People keep finding my page by doing searches for "Joe Mahoney." I have no illusions that they're actually looking for me. It's kind of astonishing just how many other Joe Mahoneys there are out there. I just finished reading a bit of one other Joe Mahoney's page. A very poetic fellow, a guitar player, I gather. His blog puts mine to shame; thoughtful, erudite... mine is rather literal. I guess I save my poetic side (such as it is) for my fiction (such as it is).
Anyway it's kind of odd to think that there are several other guys out there living with the same name as me. Although I believe I'm the only Joseph Thomas Mahoney. I like the name Joe Mahoney, but you know, the one thing that's always kind of annoyed me about it is that it's actually a little difficult to say. People always think I'm saying "Jim" or "John." You have to really ennunciate the "Joe" and then the "Mahoney." I used to be a disc jockey and the management wanted me to change my name. I thought about it for awhile... but in the end my ego decided things for me. I wanted people to know it was me on the air, Joe Mahoney. But I had to be careful with the enunciation, lest they thing it was Jim or John Mahoney on the air.
You know, one thing I don't actually know is whether these other Joe Mahoney's actually pronounce their name the same as me. I pronounce the Mahoney with three syllables; they could well pronounce it with two. The original pronunciation of my name in my family was with two syllables, but my father is an easy going fellow; when he moved to Prince Edward Island from New Brunswick everybody pronounced Mahoney as "Mah-Hone-ee" and he just let them. So we became "Ma-hone-ees."
I'd also be curious as to where these other Joe Mahoney's came from. We hail from County Kerry Ireland, or at least my great-great grandfather did. He emigrated to Northern New Brunswick, where the family resided until my father moved to PEI. Apparently one of my great great grandfather's sons moved to California and started a dynasty there, of which Suzanne Somers is apparently descended, or so (recent) family legend has it. The actor John Mahoney of Fraser fame looks one hell of a lot like my father and his brothers; there's got to be a connection there.
I'd wrap all this up with some pithy conclusion if only I knew how, but I don't, so... later.
8:42:32 PM 
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