The Provider
71 Comments Paul stayed at Vegetarian Times for a time to help the new owner take over. He bought a Frank Lloyd Wright House on Forest Avenue in Oak Park and loved to sit on his front porch and watch people look at it. His sons would often build a lemonade stand for the visitors and made a good deal of money according to the guys. The house was on a 3/4 acre parcel and Paul still cut his own grass!
He then became a stay at home Dad for his 6 sons. He packed lunches, built tree houses and a bedroom in the attic, ran carpool, was on his sons school boards, coached baseball teams, Indian Guide Leader, Friday night Pizza and game night with the guys, took the guys on fabulous trips to Thailand, New York, Disneyland, Vancouver, etc. Paul was crazy about his sons and loved being their dad – he was a very fun dad.
Paul became a volunteer in the community and was on many community boards that helped Oak Park be an even better place. He volunteered his time, love and his money. He was very giving and generous. He gave with his heart, soul, and with meaning. It wasn’t just through a check – but could be taking a homeless woman with children shopping to the grocery and clothing store.
He would continue to take care of his mother and his aunt Hilda.
He tried to start the a few other alternative magazines but it was just not the time as he really took on the stay at home Dad routines – the guys were getting older and they needed him more.
In 2002, Mariclare filed for a divorce after 25 years. Thus, Paul and she divorced. The divorce was a very dark time for Paul. It took time for him to heal.
In 2007, he went to North Park University to get his Masters in Nursing with the hopes of restarting his nursing career that he loved so much. He was a natural caretaker. He graduated and started working.
He bought a 3 story flat on Oak Park Boulevard and became a landlord to lovely tenants. He was a very loving, kind, and generous landlord – he treated them like family. He installed a washer and dryer for them so they did not have to go to laundromats and the washing was free! He often put their needs over his. He was always the “Provider”.
“All we are is dust in the wind.” KANSAS
I come, I go, I remain.
Mr. Obis was the best landlord I ever had. He was very respectful, very helpful, kind, and generous. It was heartbreaking when he left to go to California.
There was no-one kinder to me.
We feel that Paul was a real visionary and a very fine, strongly ethical person. We visited his home in Oak Park, Illinois and stayed there. He took us to see a home built by Frank Lloyd Wright. Also, he introduced us to Mr. Rogers. He brought Mr. Rogers to our home twice to see us. Unforgettable experience!!! Today we fondly think about him and we will treasure our genuine friendship in our memory! Akiko Aoyagi Shurtleff (with William Shurtleff)
The Buddha Gautama summed up the experience of human existence in seven words: “Men are born, they suffer, they die.” This isn’t exactly the “Hallelujah, Christ is born; Hallelujah Christ is risen” joyful perspective we Christians are encouraged to live within. Yet the words of the Buddha bespeak a human-enough point of view that might be an interpretation of the Book of Job.
Like many Christians, my reading of the Bible has tended primarily toward the New Testament. There are passages from the Old Testament that are common and familiar, particularly from the Books of Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. I also remember the general stories. Adam and Eve, the Ten Commandments, Noah’s ark, the exile of the Jews, David and Goliath. I get the general ideas, but for me, it IS in bits and pieces, like watching the sea: I am more apt to notice and think about the surface breaking of the waves than the immense depth of the waters below.
I read the Book of Job many years ago but didn’t remember much about it. My recollection short-circuted to the popluar phrase, “the patience of Job,” and that he was a man who lost everything but retained his faith in the Lord.
I picked up the Book of Job again about six months ago during a trial of spiritual exhaustion. A multitude of events had eroded my confidence and self-worth, and I was left hurt, angry, depressed, despairing, and wounded. I had been betrayed. Feelings like these are all too familiar for those who trust and are open to the fullness of life. I was vulnerable and my trust had been taken advantage of. Gratefully I remain vulnerable.
It amazes me that throughout my ordeal, I never lost my faith. I consider this a gift. Indeed, it was often faith alone that got me through the really hard times. And sometimes, when my faith seemed nearly exhausted, it was simple religious dogma that prevented me from acting on my worst ideas.
There are certain matters of dogma, the teachings upon which faith is based, that are ingrained deep within our psyches. We take them for granted and don’t give them much thought. Like the foundation of a house, the foundations of our beliefs are most visible when the shell is removed. In my case, the belief in hell, the devil, life after death, and the Commandment not to kill – either myself or someone else – were among these simple, early learned, and deep-rooted convictions. They remained as part of my personal foundation after the shell of my ego, and much that I had thought precious, had been taken away.
