I was one of his
admiring followers.
We graduated high school in 1966 and two years later shared an
apartment while he attended the University of Illinois Chicago Circle Campus,
and I attended Northwestern University. It was the summer of 1968: the
Democratic Convention, Civil Rights marches, and anti-war protests. We
became even closer friends, often encouraging each other to expand our
horizons, challenge authority, learn new skills, make new friends, and
travel. We ended up in Berkeley, California. We married people we had
met in college, but all of us shared a house. It was the early 1970s and
many of us in Berkeley were interested in pursuing a simpler, collective
lifestyle, returning to the land, and seeking inner peace. Arnie had a
natural Buddha-like wisdom, accepting the world as it is, but seeking to
improve it when he could.
By the late 1970s, we had moved on to other pursuits. Arnie and I
were divorced from our first wives. Arnie moved to Gold Hill, Oregon, where
he purchased land with our friend Steven Plotnick. I graduated law school,
moved to Portland, Oregon, and became the third partner in our “back to the
land” venture. But things change. Eventually, I began teaching law school
in Idaho. The “back to the land” venture did not continue. And Arnie
committed his considerable energies to helping children and youth. He
started Star Gulch Ranch, a youth residential treatment center, and later
created Community Works.
Through the 1980s and 1990s, Arnie and I remained close and
visited each other. We continued to share interests in politics, law, and
pursuing social justice. But, where I was an educator, he was the activist!
And although I taught “Children in the Legal System” and did some work on
behalf of children, what I did was nothing compared to what Arnie pursued
and the results he obtained.
In addition to sharing professional interests, Arnie and I also
played lots of music together. Sometimes I think that half our time
together was spent playing guitars and singing. He always had an attractive
voice. And many friends will remember how his alluring, emotional persona
was reflected in his guitar playing.
Of all our friends, Arnie was one of the most “goal-oriented”—or,
you could say, “competitive.” Perhaps it was his desire for fame. And of
course, he did achieve professional honor and recognition. But his goal was
not fame or fortune. His goal was to help others, which is why he chose the
profession of social work. His desire for personal success or recognition
was always secondary to his desire to redress unfairness.
I recall a phone conversation after he had sent me one of his
newspaper opinion pieces in which he advocated for more Oregon state
resources for youth intervention. What I heard in his voice was the same
enthusiasm that I recalled hearing from him in high school and college. I
heard both his pride in writing a compelling article and his passion for
helping children who were damaged, disenfranchised, and vulnerable.
Arnie was one of the bravest men I knew and one of the most
successful in his field. His life was a shining example of Rabbi Hillel’s
proverb: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me; and if I am only for
myself, then what am I; and if not now, then when?” Arnie acted when
things needed to get done. He gave to others selflessly and
wholeheartedly. He protected the weak and challenged the oppressors.
Just as he was popular and charismatic in high school, Arnie
cultivated many close and devoted friends in Oregon. This despite the fact
that he also had a side to his personality that could piss people off. But
the multiple facets of his personality were also assets. Because he was
persistent, articulate, and persuasive, he was able to accomplish a lot. And
because he rarely pulled punches, his honesty was endearing and it
engendered trust. Sometimes he would get discouraged and moody. Social
work can do that. But Arnie sought love and he gave love. And I still
recall his tremendous joy when he informed me that he had found and married
the love of his life, Lynn, to whom he remained married for over twelve
years.
Looking back at the years that I’ve known him, I can attest that
Arnie Green fulfilled his potential. He was just as extraordinary a man as
he was an extraordinary youth. He lived his dream. He fought the good
fights. He tilted at windmills. He pursued justice. He helped others. He
changed lives. And he improved the world.
He taught me a lot, and I will miss him terribly.
Myron Schreck is a retired Professor of Law at the University of Idaho College of Law. He continues to teach on an Adjunct basis. He holds a B.S. of Speech from Northwestern University, a Masters from San Francisco State University, and a law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. After law school, he clerked for Justice Edward Howell of the Oregon Supreme Court, and then practiced with the law firm of Black, Tremaine, Higgins, Lankton & Krieger in Portland, Oregon.