The Joe and Mara Story

Please meet my daughter, Mara Keyes.

Back in 1992, I fathered a daughter in Minneapolis that was put up for adoption in Duluth, Minnesota. I don’t feel the need to share the details, but I was in a touring rock band at the time. Maybe you can connect the dots.

I always knew in the back of my mind that this person would someday try to find me. I wasn’t sure when, or how, but I knew it would happen. The birth mother gave her my name years ago and I’m pretty easy to find (incidentally, neither of us currently have any contact with the birth mother).

Back in March I received a message on Instagram from her, letting me know that she believed that I was her biological father. She was coming to New York with her husband and mother-in-law and she was interested in meeting me. As you can imagine, this was a pretty intense message to receive, but her message was measured and respectful. I was also aware of how difficult it must have been for her to reach out, so I responded (hopefully) compassionately. We continued the correspondence over email, and we got to know each other a little bit. Mara grew up in St. Paul, is now 29, married with two pets and lives in La Crosse, Wisconsin. She works for WWBIC, a women’s business initiative. She was raised by two wonderful parents in St. Paul. Her dad is a lawyer and part time musician. She played violin from a young age, so music is a big part of her life. Her parents are OK with her reaching out to me.

We made a plan for dinner when when she arrived. Afterwards we walked to Sid Gold’s where she was joined by her husband. She had seen my posts about Sid’s and wanted to check it out, and to hear me play. I invited Amy to join as well. It was a wonderful first night. Having learned that she was a fan of musicals, I got tickets for “Company” on Broadway as a “welcome” gift. All in all, we had a lovely weekend with a good amount of “one to one” time to connect and bond. Since then we pretty much text everyday (even if it’s just “Wordle” results). And we immediately planned the next trip.

Studio Visit

At the Old Town bar, NYC

THE NEW JERSEY VISIT

Over memorial day, she came to New Jersey where she met her biological grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We did a tour of my old neighborhoods, and some of the “haunts” of my youth.

Knife & Fork restaurant, Atlantic City, NJ

Jilly’s Arcade, Ocean City, NJ

Had to do a photobooth pic!

Having Mara in my life has enriched it immensely. Even after just a few months we have an incredible connection, and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here. This story is to be continued…

Looking towards the future. Photo by Amy Hobby.