Biblical scholars generally date the writing of the Book of Job to about the sixth century B.C., although it may be considerably older. The main character is a man caned “Job,” but scholars also dispute the accuracy of this name. Likewise, the location – usually thought to be Babylon – has also been challenged. In the big picture, such details matter little -sacred writings from other parts the world and other religious traditions recount similar stories. But the story of Job raises and possibly answers some of the universal questions about divine justice, faith, and our relation to God.
Job is rich beyond measure. He has thousands of head of livestock, seven sons, and three daughters. He lives a life of piety and devotion. And God, proud of Job, tells Satan about his blameless and upright servant. Satan responds to the Lord saying Job is so devoted because of all the Lord has given him. Satan asks God to take away Job’s blessings and says his faith will disappear.
God agrees to the scheme, and Satan, measure by measure, takes away Job’s possessions and his children and inflicts him with physical suffering. The once-rich job is reduced to homelessness. He is covered with sores and sleeps in the dirt wearing rags. Job’s wife urges him to curse God for his troubles, but Job refuses.
Job’s condition is so pitiful that when friends find him, they remain silent for a week. When they finally speak, they tell Job to praise the Lord and repent his sins.
Job steadfastly maintains he has done no wrong while his friends continue to urge his repentance. Job expresses increasing bitterness and wishes for death. He stops short, however, of cursing God for his condition. Job only wants to know why he has been made to suffer for no apparent reason.
To Job’s surprise, the Lord responds to him in a storm. God declares his own greatness and asks Job questions concerning the powers of nature and the origins of the universe; questions Job cannot answer. Job is humbled by the questions, coming as they do directly from the Almighty, and retreats, acknowledging the unfathomable greatness of God. Eventually the Lord restores Job to even greater abundance.
The divine justice we find in this book is perplexing, disconcerting, and has been questioned by rabbis, priests, and theologians for more than 25 centuries. But reading the Book of Job did something for me, it validated my anger.
For several years I was extremely depressed and on the verge of suicide. Like Job, I found myself wondering what I had done to be in such a state, and I found myself asking the same question: “Why, God?”
There were certain people with whom I was very angry, but rather than accept my anger, I internalized it and felt guilty. Friends told me to pray for those whose actions had contributed to my depressed state, but I couldn’t pray for those who had betrayed me. When I read Job, I realized it was okay to be angry. Because I saw how angry job was at his circumstances, I was better able to accept my own anger. I needed to be angry. By accepting my anger, I was able to process, not oppress it.
I also realized that, in comparison, my situation was not that bad. I still had my family, my health, and a few other things. My body was not covered with sores, my children were not dead, and I was not sleeping in dirt. Job helped me to put my own problems into perspective.
These were the simple things I learned. As for the bigger questions, I have some ideas.
The first question people usually ask upon reading Job is “Why?” Why would God allow job to suffer to prove a point to Satan? The answer, as God makes clear to Job, is that we simply don’t know and never will. To Job’s intense questioning, God basically says, “My reasons are none of your business.” The ways of the Lord remain a mystery.
We can speculate on the benefits of hardship. My suffering helped to nurture my humility. It reduced my vanity and covetousness and undercut my bloated ego. The hardships that are an inevitable part of life allow each of us opportunities to grow in charity, compassion, and forgiveness.
The Book of Job teaches us that God demands our praise and faith. In response to Job’s pained pleading, the Lord responds not with compassion but anger. Imagine a child interrupting a group of adults engaged in a serious discussion. The adults respond to the child by saying, “Don’t interrupt us.” God said to Job:
Who is this that obscures divine plans with
words of ignorance? Gird up your loins now
like a man; I will question you, and you will
tell me the answers (Job 38:2-3)!
We see here the angry God of the Old Testament. This God demands our respect, our subservience, and our praise. Job cowers before this figure. As Christians, we emphasize the forgiving God as manifested by Jesus. Yet Jesus reminds us to pay tribute to God each time we pray the Lord’s Prayer. It is not fashionable in our culture of equality to think of an angry God, but it is one of the essential lessons of Job and Jesus Christ.
