Forty years ago, my friend Herb Hoover, a manufacture’s Rep, from Columbus, Indiana, was on a fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico. After the trip his guide, who enjoyed Herb’s company, said why don’t you invite some friends and come back for some more fishing. Herb, after returning home invited five of his friends […]

I had three best friends from our time together in the fifth grade through high school years. My family had just moved to Connecticut in 1948 from Nebraska. Their names were Bruce, Jerry and Billy. The four of us went through Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Sea Explorer Scouts together. Bruce was the smartest of […]

Jim Stark’s Newsletter The Bloomington Herald-Times reported the passing of former President Jimmy Carter on page one and headlined the article with three words “Just Simple Decency.” Carter was more than that dedicated to humanitarian causes. Carter got a bad rap for inflation during his tenure, which was not his fault, but his achievements in […]

Scouting got me into sailing. Sea Explorer Scouts, an advanced division of Boy Scouts for boys 14 to 18 years-old, had uniforms patterned after regular enlisted Navy uniforms. We had thirteen button bell-bottom trousers, standard blue Navy jumpers, and white “Dixie Cup” hats. The only difference from the regular Navy uniform was we had two […]

I’ve been playing golf for 77 years. My dad gave me my first lesson when I was nine-years old. I remember that day because he was hit by a golf ball as we walked down the first fairway by an impatient golfer on the tee behind us. Wow, I didn’t realize this was going to […]