PASSIONATE - Keep Me Current

Maine MEN
VOL. 1/ISSUE 4 MARCH 2010
A MEN’S MAGAZINE FROM CURRENT PUBLISHING
PASSIONATE
ABOUT
FISHING
PAGE 7
MAKE MINE WHISKEY PAGE 4
CONFESSIONS OF MR. MOM PAGE 10

2
INSIDE
3
4
5
7
10
12
15
ON THE COVER
CONFIRMED BACHELOR
LIFE ALONE NOT ALL BAD
WHISKEY ISN’T COOL
TOO BAD, BECAUSE IT SURE IS TASTY
TOUGH GUYS, SOFT HEARTS
BIKERS STEP UP FOR CHARITY FUNDRAISING
BELOVED, ATHLETIC, CEREBRAL
TO MAINE FISHERMAN, THE SPORT IS ALL THAT
STAY-AT-HOME DAD TELLS ALL
BEATING BACK THE VOICES OF RESPONSIBILITY
KICKING BACK
IN SHOES, MEN PREFER COMFORT OVER LOOKS
Charlie Dibner at Grand Lake Stream, Maine, displays a landlocked
salmon. Dibner always returns his catch to the water. COURTESY PHOTO
EDITOR’S NOTE
TOUGH TO DEFINE
WHAT MAKES UP
A TRUE MAINE MAN
There is a defi nite stereotype that comes up when talking
about Maine men.
Certainly a much more defi nite one than when talking
about a Delaware man or a Connecticut man, anyway, though I’m not sure why
either of those last two would ever come up in normal conversation.
Yes, the term “Maine man” conjures up instant images of lived-in fl annel shirts,
steel-toed boots, and a no-nonsense, live-and-let-live attitude.
But in reality, Maine men come from all walks of life and all backgrounds,
sharing only that they make that life in our own Pine Tree State. They really don’t
fi t into any one, or 10, predetermined categories.
That could certainly be said of the subjects of the story that starts on page 5 of
this, the latest issue of Maine Men magazine. Andrea Rose spoke with motorcycle
enthusiasts who come together to ride for charitable causes throughout the
state. Far from the outlaw gangs portrayed in Hollywood, these bikers haul toys
for Maine children and raise money for cancer care and research.
Diapers and crayons are not usually a part of the Maine man image. But they
are a big part of Ross Little’s life. Little, a stay-at-home dad from South Portland,
gives a fi rst-hand account of his adventures in babysitting on page 6.
Of course, some of the characteristics of Maine men hold true. Charles Dibner
and David Garcia are two Mainers who want nothing more than to spend their
days taking part in a true Maine pastime: fi shing. For Dibner, that means casting
with a fl y rod while standing in a river. For Garcia, it’s going after a big bass.
Read about them in Taryn Plumb’s story starting on page 7.
Al Diamon also does his part to perpetuate the (often-accurate) stereotype
that Maine men love hooch. For Al, it’s whiskey, and he’ll tell you all about it
on page 4.
So I guess there is no defi ning a true Maine man. We just can’t be put in a box.
But don’t take my word for it. Flip through these pages and decide for yourself.
BEN BRAGDON
Maine MEN
A MEN’S MAGAZINE FROM CURRENT PUBLISHING
PUBLISHER
Lee Hews
EDITORS
Ben Bragdon
Jane P. Lord
ADVERTISING
MANAGER
Mark Hews
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
Jonathan Morse
DESIGN
& PRODUCTION
Kate Audette
Katie Bell
Joe Cote
Traci Goff
WRITERS
Ben Bragdon
Al Diamon
Mike Higgins
Ross Little
Robert Lowell
Taryn Plumb
Andrea Rose
840 Main Street, PO Box 840, Westbrook, ME 04098
(207) 854-2577 Fax (207) 856-5530 www.keepMEcurrent.com
© 2010. All Rights Reserved. All logos and trademarks are property of their respective owners.
No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.

CONFIRMED BACHELOR
LIFE ALONE NOT ALL BAD
I
have accepted my destiny:
I am a lifelong bachelor.
But, the single life doesn’t have to
e lonely or unhappy. I’ve learned that
appiness is an individual’s decision,
ot the result of conditions or circumtances.
