I'd never heard of anyone with the same name as me, until '94 or so, when I put up a Web page, and some nice person with the same name contacted me. Name-wise,

I'd never heard of anyone with the same name as me, until '94 or so, when I put up a Web page, and some nice person with the same name contacted me. Name-wise, apparently there are at least two instances of a Dutch man (surname) unable to resist the marriage-material charms of the Irish. Decades later, my namesake and I have email addresses differing by one letter, and I still forward email intended for him. My namesake is accomplished and respected, and at least once I inadvertently rode on his reputation. A remote colleague referred offhand to me being a volunteer firefighter, apparently having Web searched, and confusing me with my better namesake (whose contributions include being a fire chief).