My condolences to his family and all his friends including present company. I’ve been absent for a while and this is the first I’ve heard of the news. I am heartened by the thoughtful comments that I have come to expect from all of my friends here. To good friends including Yakim.
I think it says a lot that a thread like this exists so long after Yakim's absence from FM. He seemed to understand civility, and respect for all people regardless of the anonymity of the keyboard venue. I hope his family are healing from their loss.
It was always a pleasure his engaging, gentle, astute, prose. One of this forum's best members, human beings, to have shared a few moments with him was wonderful, the man behind "Happy Shooting!" was a friend to many.
We corresponded a few times and Yakim's genuine writing was as enjoyable, insightful and knowledge filled in both private and public conversation. His words were most comforting for a newbie to this forum, a newbie to forum life...
Miss him, yes, forgotten, no, his choice, his own, may he rest in peace, in found memory!
I had the pleasure of meeting Yakim here on FM. We mostly traded posts in the the Weekly Assignment forum. Yakim's attitude was great for someone who was living in difficult circumstances. He often spoke about losing his job and struggling to find another one.
He was frank with people and didn't hesitate to give his opinion. He stood out in the crowd providing honest feedback. His words were always written in a way to genuinely help whoever he was speaking with.
In March of 2012 there was an assignment topic of "At Home"
I posted this photo of a homeless man and Yakim responded.
galenapass wrote:
I think when a person calls this an act of selfishness, it's more than likely the same type of person that just repeats phrases that they hear, or sound good to them - without much thought.
Just, wow. To dismiss the opinions of people who have been affected by suicide as thoughtless (your words - "without much thought") and catch phrases (your words - "phrases that they hear, or sound good to them") is itself thoughtless. I might think suicide is selfish, I might not. It's complicated. But it's insensitive to criticize others' reactions to an extremely hurtful event the way that you have. I urge you to reconsider your viewpoint.
I don't care to pass judgment or push an ideology point of view on his passing...
Yet this is exactly what you have done. You have judged those left behind.
Edit: And let me also say that I hope Yakim has found some peace from whatever pain he was in.
Paul Mo wrote:
My thoughts go out to his loved ones. I was at university (second year of a diploma in photography) when I got a phone call from an aunt to say my sister had been found dead at the base of a cliff. Her pain was gone. But the family? Guilt, despair... we ran the whole gamut of emotions - how could those closest not see she desperately needed help? It takes a while for all of that to settle. My mother is still carrying the weight of her death.
Paul, I'm sorry for your loss, and I hope you and your family can find strength together.
Thank you to all who have replied. Many of your responses have caused my eyes to well up, knowing that little parts of Yakim exist in you. Its refreshing to see how kind total strangers can be. As Fraga had mentioned, theres a real person on the other end and so many people forget that these days. But its also difficult to express or convey emotion in typed words, and more often than not, things are easily taken out of context or misunderstood. Expressing sarcasm is an excellent example of this. I regret not asking Yakim if everything was ok in our last PMs. As I said before, something seemed "off"/not right.
Ive dealt with my demons, as some of you have. The thought of not existing has crossed my mind more than once in those battles. I lost a cousin this way. As pointed out by someone else, taking ones own life is sometimes considered acceptable, depending on background and/or religion. Let us not forget that at one time, in Feudal Japan, this was widely accepted as a way of death for the Samurai. Even up to WWII it was considered an honorable way of death as demonstrated by the Kamikaze.
While I havent been offended, let us not turn this thread into a debate about how this may or may not be selfish or acceptable. I dont want to regret starting this thread.
Thank you all again for replying. Everyone of you. This is still, by far, one of the friendliest forums Ive been a member of.
Sad to hear this. I haven't spent more than a couple hours a month here in several years, but Yakim is at the top of the names that I've always respected here.
It is people like him that make this the site worth my time to read.
I was unaware of his passing. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. Very sad.
I have a teen age daughter who has depression and anxiety. She is medicated but still it scares me what she is going through and what she thinks might be a way to stop it. She doesnt talk about that sort of stuff though. We have a very good line of communication, but that doesn't guarantee anything. Every day is a gift.
WJ, they say those that don't talk about it, are the ones most likely to do it. My cousin was proof of this.
I wish you and your family the best. Pay attention, be vigilant, and remind that precious gift how special she is every day. I don't know what I'd do if my daughter did something like this. MY world would come crashing down...she is my life, my heart, my existence. She is the #1 reason I'm still here.
This is the first I have heard oh Yakim's passing and indeed it is very sad. I rember him from photonet from what must be 11 years ago. He was a thoughtful and generous person, who always managed to rise above the rancour that sometimes emerges on forums. To those who have experienced depression I strongly encourage you to seek help. It can be an insidious spiral downwards that is difficult to break free of. Yet there are relatively simple ways to manage it and avoid it with the right help.
Aaron D wrote:
While digging through the archives for an old post of mine, I was reminded of Yakim by some replies he left me. Some of you remember him, newer members may not.
I wasnt around FM much during the time of his loss and was shocked when I finally heard about it. I was on hiatus due to a horrible time in my life when I had thought about doing the same as he.
I had spoken with Yakim numerous times here at FM. He was a helpful and kind man. He was always willing to help and offer insightful, positive, criticism. His responses to my posts inspired me more than anybody elses.
Not sure why I felt obligated to post this. I miss his presence here at FM tremendously though. ...Show more →
He and I didn't always agree, but he was a genuinely kind individual. We had many excellent and constructive exchanges of dialogue.
I only saw his posts and responded in small parts but didn't know him as others did, but his impact was still very positive on the forum(s) and I do still remember that.
It's an odd sort of feeling, which is the only way I can really describe it. It was obviously a shock and saddening but at the same time it's not someone I personally knew, only the words he wrote. But I guess simple words, like your favourite author, can have a huge impact on your life, so it would be unfair to lessen the significance just because there was no sort of everyday type relationship. Only there appears a sort of disconnect, which is maybe a 21st century phenomenon, but maybe not at all.
Sometimes you can draw meaning where there isn't any, and "Happy Shooting" can't but feel slightly tainted given the path that later followed, but sometimes simple things can hold a lot of value. Be happy with what you're shooting?
This is very sad to hear. I haven't been active in quite some time now due to new additions to the family. Yakim was a great asset to the FM community and always a gentleman.