It means traveling life’s road without
wisdom and good counsel a wife would
rovide. Without that benefit, I’ve been
orced to rely on lingering words of wisom,
like those from my grandmother,
who said, “Your dog will show you who
you can trust.”
It’s well to listen when you’re young
and heed good advice like every mother’s
admonition, “Change your underwear
in case you’re in an accident,” and
wise neighbor’s words to stay far from
rouble: “Bob, try to keep your name off
he front page.”
I well recall cutting words of an eldery
sage who once warned, “No one is gong
to look after you when you’re old.”
His words echoed those of my dad,
who said, “When you get old you need
amily to fight for you.”
A bachelor seems like the opposite
f an orphan. A family is a blessing I’ll
ever have. I’ve missed out watching
amily play Little League and hockey,
long with dancing or singing in recitals
nd performing class plays. Those, I beieve,
are joyous occasions, but just how
joyous and rewarding I will never know.
Missing out has been a self-imposed
enalty.
But then again, being single means no
elp in coordinating colors when I dress.
ow, at 64, who cares anyway? Comfortble
attire takes precedence over making
ny style statement. The green sports
jacket I bought in 1983 fits more snugly
hese days but is still good. Isn’t it?
A bachelor suffers from not having a
wife to share the good times like vacaions,
walks or going to the theater – the
emories. In trying times, there’s no
rusted confidant to listen, console, care,
o one to understand.
On the outside, you don’t burden othrs
with hearing your problems because
he world has its own troubles to deal
with. “Don’t complain, don’t explain,” I
ecall my grandmother saying.
There are a multitude of drawbacks to
achelorhood, but I don’t live in regret. I
ake refuge in recalling a quote attributed
LIFELONG BACHELOR
ROBERT LOWELL, WHO LIVES
IN GORHAM, CONFESSES:
“I DON’T SHELL OUT
FOR ANNIVERSARY AND
BIRTHDAY PRESENTS. ON
HOLIDAYS, NO IN-LAWS TO
FEED AND ENTERTAIN.”
to baseball legend Satchel Paige – “Don’t
look back.”
That doesn’t mean a lone wolf doesn’t
look over his shoulder.
On the advantage side of bachelorhood,
there’s freedom to set my own schedule.
Go where I want. Take out the trash and
mow the grass when I feel like it.
I don’t shell out for anniversary and
birthday presents. On holidays, no inlaws
to feed and entertain.
I go to breakfast when I like and guzzle
as much coffee as I want and consult no
one in choosing a restaurant for dinner.
But whether dining out or staying
home, eating alone is the pits.
It’s human nature to take the path of
least resistance especially for a bachelor
making food decisions. Grabbing a fat
burger and fries or a sub is often an easy
choice compared to choosing healthy
food. There’s no one to remind me about
high cholesterol.
For fi xing meals at home, a bachelor’s
best appliance is a microwave – just pop
something in and nuke it. Second best and
handiest device is a can opener.
Dining manners
aren’t a priority.
“You’re a
bachelor, I can
tell the way you
eat,” a waitress
once told me.
With or without proper manners, there’s
a social stigma attached to remaining a
bachelor. I’ve heard unkind comments like,
“What’s wrong with you?” “Some people
aren’t marriage material” and “You’ve never
been married?” and “You don’t fi t the
mold.”
While a bachelor has more individual
freedoms, it isn’t a license to be free from
responsibilities.
Although I don’t have any statistics, prob-
MARCH 2010
3
ably living unmarried will shorten my days.
All that cholesterol and caffeine is
bound to take a toll. In a coffee shop
somewhere some day, some old salt
will read of
my demise in
a newspaper
death notice.
And will likely
say, “I see Bob
is dead. Hey
Mack, how
about a refill on that coffee. Did the
Red Sox beat Cleveland last night?”
As a Navy veteran, Uncle Sam will
have to claim my body and burying at sea
wouldn’t seem all that bad. It won’t make
any difference to me whether there’s a
gravestone or not. But, I think a suitable
epitaph might be, “He did it his way.”
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BUT, I THINK A SUITABLE
EPITAPH MIGHT BE,
“HE DID IT HIS WAY.”
