James
Schultz

James D. Schultz, originally from Waterford, MI, is Keeper of the Madness at Moosejaw in Detroit. We discuss his superpower, inspiration, and biggest priority in life.

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My biggest priority in life is to learn and love as much as possible.

inspires you: I think every day someone inspires me in a different way. Historic figures? That’s a tough question. Uh.. big fan of Plato, lot of pre-Socratics, interesting stuff. Carl Sagan, think he’s the man -- is, in the present tense, the man. Good friend of mine, Kresge guy, local artist - Daniel Land, inspiration. Another local guy: Peter Bizarre, John Dynamo - excellent human. Artists, professionals, everyone has talents, once they find them they become inspirations.

superpower: Am I good or evil? (good.) Umm. I help people find what it is they need in their life and get them to where they need to go. Some people - for example - good friend of mine, Joe, was working as a manager at Burger King. Didn’t like his job very much, in fact said he hated it, I said you should just quit your job and go to school. He’s like, "uhh okay." Three weeks later saw him again. He’s like, "Man, my job really sucks." I’m like, "Dude, just quit your job go to school! These are things, you can become whatever you want." He’s like "Oh okay." Then he called and quit his job, then he went to school, and at the end of the month he takes his CPA exam. So yeah, he changed his life marginally for the better. 

priority: My biggest priority in life is to learn and love as much as possible. I think those two things are co-extensive. They happen at the same time. The more you learn about the world, the more you love it. They say ignorance is bliss, but that is false. The more you know about things, the more you can appreciate the subtlety of it. Think about your best friends or objects you’ve had in your life for so long that you’ve studied. They sort of get this patina on them, like this glow. They just mean more to you. You watch wrinkles come into people’s faces - from child to adulthood - from cradle to the grave sort of thing. And, the more you learn, the more you love the more you love, the more you want to learn about it. It’s kind of a madness, an obsession, it’s a passion. 

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