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Bumpy Rides and Soft Landings: Stories of Coming Out, Flying High, and Not Learning to Play the Piano
As someone whose innate filter doesn’t always work, Pauley says it exactly as he sees it. Written in his uniquely humorous, poignant, sarcastic, self-deprecating, honest, and mildly outrageous style, he recounts stories of growing up different, while learning important lessons from even the most unlikely of a chili dog, a nasty queen, a cursing coworker, a Porta-Potty, a stranger’s judgment, a sore butt, a new piano, a tiny scar, a grieving widow, and a hateful bully. With the millions of miles he’s logged in over the years, along with the thousands of diverse and colorful characters he’s met and observed along the way, he knows one thing for On this journey called Life, with no GPS or autopilot to help us navigate, no one truly knows what their final destination will be. And, because the ride will undoubtedly be turbulent at times, it’s best to just fasten your seat belts, learn from the experience, and always hope for a soft landing.
298 pages, Paperback
Published March 2, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 29, 2023
‘Good afternoon. May I help you find your seat?’ - A rollicking and sensitive memoir!
What a complete pleasure to encounter an author - James Pauley, Jr. - who manages to captivate attention and empathy and entertainment from the first pages of his ‘Stories of Coming Out, Flying high, and Not Learning to Play the Piano’ shared diary/chronicle! Delivered with refreshing wit, insights, humor, and unexpected dalliances, Pauley shares his at times awkward childhood, family interactions, and one of the most successful coming out as a gay lad stories in print. And it doesn’t pause there, as his career choice as an airline steward, both for commercial and private companies, opens windows of observations that deliver satisfyingly enriching and comedic incidents with aplomb. A taste of Pauley’s writing style suggests the artistry of this book: ‘Delayed departures, barfing children, lightning strikes at thirty thousand feet, enough flatulence to cause oxygen masks to drop, inoperative video screens, and obese passengers spewing into neighboring seats would pale in comparison to the horrors using cell phones on airways would generate. Air travel would reach a whole new level of insanity.’
One aspect of the writing that enhances the prose is Pauley’s polished use of naïveté, especially evident in the early episodes of his childhood and coming out experience, but also maintained in his encounters while airborne and earthbound with personal encounters, including the path to his husband. Tender, poignant, and often hilarious, this book introduces an author of substance and a man whose ‘memoir’ should become a best seller very quickly. Highly recommended.
What a complete pleasure to encounter an author - James Pauley, Jr. - who manages to captivate attention and empathy and entertainment from the first pages of his ‘Stories of Coming Out, Flying high, and Not Learning to Play the Piano’ shared diary/chronicle! Delivered with refreshing wit, insights, humor, and unexpected dalliances, Pauley shares his at times awkward childhood, family interactions, and one of the most successful coming out as a gay lad stories in print. And it doesn’t pause there, as his career choice as an airline steward, both for commercial and private companies, opens windows of observations that deliver satisfyingly enriching and comedic incidents with aplomb. A taste of Pauley’s writing style suggests the artistry of this book: ‘Delayed departures, barfing children, lightning strikes at thirty thousand feet, enough flatulence to cause oxygen masks to drop, inoperative video screens, and obese passengers spewing into neighboring seats would pale in comparison to the horrors using cell phones on airways would generate. Air travel would reach a whole new level of insanity.’
One aspect of the writing that enhances the prose is Pauley’s polished use of naïveté, especially evident in the early episodes of his childhood and coming out experience, but also maintained in his encounters while airborne and earthbound with personal encounters, including the path to his husband. Tender, poignant, and often hilarious, this book introduces an author of substance and a man whose ‘memoir’ should become a best seller very quickly. Highly recommended.
October 5, 2024
Up and downstairs life story
It was a quick and fun read. Lively writing. I enjoyed the stories that make life's ride bumpy and hope for the soft landings!
It was a quick and fun read. Lively writing. I enjoyed the stories that make life's ride bumpy and hope for the soft landings!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews