Photo by Emma Lindsey.
Author, Phil Fishman poses for a photo standing behind his wife, Sara, and next to his niece, Lisa.
Throughout his 79 years and four careers, now-writer and Hoover resident Phil Fishman demonstrates it is not too late for anyone to embark into something new.
After graduating with a degree in chemistry from Indiana University, the military brought Fishman to the South, where he met his wife Sara.
“I attribute to her a lot of my development,” he said. “If you look in a picture dictionary, you might have been able to find me under shy. I was one shy guy and Sara, on the other hand, was the friendliest girl in her class. … Over the years she brought me out.”
After the army, Fishman was in sales and marketing for more than 20 years until he retired at the age of 63.
Approaching his mid-sixties, Fishman went into his next career: consulting.
“I consulted for a while, but that just didn’t pay off for me,” he said. “My daughter talked to me and said, ‘Dad, I think you need to try teaching.’ I said, ‘Sweetie, I don’t know at my age.’”
However, Fishman began substituting at high schools until he decided to pursue a teaching certification at UAB.
As a result of the No Child Left Behind Act, Fishman was able to start applying to schools before finishing his degree.
Fishman worried schools would be reluctant to hire him due to his age, but he began applying to middle schools and was hired by Thompson Middle School in Alabaster.
Although his teaching career was short-lived, Fishman said, “I don’t regret it at all. I lasted there for three weeks. I resigned after two and the principal asked me to hang in there so they could get a replacement.”
Despite his swift departure, Fishman said, “I really enjoyed it, but there was just too much stress for an old guy.”
The experience took him into his next and most recent career as a writer, by inspiring him to write his first book, “Teacher’s Gotta Dance,” a memoir on his teaching days.
Fishman has published a total of four books and, at 79, is already thinking ahead to his next. His most recent book was published in May: “Aren’t the Emperor’s New Clothes Grand?”
The book is a satirical expose comparing President Donald Trump to the emperor in the classic tale — “The Emperor’s New Clothes” — by Hans Christian Andersen.
“I am on Facebook and have been unfriended from a lot of my Alabama friends,” he said. “[The book] is not the most politically correct thing to be writing in Alabama, but it is how I feel about things.”
Despite the backlash, Fishman is not shying away from controversial topics. In his next book, Fishman plans to debate an atheist on religion.
Whether it be pursuing an old passion or beginning something completely foreign, Fishman illustrates that young or old, you can always begin a new adventure.
Fishman said, “If you are dead, then you are too late, so I would say that it is not too late now. If you can read that, then it is not too late to start. I’m in my fourth career and I am really enjoying writing.”
He added, “The neat thing about writing is that when I go on to the next world there will be something left behind that maybe will inspire someone. … I still see myself as a bit of a teacher, even though I am no longer one. If I could inspire somebody young or old to do something with their life, then hey, I have done something.”
“Aren’t the Emperor’s New Clothes Grand?” and other books authored by Philip M. Fishman are available for purchase at Amazon.com.