Joe Mahoney 2023-11-02 Joe Mahoney 2023-11-02

Riverview’s Best Donair

So I’m gradually figuring out the best places to eat in Riverview, New Brunswick. And Moncton. And Dieppe. I live in Riverview, but it’s right across the river from Moncton and Dieppe.

Here’s one place I like so far:

Altos Restaurant, located at 630 Pinewood Road in Riverview.

Joe Mahoney 2023-09-21 Joe Mahoney 2023-09-21

Famous Rhinocerouses I Have Known

One day when my daughters were young I took them to the zoo and tried to leave them there but the zoo wasn’t accepting donations at that time so I was forced to keep them.

Anyway, as we checked out the various exhibits we chatted, and at one point the conversation turned to fame.

Joe Mahoney 2023-09-18 Joe Mahoney 2023-09-18

The Reunion

This was an interesting experience.

I think a lot of us that attended were skeptical whether we'd have a good time. And afterward a lot of us were amazed that we'd had such a good time. In retrospect maybe this shouldn't be such a surprise. RTA was a program of like-minded people. Maybe it shouldn't come as such a surprise that we'd be comfortable with one another after so much time.

Joe Mahoney 2023-08-31 Joe Mahoney 2023-08-31

Reflections on a Book Launch

“How’d the book launch go?” somebody asked me the other day.

There aren’t enough superlatives in the English language to answer that question.

“Amazing,” I tried.

I could also have said, “Magic.” Or: “One of the best days of my life.”

All completely true. Certainly the beginning of an answer.

Here’s a longer answer.

Joe Mahoney 2023-08-30 Joe Mahoney 2023-08-30

Dear Author Joe

The one sure way to make money in publishing is off the backs of gullible authors. Offering dubious marketing schemes, for example.

If I had any brains at all I would give up my foolish dream of making a go of it as an author and immediately start exploiting my fellow authors for all they’re worth. I would likely make a mint.

I would certainly be better at it than the fellow who attempted to exploit me today.

Joe Mahoney 2023-08-25 Joe Mahoney 2023-08-25

Of Novels and Nephews

My novel, A Time and a Place, is about an uncle trying to save his nephew. The nephew’s name is Ridley. I wrote the first draft (and named the characters) long before Ryley was born. Like the uncle in my novel, I once turned into a seagull to try to save my nephew. No, wait, that didn’t happen. But the fact that I should be offered a publishing deal for a book about an uncle trying to save his nephew on a weekend that I would be visiting a nephew in serious trouble struck me as eerily coincidental.

Joe Mahoney 2023-08-22 Joe Mahoney 2023-08-22

A Capital Pee

I really had to pee.

I was trying to get to work early for a radio drama taping. I wanted to get there and test the microphones, the console, and still have time to sit in on the read-through. Figured if I left by seven, I could make it in by eight-thirty, with the first cast members arriving at ten.

Joe Mahoney 2023-08-21 Joe Mahoney 2023-08-21

The Third Cat

I want to tell you about my cat. Actually, I have three cats, but the one I want to tell you about is Blossom. The story begins with my father-in-law, who decided to move out of his house in the country into an apartment in Moncton, New Brunswick. He needed a new home for his eight-year old cat, Blossom, so my wife generously decided to add Blossom to our already (in my opinion) full roster of felines. They decided to fly Blossom from Moncton to Toronto. They drugged her and packed her up and somehow it became my responsibility to pick her up at the airport after work.

Joe Mahoney 2023-08-20 Joe Mahoney 2023-08-20

Cops and Dogs

Strolled out into the backyard this morning and discovered a police officer lurking in the bushes just behind my place. Just over the fence from him a municipal worker was cutting the grass in the park with a Ride-On lawnmower.

I wondered if I’d stumbled onto a man hunt or crime scene.

Joe Mahoney 2023-08-19 Joe Mahoney 2023-08-19

Eulogy for a Cat

Two days after Christmas one year— one of our cats died. Brandy was named after the song "Brandy" by Looking Glass, just because I liked the song, and the name suited her somehow, or came to. We can’t remember exactly when we got her, but it was something like fourteen years ago.