Finally, there is the matter of faith, one of the key lessons of Job’s story. Despite his suffering, Job never lost his faith. He was angry, depressed, and felt abandoned, yet he never stopped believing in God’s mercy. Job desperate wanted to know why he was made to suffer; he wanted to assert his innocence. Job believed in divine justice and was trying to understand his predicament. God responded angrily, but in the end the Lord restored Job’s health and prosperity. In our own trials we should never lose our faith. God has a plan for all of humanity and for each of us. It involves suffering as well as joy. That’s life. If life were merely positive, or if everybody believed with absolute certainty that pious, righteous living would lead to just rewards, then the world would be a much different place. As it is, we are tested by life. Good fortune may cause us to celebrate and praise God, but hard times nurture and test our faith.
Recognizing the greatness of God, accepting life on life’s terms, and never abandoning our faith are essential lessons of Job. I know God has a plan for me, but what’s in store, I haven’t got a clue. Like job, I can only pray for divine mercy and hope for understanding.
What a great service he had to nutrition! Thank you for spreading love and knowledge, Paul. May you Rest In Peace. ❤️
Hi Janeen. This is a beautiful memorial. It is clear that Paul lived an extraordinary life. Thank you for sharing this with us. ♥️
Wow this is beautiful Janeen! I didn’t know your husband though what a legacy!! I was Vegetarian for 26 years and now vegan for the past year, appreciate our founders ❤ very best wishes to you xx
Your husband was one of my favorite people…he is missed!!
Omg…I was just thinking about him yesterday…..I was remembering the original vegetarian times magazine that was my bible when I went vegetarian and then vegan. I was also at the vegvfest in Pennsylvania when he announced he had sold the magazine….So I had just seen a copy of vegetarian times at the bookstore and noted how absolutely it was nothing like the original and I wondered what had happened to Mr Obis and here it is… I am so sorry. He was a great man ahead of his time.
Wherever this is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness. (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) #D91Kindness #District91Cares
Prayers from the entire Dugal family.
Paul volunteered as a school nurse during this time – and if a child did not have a lunch, he would give them money for a lunch.
Your husband was a true humanitarian.
This was amazing to go through his life! What a journey. Thank you for sharing this with us! RIP Paul
Thanks so much. You guys did a lot for us over the years.
Such a loving tribute, it speaks volumes about both of you.
I am so very sorry for your loss. What a trailblazer he was. 💕❤️
I am so sorry for your loss. VT started me off in my journey of vegetarianism. Wonderful magazine.
So sorry for your loss. I appreciate all he did for this community and all creatures.
Thank you Janeen, this is a beautiful testament to his life and work 💗
Condolences. The world has lost an amazing person. 🙁
Sorry for your loss. RIP trailblazer!
So very sorry for your loss. Vegetarian Times was one of my all time favorite magazines.
Sorry for your loss, Janeen. 💔😢 Everyone’s hearts here at Renovating Wellness go out to you and your family. Paul sounds like an amazing and inspirational man. The memorial you’ve made in his honor is absolutely beautiful!! <3
Sorry for your loss he did a great thing to be proud of 🌱🌷
Sounds like a wonderful guy. A man at the forefront of the food thing. So sorry for your loss…..
He looks like he was a sweetheart. Good night, Captain.
Paul and I lived right down the street from the buildings you posted -they always sent my spirit flying -Oak Park is magical.
So sorry for your loss. Your husband was a great help and support to me through the magazine
Thank you for sharing this. His passing is a great loss to so many of us who were helped by him.
Oh Janeen Obis. 😭 I am so sorry to hear this. Vegetarian Times has been my favorite magazine splurge for years. All the sudden, it disappeared and now I know why. ☹ His magazine is what helped me transition to a whole food plant based diet. Great recipes and information. 💖God bless you. Thank you for your post. Lifting you and your family up in prayers for strength. Thank you Paul Obis for making Vegetarian Times. Rest in peace.
Thank you so much for sharing this. I’m about the same age and began reading VT early on. He was so impressive. I lost track over the last several years. I’m so sorry to hear this sad news. My prayers are with you, his family and friends.
Thanks for sharing and Rest In Peace Paul sounds like a wonderful man and we were lucky to have him here in our community wishing your family the best and sending my prayers 🙏🏻
I published some great stuff and feel that I’ve made a positive contribution to how people eat and have raised awareness about animal rights issues and other things. I am proud with what I have done. I hope I’ve made a difference in the world.
Good man, good life, sad death… gone too soon!
I like the way your dad addressed each kiddo so respectfully, as if he were speaking to adults ❤️
Paul would take his sons on day trips and visit nearby hotels so they could swim in their pool. He was a great hands-on dad.
We are so honored by his memory.
He was a real child of the 1960s. “He wanted to change the world.”
