The Holiday Giveaway Continues

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you, your family, and friends are having the best holiday season ever!

Don’t forget, my Holiday 2018 Giveaway is going on right now. Visit my Holiday Giveaway page to register to win a free autographed copy of Hiking Alabama 4th Edition. Today is the LAST DAY to enter! Winners will be drawn tomorrow (December 14, 2018).

And, as always, there are some neat little freebies you can download including new short stories and some old classics of mine, a new holiday podcast, “A Wish Book Christmas”, a new hiking booklet – 10 Favorite Historic Hikes in Alabama – and a couple of old favorite hiking booklets from past giveaways including Top Trails and Gulf Coast Hikes.

The Giveaway is just my little way of saying thank you for all of your support over the years with my books, podcasts, and more. I truly appreciate it.

By the way, I always fail to mention, but if you ever have any questions about my books, writings, outdoor recreation (hiking, paddling, tent camping, etc.) or have a comment, be it good or bad (just be kind J), please drop me a line at joe cuhaj author@gmail.com (take out the spaces), post a comment on my Facebook page, or message me on Facebook Messenger.

Happy Holidays, all!

Hiking through History Alabama: The Gulf Coast

With over 300 years of history, the city of Mobile, Alabama, and the Alabama Gulf Coast is a prime area to hike through history. Let's take a trip back in time with this look at only a few of these hikes from my book "Hiking through History Alabama", available at your favorite bookstore or online.

Best Dog Hikes Alabama: Making Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

Here's a great recipe that I included in my forthcoming book, "Best Dog Hikes Alabama" - Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits. The recipe is quick, easy, and your dog will love them! Thanks to my Granddaughter, Cora, for doing some of the filming and lending a hand in the kitchen.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Tis the Season – the cold winds of winter are barreling down from Canada. Snow is piling up across the country. Christmas is just around the corner (a public service announcement for those of you who haven’t even THOUGHT about starting your Christmas shopping).

With that in mind, it’s time once again for my annual, albeit humble, Holiday Giveaway! It’s just my way of saying thank you for your support through the year by buying my books, following my articles and blog, and listening and viewing my podcasts and videos.

Once again you’ll be able to download eBook, PDF, and MP3 audio versions of some of my classic Christmas short stories. And this year, there will be a brand new Christmas short story podcast to listen to or download and a new eBook – “Joe’s Shorts!” Think about that one.

You can also register to win autographed copies of my book, Hiking Alabama-4^th Edition!

My Holiday Giveaway 2018 page will be posted VERY SOON! Be on the lookout for the announcement here on the Blog, on my Facebook pages, and on my website in the next few days.

Thanks again for all of your support this past year and a VERY Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Everyone's Gone to the Moon

The research for the book Everyone’s Gone to the Moon has really been fascinating. The book will revolve around the first lunar landing in July 1969. It will touch on the landing but focus more on the events and pop-culture that was happening at the same time, an overview of July 1969.

So far, the tidbits of history I’m gleaning are truly fascinating. For instance, it was on the first week of July, 1969, that Charles Phillip Arthur George officially became the Prince of Wales during an investiture ceremony that was nearly derailed by bombs that were detonated near the rail line that would carry the royal family to the ceremony.

And I’ve learned that history really does repeat itself. For example, in 2018, we hear of alleged attempts by White House staff to establish secret back channel communications with Russia in an effort to skirt the nation’s intelligence agencies. In July 1969, Soviet diplomat Anatoly Dobrynin attempted to do the same thing, working with President Nixon’s staff to create a secret communications link.

But this little bit doesn’t even skim the surface of the history I’m pulling out from the murky mists of time for this book – remarkable space news that was going on at the time we first walked on the moon, the world of pop-culture, and the stories of everyday people and what life was like in July 1969.

Stick around. There are some amazing stories to tell!

Goin' to the Dogs

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday.

For me, it will be a busy weekend at the old keyboard. I’ll be hammering out a couple of chapters for the book, Everyone’s Gone to the Moon, prepping publicity for the release of Best Dog Hikes Alabama, and finishing up three videos that will be posted next week that I think you’ll enjoy.

On the subject of my latest Falcon guide, Best Dog Hikes Alabama, you may (or may not) remember not too long ago that I asked for a little help planning some fund raisers to coincide with the release of the book in March. Still needing a little help.

I would like to host at least 5 pet adoptions in conjunction with local animal rescues across Alabama – Mobile, Montgomery, Birmingham, Huntsville, and Talladega. The events will give the rescues another chance to bring their animals out and have them adopted, have a few presentations about you and your dog including vet and training tips, and allow you to take a rescue for a short hike (and hopefully fall in love with them). I will be selling copies of the books and t-shirts with proceeds going to help the rescues.

I need a little help in locating a good venue to hold such an event and contacts for reputable animal shelters in those areas to get the ball rolling. SO, if you know of a good location and who I should contact, or have contact information for some rescues, I would LOVE to hear from you!

You can either Message me through Messenger or go to my contact page on my website, www.joe-cuhaj.com/contact.html and drop me a line.

Thanks in advance for your help – and helping rescues!

Say Hey! The Willie Mays Song and Mobile (Alabama) History

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, two out of my three new book proposals have been approved. There is a “slight” hiccup on the Everyone’s Gone to the Moon contract, but that’s being ironed out.

As for the second title, the research is already beginning. Now, I know that my friends and followers from outside of Alabama and the Mobile area will probably say “ho-hum” with this title, but believe me, it’s a fascinating look at the 300+ year history of the Port City – Mobile – and it’s little known, hidden history. Hence the title, Hidden History of Mobile.

There is so much to the city’s history that has rarely, if ever, been told but I'll be combing the dusty city archives and the bowels of the Mobile Library to pull them out and bring them back to life. I think it will be a title you will all enjoy.

One aspect of the city’s history I will focus on is its musical side. Yes, we’ve had some notable musicians and singers from the Alabama Gulf Coast, everyone from Metropolitan Opera star Linda Zoghby to big band trumpeter Cootie Williams to Jimmy Buffet. There is one group from Mobile, however, that doesn’t get much recognition – the Treniers, or as they were originally billed, the “Rockin’ Rollin’ Treniers”.

The group was started by twins Clifton and Claude Trenier. After stints with Jimmy Lunceford's big band in the 40s, the twins struck out on their own and made a mark in the early history of Rock ‘n Roll influencing others like Bill Haley, England’s The Shadows, and more. They appeared in several early rock movies like Alan Freed’s Don’t Knock the Rock and The Girl Can’t Help It.

The Treniers in Don’t Knock the Rock

One recording by the Treniers brought my understanding of Mobile’s musical history and its baseball legacy (as seen in my book Baseball in Mobile) full circle. It was in 1955 when they recorded a classic song celebrating Alabama’s own Willie Mays – the song was Say Hey (the Willie Mays Song). What’s interesting is that the 45-rpm single that was released credits the tune to Willie Mays with the Treniers, although Willie only says 10 words in the song.

The Treniers: Say Hey (the Willie Mays Song)

Just some of the fun, sometimes tragic, but always remarkable history I’ll be uncovering and bringing back to life within the pages of Hidden History of Mobile.

The adventure is just beginning.