An Ordinary Guy, an Extraordinary Tale: My Life and Times

An "Ordinary Guy" spirits us along his journey from the post World War Two neighborhoods of the Bronx through his days as a cadet at the New York State University Maritime College to his thirty years at sea sailing as mate on oil tankers and captain of harbor and sea-going towing vessels. He allows us a peek into the the world of boats and the crews that worked them. Along the way we are skillfully transported through the rich tapestry of history that saw the Vietnam Era, the struggle for civil rights, a resignation of a president, the horror of 9/11 and the response to international terrorism. The "Ordinary Guy" shares with us his interpretation of these events, all the while entertaining us with tales that range from the informative to the outrageous. We are his passengers as he takes us along on his joyous and sometimes angry romp through seventy years of the extraordinary life and times of this ordinary guy.

John Klumpp graduated from the New York Maritime College in 1961. A licensed master mariner, he spent thirty years sailing on oil tankers and tug boats. Now retired, he enjoys long walks, reading, and skiing with his wife, Brenda. They still live in their "cute little starter home" in Sparta, New Jersey.