Mr. Obis also was full of empathy and nursed his parents in old age.
I saw the memorial to Paul. very well done. I am privileged in having the honor of knowing him and being his friend. thank you for including me in the final project. I hope you are well.
A wonderful guy💞💞
I am truly sorry for your loss of this wonderful husband & dad who did so much good with his work creating Vegetarian Times Magazine. Our work here at LewyBody Dementia Resource Center is driven by each of our personal memories of caring for our loved ones along with all others who share their personal experiences of their loved ones. Please reach out to us anytime ~ we are here for you.
This fine man lived a brave and interesting life. He made his own decision about returning to meat and should not be questioned. It should also be noted that he ate — with thanks and grace — what was brought to him by concerned friends; the Dalai Lama once offered the same advice about how to react when offered non-vegetarian food when visiting someone’s home: Make your own decision, but it is not wrong to accept a generous offer of food and eat it in the spirit of thanks.
Janeen I am touched by your message. I did not know Paul yet the picture of him warms ones being. He looked like such a gentle & kind man. My mom has Alzheimer’s (14 yrs) and her younger brother passed away many years ago from the disease. He succumbed within 4-5 years. My dear friend now has Parkinson’s and her husband passed away from Lewy Body which is what your husband died from. They are all different yet “all” the same. Sending you some hugs.
I worked with Paul for a time. He was a good man with a strong sense of purpose.”
″It just amazes me sometimes to think about how commonplace vegetarianism is becoming,″ Paul said.
The nation’s interest in health and fitness has given vegetarianism a respectability and acceptance that wasn’t there just a few years back. It’s easier for a vegetarian to eat out now, and there’s a greater selection of ingredients at grocery stores.
Thank you for sending. I am so sorry to hear of Paul’s death. I remember him very well – as a bright young man. Vegetarian Times did a story about my former husband James Tenuta and our son, who was then a baby. Jp is now 38 – and in touch with his dad. I will read his obit and am.interested to learn about Lewy Body Awareness. I am so sorry for your loss. What you are doing will surely honor Paul’s memory. Thank you so much.
An Angel.
Once, a gypsy musician read my palm. He scowled and I became concerned. “You are trusting,” he said, “and some people will take advantage of it. But don’t change who you are because of them.”
Very inspirational. Thank you for posting this. I always gravitated towards the book of Job. Still love reading it in my old age.
I was a tenant in Paul Obis’s building. He was the kindest, most considerate landlord that I ever had. He kept the place immaculate inside and out, let us do our laundry in the basement for free so that we did not have to go to the laundromat, shared meals, brought flowers when I had a heart attack, offered to paint my house every year, gave me the garage parking space – he was good to me because I was 20 years older and of color. He had a soul that was empathetic, generous, and kind. He was a mensch.
I’m grateful you made it through. We walk by faith, not by sight.
Good memories of him and all of his sons ( carpooling to Alcuin Montessori) and, of course, Mr. Rogers visiting our neighborhood! Sorry for your loss.
Bless his soul. From your accounts I know he was a beautiful human
Mickey Hornick & I enjoyed the basement bowling alley in their Oak Oak hime basement.
I read the Book of Job many years ago but didn’t remember much about it. My recollection short-circuted to the popluar phrase, “the patience of Job,” and that he was a man who lost everything but retained his faith in the Lord.
I picked up the Book of Job again about six months ago during a trial of spiritual exhaustion. A multitude of events had eroded my confidence and self-worth, and I was left hurt, angry, depressed, despairing, and wounded. I had been betrayed. Feelings like these are all too familiar for those who trust and are open to the fullness of life. I was vulnerable and my trust had been taken advantage of. Gratefully I remain vulnerable.
There were many great things that Paul accomplished with his life but the most important was being a hands on dad. He was there from taking them as babies to work, taking them on dad/son trips, packing lunches, and being a dad to his adult sons. He was always there for him.There is no love on earth greater than that of a father for his son
Paul had six sons and once or twice a year he would take them on a week trip to Los Angeles, Disneyland, Thailand, camping, etc.. He did it to give his wife a break. When he told me that, I was amazed that he was such a hands on Dad and so thoughtful and gracious toward his wife. Paul loved his sons tremendously.
To Catch a Thief
On the trail of the embezzling business manager at In These Times.
