Introduction
I grew up dirt poor, after the divorce anyway. Before that point (age 10), my father was a hell of a provider, especially considering he did it on a military salary. My mother wasn’t prepared to be a single mother when she demanded a divorce. She didn’t master home economics until her twilight years. I don’t hold it against her, him, or anyone anymore, but it is worth noting that no one ever apologized to me and my sister for the way things went down.
As I grew up, people told me I would never have the American dream, because of where I began. The best I could look forward to was either public housing or a trailer, and a whole lot of public assistance. Middle class liberals like the Hamlin family of Milo would call me and my sister “scrubs.” Their parents worked for the government or as lawyers. They were all assholes, but sometimes it was hard not to let it get me down.
For a long time, I chose to do criminal things like sell drugs. I understand now that I was harming my customers. Drug dealing is not a morally sound pursuit. When I was 15, my mother caught me and my friend Josh growing a weed plant in my bedroom in the trailer in LaGrange. She immediately decided I should move to Mass. with my father. She changed her mind at the last minute, but I was already looking forward to getting away from the assholes I mentioned before. The only two people I would go on to miss were Josh and my cousin Todd, who was killed in a car accident the following year.
Sending me to live with my father was the best thing Penny Lyford ever did for me.
I came by everything I have today the honest way. I served in the Army as infantryman and commo jockey during the Iraq war, and yes I have taken great advantage of all the benefits that come with that. Those benefits should remain as incentives to serve in the military. They are not some kind of birthright.
I own a home in the Fairmount neighborhood worth about twice the value of most homes in Milo. I own two vehicles. I have savings, equity in my home, and all of the other trappings of the American dream. I am finally free.
But I had to get it almost entirely on my own, which is contrary to the American dream. The American dream is that our children have better, more productive lives than us, and literally every policy advanced by the left in the past 10 years has deteriorated it.
I used to think that leftism was a mental illness, like PTSD — an inability to acknowledge the facts. But now, through much introspection, I agree with the guy who said it first (President Javier Milei of Argentina): it is a soul sickness, based in hatred, jealousy, and self-delusion.
A vote for me is a vote for the American dream. A vote for any democrat in this city government is a vote for more of the same, if not worse.
Veteran
I joined the army at the age of 20, after some civilian experience in Athens, Georgia and then West Baltimore, Maryland. Life was still generally affordable then in Athens; on $8 per hour at a DialAmerica call center, I managed to rent a 1-bedroom apartment and pay all of my bills. In Maryland, it was much the same: about $400 per month to rent a room, and $8 jobs everywhere you looked.
My father is a 30-year Navy veteran, who reached the rank of Command Master Chief. He did not give me any ultimatums to join the military; I did it all of my own accord, after moving home to Milo, Maine and living off of my mother for about a month.
So this puts us in the latter part of 2007. Sergeant First Class Daniel Sproul recruited me, got me a generous $20,000 sign-on bonus, and I shipped off to basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia in January, 2008.
After basic, which for infantrymen is about 12-13 weeks (depending if you are a mortar or regular infantry), I was assigned a duty station: Fort Hood, Texas. I wound up in a personal security detachment for a high-ranking non-commissioned officer. Here is what our platoon looked like in Iraq, in 2009:
There are many veterans out there who saw a lot more combat than me. I was later discharged after our deployment, for medical reasons, and rendered unable to re-enter the service. While it has recently become trendy to question the benefits of veterans, I myself felt that something was taken away from me (my career). I never once said I had PTSD; that was put on me. I never complained about my back, either. In a different era, I would have been allowed to serve out my 20 years.
Husband and Father
I am working hard on my second, last marriage to Meghan (Spofford) Madore of Brewer. I met her at Eastside Rehab on Mt. Hope Ave. while I was working there in the middle of the plandemic in 2020. She is the most beautiful woman to ever take a risk on me.
My first marriage, though, was an abysmal failure, which produced four children. Through the machinations of our democratic masters and one crucial mistake of my own, I have lost custody of all four of those children (Paul, Arthur, Magnolia, and Ezra), but they are all with people I know.
With Meghan, I have three boys: Aybel, who is Level 2 Autistic, Lukas, and Paul. Paul is my second Paul; my first son is named directly after me and my father.
