Sea Stories and More with Jim

Sea Stories and More with Jim is a podcast journal in which I tell stories of my life, mostly when I was a kid growing up in California during the 1950's 60'sand 70's as well as my time in the US Navy, 1969-1973.

Last refreshed: August 26th, 2025 at 4:10 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

Episode 11 - Odd Jobs Part 2, 1967

More tales from my time as a tow-truck driver while I was in high school.

Jun 26, 2016•15 min

Episode 10 - Summer treats, 1971

The Summer was hot and boring and when you're a bunch of brownwater navy scrubs, you don't get many opportunities for treats, but somehow, we did... The closing music is "Tonto" by Silent Partner If you have questions or just want to say hi, I can be reached at @seastoriesnmore on Twitter or via email - seastoriesandmore@gmail.com I look forward to hearing from you! Jim

May 15, 2016•13 min

Episode 9 - MARS and babies, 1971

While I was in Vietnam, my wife gave birth to our first child, my daughter. I heard about it through the grapevine, but I wanted to hear for myself, so I "borrowed" some transportation in order to go have some people help me. And in one of the most astounding days of my life, I got help, big time. *Note: At the beginning of this episode, I state that it was May 11th, 1971, when in fact it was May 21st or 22nd. The closing music is "Tonto" by Silent Partner Please bear with me as I play around wi...

May 08, 2016•11 min

Episode 8 - First trip to Guam, 1971

My first trip to Guam was not a good trip. Theft, fights and ugly women marred this voyage and we weren't even pirates. Listen close, there is a little bit of history in this one.

May 03, 2016•28 min

Episode 7 - Watching the seagulls fight over puke: Entering the Navy, 1969

This time I try to explain what it takes to be sub-human - per US Navy standards. Boot Camp was not easy on two main levels: it was physically tough and mentally draining as it was designed to break you down so they could build you up. However, it was clear that whether you screwed up or not, the superiors made sure you screwed up, made sure you felt like you screwed up or were penalized for someone else who screwed up. And then there is all the puke.

Apr 24, 2016•23 min

Episode 6 - Odd Jobs: Part 1, 1966

I had a few jobs from the time I was fifteen and a half - and they paid well and built character - some more than others.

Apr 19, 2016•17 min

Episode 5 - Growing up: Family and Home-cooked meals, 1950's and 1960's

This time I am sketching out some details of my youth: my family, what made me different from my brothers - and my sister, what my family had and did compared to the other families in Hollister, CA during the 1950's and 1960's and the impact of my mother's home-cooked meals on a local boy.

Apr 10, 2016•11 min

Episode 4 - Leaving the military, 1973

With a month left of active duty, I was ordered to a month, plus several days of overseas duty, which mostly consisted of traveling to and back from Southeast Asia. I experienced long waits, a funeral at sea - which became a shooting gallery, the darkly political side of last-minute orders and the darkly political side of returning home in San Francisco.

Apr 05, 2016•46 min

Episode 3 - The best job in the US Navy, 1969

During Boot Camp, everyone must complete a week of duties outside normal training - and this called "Service Week." As one of the luckiest men in the history of lucky men, I was ordered to what turned out to be the best job in the US Navy and quite possibly the world.

Mar 27, 2016•12 min

Episode 2 - Grenade Pins, 1971

At sea, on board the USS Pledge, a US Navy minesweeper headed to Vietnam, a terrible accident occurs, which haunts me to this day.

Mar 18, 2016•22 min

Episode 1 - A "honeymoon" trip to Vegas, 1971

In the inaugural episode, I tell the story of when my wife and I, as a newly-ish married couple, on a trip to Las Vegas in the early 1970's. In this story, Jim Rockford helps us get a hotel room and a surprising thing happened when our car broke down that does not happen today.

Mar 18, 2016•20 min

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