When Paul Obis took over as publisher of In These Times last year, the 21-year-old lefty publication seemed in serious trouble. Circulation had been steadily declining since the late 80s. Revenues had dropped by half. Bills hadn’t been paid in months. The phone and electric companies were threatening to cut off service in three days. Employees were three weeks behind in pay. To some extent, all this was par for the course. In These Times was always “scrounging for money,” according to its founder and editor, James Weinstein. But the cash-flow problems weren’t entirely of its own making. For the past two years the beleaguered publication’s business manager had been pocketing about 8 percent of its income.
One might wonder what Robert Larson, the business manager, was doing at In These Times in the first place. Why would a lawyer, certified public accountant, and MBA with Republican leanings take a $21,000 job at a liberal political magazine? “Ironically, money is not important to me,” says Larson, who now admits to embezzling over $100,000 from the publication. Nor, he says, are politics. “I’m not a political ideologue.”
Obis notified the police, the FBI, and the state’s attorney’s office and filed a civil suit against Larson to recover the money.
By this time Larson was long gone. Nobody could have imagined where he was. Larson fled, he says, because “I knew I was in big trouble. I knew at some time there would be a knock on the door for me with law enforcement agents on the other side. I was pretty sure I’d be incarcerated for this.” So he decided to embark on “one last adventure” and “have my fill of open air.” He says, “I pretty much knew that the timer was going.”
The Appalachian trail winds from Maine to Georgia for 2,100 miles. About 1,700 people hike the trail each year. Larson started off in Maine in August of ’97. He was equipped with 13 maps, a few trail guides, a tent, a sleeping bag, a one-burner stove, and some books. He hiked an average of eight miles a day and survived on Ramen noodles, oatmeal, and what he calls “slop,” a 15-ingredient concoction that included beans, brown rice, and such spices as cumin, turmeric, and coriander. Like other hikers, Larson bought his food in small towns and sent it ahead to post offices along the trail to free himself of the burden of lugging it.
Sometimes he hiked all day without seeing another person, and when he eventually ran into someone, he says, the encounter was intense and rewarding.
He was in Tennessee in late February when he came across a number of “blowdowns”–fallen trees that obstruct the narrow trail. Rather than wait for someone to clear them away, Larson paid a guy with a VW van to take him to Hot Springs, North Carolina, where he met a woman whose trail name was Treasure. She accompanied Larson to the southernmost part of the trail, in Georgia, and there they began to hike north.
At this point Obis had been tracking Larson’s whereabouts for about a month. Larson’s W-2 form had been returned in the mail in January, with postmarks on the envelope indicating that it first had been forwarded to a couple of different post offices. Obis called the post office in Port Clinton, Pennsylvania, where it had been forwarded last. He spoke to the postmaster, Carolyn Hafer.
“Along the way, hikers stop at post offices near and on the trail and send their supplies back and forth,” Hafer explains. “He [Larson] passed through here one day and picked up a package and left his forwarding address. But his mail was returned to me unclaimed, so I returned it to whoever sent it.” After talking with Obis, she says, she decided to do some investigating on her own. “I was worried that nobody knew where he was,” she says. “The hikers keep a log at a pavilion in town where they camp out, and a man in town–a saint–brought the log in to me. I compared the handwriting in the log with the change-of-address form he gave me.” Sure enough, she found a match and told Obis that Larson was traveling under the trail name GypsyMan. For the next three months, Obis kept tabs on Larson by following a map of the Appalachian trail, calling shelters and campgrounds along it and asking if anyone had seen GypsyMan lately.
It wasn’t clear which law enforcement agency had the authority to apprehend Larson, who moved from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and nobody made an effort to nab him on the trail. But the Chicago Police Department had issued a warrant for his arrest. In the meantime, detective Eugene Klich found out that Larson had been arrested for stealing traffic signs in 1977, as a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (charges had been dropped), and he obtained a copy of the old arrest report. It contained the unlisted phone number for Larson’s parents out in the western suburbs, and Klich called to inform them about the warrant. “They weren’t sure if they could reach him,” says Klich, “but they said they’d pass the information on to him if they could.”
It was May and Larson was in Massachusetts when he called his parents and learned that the jig was up. He called Klich and asked for a week to finish hiking the trail. He returned to Chicago the first week in June and surrendered. After Klich read him his rights, Larson says, he “sang like a bird.”
“He seemed sorry he did it,” recalls Klich.
“It was a despicable thing to do,” Larson admits. “I don’t know why I did it and why I didn’t stop. I think my magazine–I had such big hopes for it.”
Larson can see the bright side. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget this big screwup and how it’s going to change my life. But change is good sometimes. There are ways for me to turn this into a positive experience.” He remembers the kindness of strangers. “People were so nice on the trail,” he says. “I’d like to be a nicer person.”
