When it comes to jokes and funny stories, most of us hear them, have a laugh, maybe pass them along once or twice, and then forget them.

Not Daren Peel. A plumber for most of his adult life, Peel has compiled stories that he has heard over the years and has put them into a book called The Blue Collar Follies, an easy read with true, humorous anecdotes about life on the job.

"If people can relate to these stories, and have a laugh or two, the book will have done what I want it to do," Peel said.

More than a decade ago, the 34-year-old Plumbers Local 98 member realized what most construction workers realize - that the business they're in seems to breed a lot of interesting personalities who have stories to tell, or through their actions, create stories. Peel began jotting down notes about the anecdotes he considered humorous, with the intention of putting them into a book someday. The book includes people from all walks of life.

Someday came a couple of years ago, when Peel repaired a toilet belonging to Tex Ragsdale, a comedy writer for Tim Allen. They got to talking, and Peel realized he found a professional who could help put his book together. Then illustrator B.K. Taylor agreed to do illustrations for the book, and the project came together.

Peel formed Sand River Publishing, and hired a union printer to produce 2,500 copies of the book, which he is selling for $10 apiece. Only the names, he said, have been changed to protect the guilty - or the easily embarrassed.

Peel is contributing 10 percent of his profits to children's charities. He said in the book's introduction, "I want to share with everyone the funny side of my life and the lives of people just like me, the blue-collar, working class people. This book is for them."

He is selling his book through word-of-mouth marketing, and has done book signings at Borders Books. Blue Collar Follies is only available for purchase through Peel's website, www.bluecollarfollies.com.

1999-2000.