Jim Malles

Enrolled at Lake Forest College out of Lane but didn't mesh with the East Coast Preppies who referred to Chicagoans as "a bunch of farmers" and after a year off working in a factory and with a landscaper back to college with a diverse student body at SIU Carbondale. Did the 10-year plan (didn't want to leave Carbondale!) doing degrees in Psychology and Physiology then a year in Grad School Physiology. Worked a bit, loved the beautiful geography and vibe there but after seeing lots of old hippies who came to SIU late 60's early 70's now gray haired and working minimum wage jobs decided to come back to Chicago and reality for a career future! Was single till age 49. Motorcycle enthusiast since my first bike at age 17, a 1967 Honda CL 160. Lots of ski trips to Jackson Hole. Participated with various BMW Car Club chapters in high performance driving schools where you learn to drive fast on road course racetracks. Then became an instructor for those events with BMW, Audi, and Lotus Car Clubs. Finally met a lady who could put up with my good and bad traits and I could do the same with hers, so married my dear Laura on the beach in Riviera Maya in 2006. Worked as an Insurance Broker for small employer groups employee benefits since 1996 but transitioned the past 5 years into focusing solely on helping Medicare Beneficiaries navigate the confusion of Medicare. Still an avid BMW fan with R19TC Cruiser and S1000R Naked Bike and a new M2 track/street hot rod and X3M40 hot rod SUV.

Learned to drive stick in my dad's 1969 BMW 2002 --the car that was so rare you flashed your lights at another one of the few hundred that lived in Chicago at that time. No one knew what they were, but it put BMW on the map. Dad let me take him to work and take the car to school so I would load up my classmates (one time we had 8 kids crammed in a 4-passenger car) and go racing around the school especially on the old Riverview curvy road between the football stadium on Addison over to Western and California squealing tires all the way. Another memorable time I was alone on Addison at California and a greaser from Lane with a Challenger 340 six-pack (hot rod with 6 barrels of carbs) at the light was on my right figuring he could blow my doors off when it changes. The old Bimmer was a sleeper, boxy and small like most "foreign cars" but it was as fast as American V8s, so he was very surprised as I kept even with him, and he was forced to brake and go behind me to avoid hitting the parked cars ahead!