He says he learned how to be content with a simple life, how “to live on less and be satisfied.”
It’s a lesson that should serve him well, since on August 19, after he pleaded guilty to theft by deception, a criminal court judge ordered him to pay back $118,508 to In These Times. He also was sentenced to three years’ probation. Though he says he was ready to do time, he was “relieved and surprised” at the leniency he received.
“Everyone’s relieved we got a judgment against him,” Obis says. “People here feel really betrayed. He looked his coworkers in the face, told them they had to take pay cuts, and then stole their money.”
Obis continues to pursue the civil suit. He alleges that Larson actually stole $125,000 and believes that In These Times should be able to recover his wages for the two years he was stealing. “It seems self-evident to me,” says Obis, “that if a person whose job is to be financially responsible is stealing money then he’s not doing his job.” Obis points to other damages resulting from Larson’s theft. “Larson stole so much money from us that he bounced a lot of checks and caused the company to incur lots of bank expenses for not having sufficient funds.”
Larson says he sank everything he stole into the failed “RadioActive Chicago” but that he plans to “definitely pay it back.” That might take a while. For the time being, he’s out of a career. He assumes he’ll lose his law license. “And accounting is a matter of trust,” he says. “People would be pretty leery of me.”
Larson now works in a restaurant, hopes to become a chef, and lives a pared-down life in a Near North transient hotel, putting to use the lessons he learned on the Appalachian trail. Was his crime an unconscious sabotage of his professional career, a way to force himself to step back and focus on what’s important in life? “I hesitate to psychoanalyze it,” he says, though he claims to have looked at the lawyers on both sides of the civil suit and asked himself, “Are they doing something productive? Is that something I’d want to do?”
As for In These Times, Obis says it’s doing better than it has in a decade. “Everybody has received their back wages, there’s been a salary increase of between 25 and 30 percent, we paid off the debt we owed, we’re not in danger of the electric service being disrupted, and we have several talented new people on staff.” Obis says new checks and balances should prevent any future thefts from going undetected. And morale is up.
Larson too must be pleased that the publication is doing well. He has nothing but kind words for In These Times and the people he ripped off. “It’s a terrific place,” he says. “A one-of-a-kind place. There are good people there–very interesting people. Jim Weinstein is one of the best people you’d ever meet.”
After reading Michael Miner’s Hot Type column of June 20, “Something’s Cooking at In These Times,” I found myself hoping that the “friend” who swindled Paul Obis out of $625,000 is a vegetarian.
At the time of Royko’s Ribfest, I wondered who would be so foolish as to fight to put a vegetarian entry into a carnivorous competition, even though I was a vegetarian. Now I know. They were correctly “ribbed” by Royko in one of his columns a couple of days later.
I hope that Paul Obis enjoys his new life as a “regular guy” even as more “regular guys” are becoming vegetarian, or something closer to it than having a hamburger for lunch.
As for self-righteousness and spiritual progress, whether one’s motivation for being vegetarian is purely spiritual, purely physical, or somewhere in between, if one wants to take pride in the fact that they are vegetarian, they should also keep in mind the fact that pigeons are also vegetarians.
“Yeah. I’ll tell you, I thought all the meat replacements tasted exactly like meat, because I hadn’t tasted meat in 20 years. But after I had my first roast-beef sandwich from Johnnie’s I thought, ‘This doesn’t taste anything like TVP.” My wife and I many years ago were the vegetarian entrants in the Royko Ribfest, and we fought to have gluten ribs at the Ribfest. We thought those things were just great, but Royko said they tasted like pencil erasers. And being vegetarians for so long we thought, they taste like ribs to us. But in recent years, when we have Charlie Robinson ribs–I’ll tell you, they taste a lot different from what we were making.”
For those who did know Paul personally, one quality stood out: he was a “provider.” He was much happier giving than receiving.
For his six sons, Paul provide the security and bounty of a big Oak Park house, wooded lot, good schools, paternal care and counsel.
For his ailing father, mother and grandmother, Paul nursed them to the end as he did so many strangers in his professional nursing career as an RN.
For his work colleagues, as a publisher and editor he provided not just jobs but a mission, guidance and inspiration.
