| |
| |
|
Humor Information |
|
|
|
Local Author Joins History and Humor To Tell His Stories
Joseph Yakel was born and raised in New York's Capital region, and calls this place home. His travels have taken him far and wide, but it's his hometown surroundings that serve as a backdrop for his writing. He's recently published three books, and thinks his blend of history and humor shine a bright spotlight on the local area and its people. Said Yakel, "My roots to the Capital District have been a major influence on what I've chosen to write about. I split my youth growing up in Albany and Loudonville, and summers were spent at our camp in Westerlo. I attended Albany Academy for Boys and Christian Brothers Academy. As an adult, I've traveled fairly extensively across America, and spent two years in Belgium, Germany, and other European countries with the US military. So, I am fortunate to have a mix of local city, town and country exposure, in combination with this broader range of travel to draw from." He went on, "I began writing my first book when I was about seven years old. I loved dinosaurs and wanted to be a paleontologist. Although I didn't publish that book, I still have it, and I'm proud of what I created at that young age. Looking back on it now, I think it marked the starting point where writing would have some longstanding place in my life." While Yakel's desire to write has been with him since childhood, he says that it has emerged in a more public way over the last decade. "Over the years, I've penned quite a lot, but it wasn't until 1998 that I submitted my first article for mainstream publication. It was a technical piece on cable television system operations. Since then, I've written a number of other articles, mainly on military subjects, published in both trade magazines and on organizational websites." It's his latest writing efforts, however, that Yakel says are his greatest accomplishments. Between December 2004 and March 2005, he completed and released three books. "Writing the material was the easy part", said Yakel, "but putting it all together was a huge task to undertake. I'm very proud of what I've created." As for the books themselves, Yakel said he's got something of value for plenty of people, especially those around the Capital region. Two of his books are genealogy references that also contain quite a bit of local history in them as well. 'The Autograph Memories of Mary Yakel' is the 19th century memoir of his grand aunt. Yakel explained, "Mary was born in the South End 1879 and passed away in 1940. She had an autograph book, which was filled with entries from family and friends along the Second Avenue corridor. I took the small book of hers, a family heirloom, and rewrote it. In addition to the original book entries, I supplemented it with details and comments about the people and families mentioned within her little book. I never knew Mary Yakel, of course, but working on this memoir has helped me to understand her in ways that I couldn't otherwise." 'The JACKEL, JECKEL, JAECKEL, IEKEL, YAKEL Family History Book' has a mouthful of a title, but Yakel says the title is dwarfed by the book's content. He went on, "Without a doubt, this has been my most intensive writing effort, ever. It's a 464-page family chronology, tracing 350 years of my Rheinish ancestry. Our original surname was JACKEL and JECKEL, but changed more than 50 times after the family came to America. In Albany, the spelling settled on YAKEL in the 1870's, while in Milwaukee, it settled on JAECKEL, and in Iowa, our family name changed slightly to IEKEL. This book is first and foremost a genealogy reference, but it's also jammed packed full of really intriguing local and German history as well, and that's why this book and the Mary Yakel autograph book have a wider audience appeal." His third and most recent book is a complete departure from the first two. 'The Legend of Juggin Joe' is an over-the-top fictional humor story that takes place in and around the Town of Westerlo, NY, and centers around the life and times of a hillboy dubbed 'Juggin Joe', for his uncanny musical abilities with the jug. Yakel said, "This book is a country boy comedy/melodrama that I've written in 'country speak', which makes the story that much more fun to read. It's a light-hearted, clean, fun adventure, suitable for all audiences." "The Legend of Juggin Joe" "The Autograph Memories of Mary Yakel" "The JACKEL, JECKEL, JAECKEL, IEKEL, YAKEL Family History Book" Joseph Yakel offers free chapter previews of his books, and welcomes reviews and comments. His books are available in paperback, or downloadable format. For previews and purchasing information, visit Lulu Publishing at: http://www.lulu.com/yakel Joseph Yakel is a freelance writer and author. His articles have appeared in publications such as Communications Technology, The Pipeline, and Army Reserve Magazine, and have been highlighted on USAWOA Online, USAR Online, and other Internet websites. For great humor, or genealogy and family history resources, visit his bookstore at http://www.lulu.com/yakel where Joe offers free book previews and more. Joseph Yakel is available for interviews, and accepts e-mail correspondence at armeuv1@yahoo.com
