Along the Way—Short Stories: Humor and Challenges

 By Paul Phillips ’57. Archway Publishing, August 2015.

Told with humor and style, author Paul Phillips offers a collection of short memoirs in Along the Way. He begins with a description of the struggles of a sixty year-old when the computerization of his office forces him to learn how to type. He eventually joins an online course designed to teach young children, but he can’t keep up with the program’s green alligator.

In Along the Way, Phillips narrates a story from the beginning of his adult life, a trip to a draft board physical where he meets two of the few the Army rejects. He also tells of becoming involved–involuntarily–in an informal fishing competition with a famous athlete. Next, he watches a future political star and his soon-to-be wife put on a professional quality dance exhibition at a college prom chaperoned by nuns. Later, Phillips’ company sends him on trips to Japan where a WWII Japanese Navy pilot challenges him to eat a live prawn. Then a Japanese family confiscates his clothes while he is taking a bath at the beginning of a real Japanese weekend.

This collection shares a variety of stories from his life, including descriptions of his last day at work, unusual encounters while dining out, experiences at college reunions, and anecdotes about simple incidents he experienced.