For his friends, he provided empathy, sympathy, patience and advice that was not just helpful and fun but could sometimes be life-changing. #paulobis #vegetariantimes #lewybodydementia. http://www.paulobis.com
Obis began eating meat again in the 1990s after his wife broke her leg and couldn’t cook. Friends and neighbors brought him meaty meals, and he decided it was better to eat the food than waste it or be rude. He said, “I’ve come to understand that it’s so much bigger than whatever I eat”.
A year and a half ago, Obis says, he was swindled out of $625,000 by a commodities trader he considered a friend. The FBI is investigating. Depressed, Obis told himself he had to get out of his house in Oak Park and do something. But he didn’t need a job so badly that he required a bigger salary than In These Times could afford to pay him. What exactly it would pay him–and for that matter, how it would pay him–remained up in the air even after Obis agreed to take over. “They realized they needed to find a publisher, and originally they were going to find out how to pay that person, and that person was going to start around Labor Day,” Obis says. “But I said, ‘Well why don’t you make it the new person’s problem to figure out how to pay for the position? And since that person’s me, that’ll be my problem.
The news that Paul Obis, founder of Vegetarian Times, had decided (to paraphrase) that after 25 years of eating tofu he had had enough and was returning to meat-eating left me boggled. I had images of this man mournfully sitting down to the plain white stuff for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and muttering to himself: “Where have all the good times gone?” I could understand it if life was the same as in the mid 1970s, when Mr. Obis threw down his steak-knife and followed the meatless way of life. Apart from Mollie Katzen’s recipes from the Moosewood Restaurant, there were precious few cookbooks out there with which refugees from the Standard American Diet (aptly-named SAD) could brighten their p(a)late.
But — fashion aside — it isn’t the mid 1970s. For every Obis-clone tearing up his or her copy of the Soy of Cooking or Tofu! Tofu! Tofu!: Chinese Style and purchasing The Recovering Vegetarian Cook Book: 12 Easy Steps to Eating Meat Again, there are numerous folks heading in the other direction. As the titles Almost Vegetarian, Virtually Vegetarian, The Going Vegetarian Cookbook, The Gradual Vegetarian, and The New Not-Strictly Vegetarian Cookbook suggest, there are lots of people who’d like to be vegetarian but are afraid to forswear the whole hog. And it must be fear, because as is clear from the 667 titles listed in Books in Print with the word “vegetarian” in the title, there is a world of vibrant, tasty dishes waiting for their delight, catering for all the whims of cooks of all persuasions.
Those who think they can’t be a vegetarian because it takes too much time to cook should think again. There’s Fast Vegetarian Feasts: Delicious, Healthy Meals You Can Make in 45 Minutes or Less, 30 Low-Fat Vegetarian Meals in 30 Minutes, 20 Minutes to Dinner: Quick, Low-Fat, Low-Calorie Vegetarian Meals, The Fifteen-Minute Vegetarian, the 10-Minute Vegetarian Cookbook, and the supersonic-sounding Fat-Free & Easy: Great Meals in Minutes. Those who think they have to eat meat because there isn’t enough choice with vegetarian food will also have to eat their hats. Let’s consider the numbers: Fifty Quick and Healthy Vegetarian Dishes, 101 Vegetarian Recipes, The Best 125 Meatless Main Dishes, 365 Ways to Cook Vegetarian, 366 Healthful Ways to Cook Tofu and Other Meat Alternatives, 1,000 Vegetarian Recipes, and the big one, 1,001 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes.
And let’s not even start on types of food. While, not surprisingly given the Buddhist and Hindu restrictions on eating meat, there are plenty of books on Indian, Chinese and Japanese vegetarian cuisine, other countries and cultures are well represented. And it’s not just pasta. You can eat The Best 125 Meatless Mexican Dishes and The Best 125 Meatless Mediterranean Dishes. There’s Delicious Jamaica: Vegetarian Cuisine and French Vegetarian Cooking. You can enjoy The Greek Vegetarian and Jewish Vegetarian Cooking, Sicilian Vegetarian Cooking and The Vegetarian Taste of Thailand. There’s The Australian Family Vegetarian Cookbook and Classic Armenian Recipes: Cooking Without Meat. You can take your food From the Tables of Lebanon: Traditional Vegetarian Cuisine or from the numerous compilations of international cuisine.
If you don’t want to leave home, you can sample The Flavor of California: Fresh Vegetarian Cuisine from the Golden State or Good Time Eatin’ in Cajun Country: Cajun Vegetarian Cooking. You can eat raw food from Delights of the Garden, or eat just Lean Bean Cuisine: Over 100 Tasty Meatless Recipes from Around the World. You can enjoy The Rasta Cookbook: Vegetarian Cuisine Eaten With the Salt of the Earth or use the Follow Your Heart’s Vegetarian Soup Cookbook. You can specialize with herbs, mushrooms, chillies, oats, peas, beans, barley, and…well, you get the idea.