BY ROBERT LOWELL

4
WHISKEY ISN’T COOL
TOO BAD, BECAUSE IT SURE IS TASTY BY AL DIAMON
“WHISKEY, WHETHER
STRAIGHT OR MIXED,
IS MORE HONEST. IT
TASTES LIKE WHISKEY.”
My least favorite television
ads are the ones Jim Beam
has been running showing a
bunch of men acting like testosteroneddled
pigs.
I’m not complaining because I think that
epiction of men is inaccurate.
Chromosomes are chromosomes, and
y gender is stuck with the ones we’ve
een dealt. But that accident of conception
s no reason to drag a perfectly decent bevrage
like bourbon down with us.
Nevertheless, I can’t fault Beam for mareting
their liquor to the immature jerk that
urks inside all males. Because convincing
ost women to drink any form of whisey
is somewhat more diffi cult than geting
them to buy the story that the panties
nd bra stuffed between the cushions in
he back seat of the family car must have
een put there by the manufacturer back
t the factory.
Honest, it’s mentioned in the owner’s
anual, honey. Which can no longer be
ound.
Well, enough about that unpleasant
isunderstanding. Back to our topic.
Which is:
Women don’t believe whiskey (which,
for purposes of this article, is defi ned as
any booze distilled from fermented grain
and then aged in wooden barrels – including
bourbon, Tennessee, rye, Scotch, Canadian
and – sigh – even that stuff from
Japan) is cool.
And they’re right, it’s not cool.
At the moment, high-end vodka is. Rum
rinks are also hip. (Although Captain
organ is doing its best to dispel that noion.)
Exotic cocktails containing distilled
ssences of herbs grown from seeds found
n the crypts of obscure Egyptian pharaohs
re trendy.
But if you order a shot of whiskey in any
lace that specializes in the aforemenioned
concoctions, the bartender will
robably have you escorted out.
As a result, women are convinced whisey
is a drink for men. Mostly old men.
ostly old men who behave like pigs.
That’s a shame, because on those rare
occasions when I’ve been able to convince
a woman to try good whiskey, she’s often
liked it.
The big difference between drinking
the libation of the moment and sipping
whiskey is that foo-foo cocktails taste like
coffee or fruit or chocolate or cinnamon or
almost anything except hooch. Whiskey,
whether straight or mixed, is more honest.
It tastes like whiskey.
Icky poo, say the cosmo drinkers, we
don’t like the way whiskey tastes.
Which, like most things said by cosmo
drinkers, is almost unbearably stupid.
All styles of whiskey taste different. And
within each style, there are wide variations.
And once you start combining them
with something, there’s even more variety.
Here’s a sampler of serving suggestions.
SCOTCH: Scotch doesn’t mix well,
so don’t bother. If you’ve a got a bottle of
a nice single malt, pour some in a rocks
glass (round-bottom glasses seem to do
more to release the fl avor), with or without
rocks (I prefer without), and sip. If
you’ve got a cheap blend, add a healthy
measure to a highball glass fi lled with ice
and top it off with a little club soda.
IRISH: This goes nicely in coffee, but
otherwise, I’d stick to drinking it straight.
Being lighter-bodied and slightly sweeter
than many other whiskeys, Irish is a good
place to begin for those trying to wean
themselves off apricot-pomegranate martinis
and on to something that doesn’t taste
like a smoothie.
RYE: The basis of many classic cocktails,
including the Sazarac (in a chilled
old-fashioned glass, swirl a few drops
of absinthe or Pernod to coat the sides,
then discard the rest; in a shaker with
ice, combine a shot of rye, three dashes of
Peychaud’s bitters and a teaspoon of simple
syrup or sugar; shake and strain into the
glass; garnish with a twist of lemon peel).
If you can fi nd some small-batch rye, such
as Templeton (unfortunately, not sold in
Maine), drink it neat, either before or after
dinner.
BOURBON: There’s nothing wrong
with it just the way it comes out of the bottle,
but it mixes well with lots of stuff. In
an ice-fi lled rocks glass, combine a shot of
bourbon with the fresh-squeezed juice of
a quarter of a lime. Add a little club soda.