MORE RESOURCES:
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Slip-sliding On A Peel Every day, or at least every other day, we make a fruit smoothie at mid morning. Almost without fail, these smoothies contain bananas; so, we go through about 10 or 12 bananas a week. Not Your Average Sunday Morning Just recently my ex-husband stopped in to visit during his vacation. In the course of small talk, a few old memories usually crop up in the conversation. Laughing Toward Truth: Six Tips for Lighthearted Thinkers Do you believe in the power of your convictions?It's time to lighten up.People love attaching themselves to ideas. 11 Alternative Garden Games Tired of the same ol', same ol' when it come to entertaining your garden party guests? Weary of boring badminton and jarts? Croquet not your style? Then you're in the right spot! Here are games sure to make your next party the hit of the gardening social season!Icebreakers Game #1: The Gnat Slap Equipment required: A garden of any size. As your guests arrive, invite them for the obligatory 'stroll through the garden'. The Work-from-home Fashion Primer Last week, I reported how writers, stay-at-home parents and online marketing geeks had chosen careers as hermits:http://www.thehappyguy. Wanted: Treadmill for an Elephant Maggie, the 22 year-old African elephant, has been a resident of the Alaska Zoo since 1983. The Zoo recently decided that Maggie needs nicer quarters, more attention, and a treadmill. Cheer-Leadership or All I Need to Know About Business I Learned from Cheerleading Thanks to teen movies, many people have this stereotypical idea of cheerleaders as being ditzy and mean. However, there are a great many life-lessons that can be learned during your time on the team that have surprising application in the business world. Valet Parking: Theft with Consent This column is long overdue. To put it in library terms, which I guess I already did (but I'd like to elaborate), this column is like checking out a book in 1998 but not returning it until yesterday. Got Originality? There are many ways to be original these days. But unfortunately I cannot reveal any of these ways because the followers would then not be original, would they? Now, I realize that somewhere between one to two people would have followed the advice I gave, but just in case my calculations were off - and it turns out three would have followed - I need to be careful about what I write ?One slogan which completely frustrates me due to its lack of originality is "got ____?" That's right - that lowercase phrase which was formerly synonymous with milk (and is now synonymous with everything) is so cliché that it's even cliché to write "got cliché?" But the worst is not behind us. 3 Surefire Ways To Combat Rising Gas Prices I have heard the rumblings of many of you in Readerland about the recent spike in gasoline prices. In fact it's all I seem to hear about lately. To See Or Not To See I went to the eye doctor the other day. I thought it was time to have my eyes checked. Funny Things We Dream I often wonder why I wake up so happy, ready to start the day. When I was younger I'd whack the alarm clock, for the fourth time, grumble out of bed and stomp around with a major sour puss. And the World Goes Round If you are a citizen of UK or Australia, you are permitted to snicker at this problem. Anchorage, Alaska, just opened its first two roundabouts at a major intersection. Humor Under The Keyboards For me, the piano is the symbol of what is stiff, proper and elegant. It doesn't have faults, it is perfect. The Spare Parts Gremlins Don't you just love getting a little something extra? Sure you do. Everybody does. Beyond Black and White Over visiting a neighbor the other day?"Would you like a cup of coffee?" he asks. "I just roasted the latest batch. How to Build a Cobblestone House He huffed and he puffed and he blew the house down - certainly not if the house was built with cobblestones. Building cobblestone houses was a folk art that flourished in upstate New York from 1825 until the Civil War in 1860. Setting History Straight Have you ever heard the name Will Schwenk? Or the name Artie Seymour? Probably not. But you will, you will, when the word gets around about how these two inglorious talents were by-passed, how they missed being touched by the magic wand of Fate. Stopping Bad Breath Bart "Pee-ew! You smell like a skunk soaking in sardine nectar for a week." OK, so I can be a little candid every now and then. Restaurant Manager Gives Out Sexual Favors As Performance Bonus, Raise While many restaurant workers worry and sweat in anticipation of an imminent job-related performance review, employees at Applebee's in Westland have adopted an entirely different attitude toward the employment evaluation process. This is due in no small part to the fact that the general manager, Lisa Blanco, rewards superior employee performance the old fashion way.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 Indexadvertisements.com |