Now this is just a selection — and it doesn’t include all those recipes in all those veggie magazines (including this one) and the forests of vegan cookbooks sprouting up. And it’s not just cookbooks. As this issue of Satya shows, books on vegetarianism, environmentalism, and animal advocacy seem to be growing in number and they deserve our attention. Vegetarianism, in spite of what Paul Obis thinks, is not just about how much tofu you consume and how often. It’s about living a life aware of one’s own contribution to animal suffering, environmental degradation, and unhealthy living, and trying to lessen it. And you don’t even need to eat tofu to do it — especially with the No-Tofu Vegetarian Cookbook in hand!
What are some of the significant highlights in the history of your magazine?
Distributing the first 300 issues of VT (1974); cashing John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s check for a three-year subscription (1979); featuring Fred Rogers and Michael Jackson on the cover (1983); making our own headlines with a Time magazine story on VT and vegetarianism (1988); introducing readers to Linda McCartney’s fabulous veg recipes (1990); publishing Vegetarian Times’ Complete Cookbook (1995); making the pages of Time (again!) in its in-depth cover story about vegetarianism (2002).
What is the circulation of Vegetarian Times? What growth have you experienced over the years?
VT has a readership of more than a million people worldwide. We’ve enjoyed more than 1,000 percent growth since founder Paul Obis published and circulated the first copies of VT in 1974.
What is the audience or demographics of the publication? Do you have any statistics revealing the ages, sexes, and locations of your readers?
Most of our readers are highly educated, middle-class, professional female homeowners aged 35-55, although we’ve seen tremendous interest in veg cuisine in recent years from both men and college students. It’s no surprise to us that our best-selling markets are states on either coast, and we’re encouraged to find growing support from readers in the predominantly meat-and-potatoes Midwestern states.
I didn’t really know where that first issue of Vegetarian Times was, but I finally found a copy a few days ago in the bowels of my basement. along with other old additions.
Certainly you want the first one — Vol 1, number 1, but you also might all the rest. It is interesting to see how vegetarianism has evolved from a weird counter-culture movement into a mainstream consumer choice. My-oh-my.
Frankly, I don’t like the current incarnation of the magazine, which is nothing more than a collection of recipes, but it is what it is. I had envisioned something more like a Rolling Stone, which is much more than just a music magazine.
I sold the magazine for a lot of reasons – a pending divorce, key staffers looking for greater opportunities, and simply wanting to do something else,
I believe that the magazine changed our country’s diet and made a positive difference. I am grateful and proud of that
One of the secrets of happiness, I think, is to see the extraordinary in the ordinary: to enjoy a simple meal; to appreciate a sunrise; even to marvel that the light goes on when you flip the switch … The value of things going right is never appreciated so much as when they go wrong
Paul’s favorite movie was West Side Story. We watched it once a week and he had every song memorized. His eyes would tear up because of the beauty, humility, and songs that were so beautiful. It was a very powerful movie.
The board of directors of The Vegan Museum has voted to rename the organization’s digital story map in honor of Chicago-native and Vegetarian Times founder, Paul Luty Obis. The map is one of the museum’s crowning achievements, chronicling Illinois’ role in the evolution of vegetarianism in the United States. According to board president Kay Stepkin, the dedication “seemed fitting to honor Paul’s legacy and acknowledge his influence on vegetarianism and veganism.” The announcement coincides with Obis’s founding of Vegetarian Times, which occurred 46 years ago today.
“I am deeply moved by The Vegan Museum’s decision to name their digital Story Map chronicling the history of vegetarianism in Illinois in honor of my late husband and Chicago native, Paul Luty Obis,” said Obis’ widow, Janeen Obis, fighting back tears of joy upon being informed of the Museum’s decision. “He was such a precious, giving, compassionate hero and an inspiration. He touched so many people — me being one of them — and I am forever grateful. He was a long-time voice of progressive thinking, living and ideals and this honor will stand as a testament to the fact that his life made a difference, which he always wanted to do. My heartfelt thanks to the Museum’s board of directors for this wonderful honor.”
To learn more about the The Vegan Museum and its offerings including the Paul Luty Obis Story Map of Illinois’ Role in U.S. Vegetarian History visit