It’s called a Joe Rickey, and it’s great in hot
weather. In a highball glass, put fi ve fresh
cherries and gently crush them to release
some juice. Add ice, bourbon and a splash
of club soda. Garnish with a cherry. I call
it Cherries Mudson, after a dog I once had
who ate cherries. Or how about a Hard
Bop and Honky Tonk: In a shaker with
ice, combine two ounces of bourbon, two
ounces of applejack, a half-ounce of sweet
vermouth and two dashes of orange bitters.
Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish
with a twist of orange peel.
CANADIAN: Better than fi nding the
liquor cabinet empty. It can be used in recipes
calling for rye, with mediocre results.
JAPANESE: I’ll have a tangerinepistachio
martini, please. And one for my
wife, too.
AL DIAMON WRITES THE WEEKLY COLUMN
“POLITICS & OTHER MISTAKES” AND IS THE
MEDIA CRITIC FOR DOWN EAST MAGAZINE’S
WEB SITE. HE DOESN’T WANT A BOTTLE OF
FRUIT-FLAVORED VODKA FOR HIS BIRTHDAY.

TOUGH GUYS, SOFT HEARTS
BIKERS STEP UP FOR CHARITY FUNDRAISING
Harley or Honda. Hell’s Angel or
Exile. Working man or whitecollar
professional. Gathering
n hundreds and sometimes thousands,
embers of the state’s motorcycle clubs
et their differences aside and unite under
common banner, raising hundreds to
ens of thousands of dollars for charity.
Film and television have portrayed bikrs
as notorious, badass tough guys oprating
on the fringe of the law, but “the
rue character of a biker is as diverse as
he population,” says biker and television
roducer Steve Marois of Bath.
Marois produces the local access televiion
program “Ridin’ Steel,” which highights
and chronicles local charity rides.
The program airs Sunday mornings on
Time Warner Cable.
“They come from all walks of life,”
e said. “They can be contractors, docors,
lawyers … I’ve been on rides with
hristians, veterans. There are still some
utlaw clubs, but they have to work for a
iving, too.”
Last summer, Marois lost friend and
Ridin’ Steel” co-founder and co-host
John “Stoney” Dionne, to the cause he
ought and rode so hard to support – caner
– less than three weeks after the anual
charity run that bear’s his name.
Dionne founded Stoney’s Lobster Run
in 1980, a 50-mile trek along the coast
of Maine from Brunswick to Boothbay
that has helped
raise money for
various groups
over the years
and has since
become a major
fundraiser for
the Maine Children’s
Cancer
Program, raising
more than
$12,000 for the
program in 2009.
Marois described his friend as a selfless,
hardworking, tenderhearted man
who served as a union leader at Bath Iron
Works and advocated tirelessly for children
fi ghting cancer.
“Bikers share a unique camaraderie,”
he said. “They love the freedom of riding,
the choices that they have – whether to
wear a helmet or not, the (type of ) bike
that they ride – and will go out of their
way to help a cause they feel is worthy of
participating in. They will organize by the
hundreds. Their gathering together and
showing their support, I think, brings a
sense of hope for the people they are try-
“GATHERING TOGETHER
AND SHOWING THEIR
ing to help.”
Ric Dodge, Cumberland County director
of the United Bikers of Maine, a
biker’s rights
organization
that promotes
the safe riding
of motorcycles
and works with
legislators to
protect and defend
the rights
of motorcyclists,
agreed
that bikers have
been unfairly stereotyped and insists there
are many more “good guys” on bikes than
hardened criminals.
“Maybe there are some guys that join
clubs because of that stereotype, but even
the so-called ‘outlaw’ clubs are working
class people with families,” he said.
“I have known and rode with them for
more than 30 years. They are good, hardworking
people who love to ride. There’s
a brotherhood that goes with that and a
love for their community.”
The United Bikers of Maine has more
than 5,000 members statewide and counts
members of many of the state’s motorcycle
clubs – fraternal groups, veterans
SUPPORT, I THINK, BRINGS
A SENSE OF HOPE FOR THE
PEOPLE THEY ARE TRYING
TO HELP.”
