Jim Stark Blog

Thunderstorms

During my working career, I had six branch offices reporting to me, one in Illinois and others in southern Indiana. I used my Cessna 182RG to make frequent visits to each of those locations. Whenever one of my branches set a new monthly sales record, we would celebrate. I would order a large congratulatory sheet […]

You Got Trouble

As a damn fool runner back in the 1970s, people found my jogging passion and Boston Marathon experience unique and that led to opportunities to speak to Rotary clubs, Toastmaster organizations, and community groups. Running at that time was considered strange by most folks and outright crazy by a few. Having fun with that opinion, […]

Letter Home

The following is a letter I sent my mother 55 years ago:  Rota, Spain                                                                 29 Aug, 1965 Dear Mom, Greetings from sunny Spain. I feel foolish dreading this deployment because I’m really enjoying myself here. We left Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine, early on the morning of 18 August along with four other aircraft […]

Unmannerly Memory

My three sons were great companions during their growing up years. One of our annual activities together was attending the week-long airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. We first started going nearly 45 years ago when Eric and Chris were just 9 and 7 years old. Brian, my youngest, just 4, didn’t join us until a couple […]

Across American on Foot

Stories in the book, “Across American on Foot” about the endurance and perseverance of the trans-continental (“transcon)” runners are truly astonishing. My son Brian, having run across the U.S. in 1998 is one of the book’s authors and its editor. The idea for the book originated with Jim McCord who ran across America in 2002. […]