In Memoriam Jim West

The ancient Greek astronomer and philosopher Heraclitus says that the sun, moon, and stars are bowls of fire facing the earth. The soul, too, is made of fire: flickering, flaring, spreading its warmth. It is the animating force simultaneously constant and ever-changing, yearning toward its brethren in the celestial sphere.

Jim loved the stars. Jim loved people, too. He had a quick mind that so often expressed itself as quick wit. When said with honesty, there is no higher praise of a man'...