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WHO WOULD IT BE?
By Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, August 16, 2026
There was a very intriguing question asked on Facebook today, August 16, 2026.
If you could thank one Coast Guard member today, who would it be?
Before you write the question off because you may not have served in the Coast Guard, think about the question and the career path that you have chosen. You can easily substitute a very different type of profession or even a company’s name that you worked for in lieu of Coast Guard.
It is a question that WILL make you THINK! Personally, I had two careers that I retired from plus I have done a considerable amount of writing in the form of real estate training courses and Nuggets for the Noggin like this one. In fact, over the past thirty-five years, I have written well over one thousand such Nuggets which will be the topic of another Nugget very soon.
As to the question, my first career was serving in the U. S. Coast Guard. Over the next twenty years, I was EXTREMELY fortunate and I emphasize the word extremely because not everyone could be as lucky or as fortunate as I was. I had the best of the best to supervise, train and guide me to the point I eventually retired from the service as a Lieutenant having entered as a Seaman Recruit. That may not mean much to people who have not served in the military, but trust me when I tell you that was quite an accomplishment for which I am very proud.
Over those twenty years, I can list at least six Coast Guardsmen that were exceptional at what they did and of the six, there was one that helped me the most. It was a matter of luck, of timing and my own perseverance but the catalyst was “the one person” that was most responsible for me serving the twenty years and retiring as a Lieutenant. To non-military people reading this, to be selected for a special Limited Duty Officer program that promoted only one or two people each year in their specialty to Lieutenant was indeed an honor and an exclamation mark on a successful career.
When I saw the question on Facebook, it caused me to pause for two reasons. First, it gave me the idea for this Nugget. Second, and the most important reason of the two, is that it caused me to stop and think about those twenty years and who within the Coast Guard community would be the most responsible for any success that I was able to achieve. For any of my fellow Coasties that might read this, your name was probably on the list of six names that I reduced my selection to, so please do not take it personally that your name is not the “one name” of the person who helped me the most. The reason I listed the person’s name is because he took a young 20-year-old, with no specific skills other than being able to type, and guided me to do the work he and others assigned me. He guided me towards advancing through the ranks. He guided me regarding working with others, especially very senior Coast Guard Officers like the Admiral who was our District Commander.
I graduated from Coast Guard Boot Camp as a Seaman Apprentice (E2 on the pay scale). The only skill I learned in the first three months of service was how to cut up fallen trees. I was assigned to the Coast Guard Radio Station across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. I arrived in New Orleans weeks after Hurricane Betsy struck the area and there was damage everywhere. At the Radio Station, which sat on a HUGE parcel of land in the middle of nowhere, there were fallen trees blocking the dirt road that completely encircled the station. For three months I cut up trees to be hauled off. I accomplished two things during those three months. First, I put on twenty-five pounds. Secondly and the most important one, I caught a severe case of poison ivy working in the jungles at that time. The ONLY solution to the poison ivy was to transfer me away from what was causing my skin to break out and blister over most of my body. This was one of those “life lessons” we hear about. When one door closes, another door opens.
The Radio Station door closed for me, but the Eighth Coast Guard District Personnel Office opened. That is when I met my selectee who became the one person who helped me to grow my career the most and gave me a chance, primarily because I could type. That one person was YN1 (Yeoman First Class) Carl Seale (who eventually retired as a Chief Warrant Officer (W4) specializing in Personnel Administration. I sat down at a desk and a brand-new potential career opened in front of me. Carl guided me to what I did. He explained why certain things must be completed in a certain way and that errors were not acceptable. He also set an example for me. His uniform was always impeccable. At the time I was single, living on my own in a two-room apartment. Yes, I said two rooms, actually three if you count the bathroom. It had a small, very small kitchen and a living room with a pull-down Murphy Bed. I was twenty-one years old, living on my own in a town two thousand miles away from what I called home and earning about $100 a month, yes, you heard that right, $100 a month.
From that humble beginning with Carl’s help and mentorship, that twenty-year-old unskilled worker bee made it through being promoted to Petty Officer, Third, Second and First Class and eventually to Chief Yeoman. From there I was promoted to Chief Warrant Officer (W3) and eventually to the LDO Lieutenant at which pay grade I retired.
This is the sad part that the question generated, at least for me. I have never said Thank You to the one person most responsible for my success. Why do you suppose that is? I have a thought, but it may only apply to me. My formative years were in the 1950s and early 1960s. I do not remember “GRATITUDE” ever taught by anyone. Is that not what this is all about? Showing someone YOUR gratitude for the help THEY provided on your path to SUCCESS? To be 100% honest with you, I self-taught myself about gratitude when I read the book The Secret. By the time I read the book I had already retired from the Coast Guard and was well on my way establishing a second career in the real estate business. By the way, there is that ONE PERSON who also helped me towards the success I achieved in the real estate business and that was Dr. Tom Hill of RE/MAX Dixie Region.
This Nugget is about two different subjects, first identifying that one person and then second, telling them how much they have meant to you and your career. As for showing gratitude, the book The Secret (I highly recommend reading it) discussed the Gratitude Stone. In the book, it was just a random stone you might find anywhere alongside the road. Instead, I chose a glass stone like the ones you see at the bottom of a fishbowl. I purchased a bag full of them at Hobby Lobby. First, you make certain that you take the gratitude stone with you wherever you go 24 hours of every day! No exceptions! Every time you see the stone or touch the stone in your pocket or purse, you are to stop, think, and give thanks/gratitude for something or someone at that moment in your life. For the last half of my real estate career, I would give a glass stone attached to a business card size instruction card on how and when to use the stone. People remembered that stone and thus they remembered me, something everyone in sales wanted to have happened. I used the stone for years. Why I stopped, I am not certain, but I will carry it again; it is a great habit to practice! The glass stone takes up very little room in your pocket or purse. You see it first thing in the morning when you get up and again the last thing at night when you go to bed. Being grateful for what you have is far more productive than listening to the news first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
The goal for everyone should be to be always conscious of occasions when it is appropriate to be thankful/grateful and to show how thankful/grateful someone has been to you. As an example, my parents taught me to write thank you notes to people who give you gifts or did something for you. Writing thank you notes has become a thing of the past and everyone ought to consider restructuring that habit. When was the last time you received a handwritten thank you note? Me neither!
So……..with all that said…….
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