I am a loyal husband, with no interest in other women. My wife says this is rare. She currently does not work in the financial sense, but she works her butt off taking care of myself and the kids. I pitch in where I can between my job and my writing, but I give all the credit to her.
We have had our ups and downs. A search of public records about me will reveal that we had a domestic incident (the one that eventually led to three of the kids being taken away). While I am willing to talk about this on a personal basis, I would rather not put anything on the record here.
I love my children and many parents would consider them “spoiled.” They have everything, and I like it that way.
The reason I am writing all this is so that the parents of Bangor understand that whatever you’re going through, I’ve probably been through. I’ve had my kids ripped away, my wife go crazy (and to prison — my first wife.) With my first wife, I saw first-hand the effects of drugs on a family and on a mother.
I understand the financial struggles of just making ends meet, just making sure there’s juice boxes in the fridge, just making sure you have socks to put on the kids’ feet.
And in my mind, the solution doesn’t boil down to more government assistance — there’s plenty of that available! No, the solution is more opportunity. As City Councilor, I will work tirelessly to attract good-paying jobs. It will be one of my first priorities. For you, for me, for all of us — the benefits of better opportunities are almost limitless.
I believe the key to a strong, cohesive society is a solid middle class. Currently the majority of Bangor residents cannot even consider themselves such. We are by and large working and lower class. We can do better than another new methadone clinic, guys. So much better.
Writer and Editor
From the time I can remember, I wanted to write. Living in a trailer in South LaGrange, I downloaded a pirated copy of Stephen King’s On Writing, and from there I learned how to write stories. For the next 10+ years I would be a fiction writer, earning my first publication at age 17.
After the army, and after homelessness with my first wife, I was hard-pressed to find a job due to a criminal record I picked up in Colorado. So, I found a job writing online, for ccn.com. I would go on to be the editor-in-chief of both that and Hacked.com, which at the time was a computer security website.
I have about 1,200 or more credits to my name and to pseudonyms of mine.
I am an expert in Linux, bitcoin, fiction, and English.
The majority of publications have no interest in employing me. I am politically unreasonable to them as I will not insert “slant” or liberal bias. This is why a lot of my favorite works, such as Here Lies an American Dreamer, were self-published.
I am not done writing, same as I am not done doing anything else I love. But paying the bills comes first, and my family requires attention too. I would love to find a job with a conservative news outlet.
Gas Attendant
After the whole issue with losing my kids back in 2023, I also lost my job with Office Pride of Maine, the owner of which I retain great respect toward. For him, I cleaned PCHC on Union Street and Downeast Toyota in Brewer, the showroom and the employee gym (yes, they have one.)
I applied to dozens and dozens of jobs, everything and anything. After almost a month of this, I heard back from Elite Auto on Hammond Street. I went and took the math test (got all the questions right, but changed one to the wrong answer), and interviewed with John Pollard. He can be quoted as saying, “You’re not leaving here until you agree to work for me.”
The job does not pay much, and I feel it is financially irresponsible to stay there for too many years. But the upside is I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of Bangor residents, and learn about their struggles and lives. A lot of the people whose gas I pump are elderly, and I honestly can’t imagine them going through the process of pumping their own gas.
The job is not always easy. Often, I work by myself, and I am forced to juggle customers inside the store, at the gas pumps, and waiting for “free” air.
Many of you who recognize my face, recognize it from the Gulf on Hammond.
All of this is to say: I’m an everyday guy, trying to get by, and I will never forget the struggles that made me who I am today.
Write me at [email protected] with any questions.
Comments
2 responses
Hi Paul Madore,
Yes, you are a very good writer. I read the first sentence and ended up reading your entire story. Very nice. I’m from Caribou and curious if you have any relatives up in the county. I’m currently in Dresden, ME. I wish you the best in your endeavors.
Hi Jon,
Well, I only know a few of my cousins on the Madore side. My Dad had like 12 siblings. His father’s name was Paul Henry Madore Sr. He was a millworker from Old Town. Every time I tell a potential voter my last name, they ask if I have family up north. I’m sure we’re related in some way, the name is not an accident after all. Thanks for stopping in. If you know anyone in Bangor, please encourage them to vote on November 3rd and to select me as one of the new City Councilmen!
Have a great day and God bless,
Paul