Friday, August 24, 2007

John Q Doe and Jane Q Doe



I have a burning question:
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Is there anyone out there who is really named John Q. Doe or Jane Q. Doe? Until the internet age came along, they were just plain John and Jane Doe, but with the advent of rigid online forms, there seemed to be a need to include a middle name in these stalwart examples of American identity.
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I can tell you first hand what a hassle it is not to have a middle name in the cyber world. My better half Jerry lacks a middle name, and it wreaks all kinds of bureaucratic havoc, especially when he fills out NMN in that middle name spot. He often gets mailed addressed to "Mr. Gerald NMN Siegel." On top of that, his nickname is the same as one of the creators of Superman. Try typing in "Jerry Siegel" and see how many Google hits one gets (with quotations, 156,000).
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I once asked my late mother-in-law why she didn't give her firstborn a middle name. She said, "We were too poor."
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Okay, so Anita was known for her bad jokes...
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But I digress.
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The Does seem to be generic people, invented by government statisticians, with generic addresses (123 Main St. in Anytown 12345--54321 if one wants to place them in Middle America--U.S.A); an internet search shows that both John and Jane share the same social security number (123-45-6789), so I would presume that Jane and John is actually the same person with gender issues.
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In my new book (a novel-in-progress), my main character is named Jane Q. Godwin (I couldn't quite bring myself to stick her in generic hell by naming her Jane Q. Doe, but the "Jane Q." is no accident). Her book is barely written, but she has her own web page. I'm not pushing my book here (it doesn't exist but in my head, in some scattered notes, and on one web page), but thinking about how I want to approach creating Jane's life has made me curious about her and her husband Kirk (HA! Not John Doe), and why John and Jane have persisted as American ideals and symbols.
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Sure, sometimes one calls them the Smiths or the Publics, but the surname "Doe" seems to represent everything about ordinary people living ordinary (albeit bureaucratic snafu'd) American lives.
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Just some philosophical musing (before school starts next week, when literature takes over).
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Bugzita

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