MARCH 2010
5
BY ANDREA ROSE
groups, public safety and law enforcement
groups, outlaw groups and various special
interest and recreational clubs – among its
ranks.
The primary focus of the organization
is to protect biker’s rights, Dodge said, recently
fi ghting battles against local “bike
noise” ordinances and working with the
state department of transportation to resolve
safety issues.
“The charity runs are secondary,” he
said.
But, every September for the past 28
years, the organization has held “the biggest
non-sponsored toy run in the U.S.,”
Dodge said, drawing between 15,000
and 20,000 bikers statewide and bringing
in between 10,000 and 12,000 toys for
Maine children in all 16 counties and the
Penobscot Indian Nation.
“It’s quite a sight to see,” Marois said
of the larger charity runs that draw thousands
of bikers from all over the state.
“They put aside any differences. They
ride because they love to ride, the sense
of freedom. When you’re riding down the
road with the wind in your face, all your
troubles fade away, all your troubles are
gone.”
BIKERS SEE PAGE 6
MOTORCYCLES LINE THE ROAD ALONG MAIN STREET IN GRAY DURING THE 2006 UNITED BIKERS OF MAINE TOY RUN.
THE UBM HOLDS THE EVENT EVERY YEAR TO GATHER DONATIONS FOR MAINE CHILDREN. FILE PHOTO

6
BIKERS STEP UP FOR CHARITY
In addition to the yearly statewide charity
run, Dodge said, the county chapters
hold runs throughout the year to benefi t
various causes in their communities like
he Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at
aine Medical Center in Portland, Camp
unshine in Casco, Saco Food Pantry and
ebanon Food Pantry in southern Maine.
United Bikers of Maine York County,
n conjunction with Rolling Thunder
hapter Two Maine, will hold a charity
un for the Warrior Legacy Foundation
Wounded Heroes Program on Saturday,
April 24, starting at Wilderness Motorsports
in Sanford.
“They’ve just been incredible,” Pam Payeur,
Wounded Heroes Program founder,
said of the men who organized the ride
and of Marois, who has helped publicize
the event through his television program
and on his Web site, www.ridinsteel.com.
Payeur, 47, who lives in Bieeford, started
the Wounded Heroes Program when her
23-year-old son returned from two tours
in Iraq last April with cervical neck and
lower leg injuries suffered when his tank
ran over an improvised explosive device.
FROM
PAGE 5
One of 11 such blasts he sustained while
overseas, she said, her son came home with
both visible and invisible wounds.
“With a lot of these guys, you can’t
see that anything’s wrong, but they’re
just shredded on the inside,” Payeur said,
noting instances of traumatic brain injury
and post traumatic stress disorder. “The
twists and turns to navigate the (veterans’
benefi ts) system is daunting enough for
an able-bodied individual, being a person
that’s not impaired in the way that he and
his other brothers in uniform, I decided to
step up and be their advocate.”
Payeur said she is working with the Patriot
Guard Riders and others on a July 10
bike run from the Maine Veterans Home
in Scarborough to Bentley’s Saloon in
Arundel to benefi t the Wounded Heroes
Program.
“She’s an amazing person,” Marois
said. “She gives so much of herself to these
guys. We’re happy to support her, to support
them.”
ANDREA ROSE, WHO LIVES IN LEBANON,
IS A REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR
TO THE WEEKLY OBSERVER.
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DAWN DYER AND DAVID DALESSANDRI FROM CAPE
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MARCH 2010
BELOVED, ATHLETIC, CEREBRAL
TO PASSIONATE MAINE FISHERMEN, THE SPORT IS ALL THAT AND MORE
For one, it’s the cerebral serenity.
For the other, it’s the thrill of
athleticism.
“Something massages the core of you
as you’re standing in a river,” said Charlie
Dibner, a 65-year-old sportsman from
Scarborough who is as poetic as he is passionate
about fl y-fi shing.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the
spectrum, bass angler David Garcia is a
competitive tactician.
“It’s hard to envision it being athletic,”
said the longtime owner of Naples Bait &
Tackle, “but it really is.”
With open-water fi shing season beginning
April 1, and more than 3,000 lakes
and ponds hopscotching the state’s mountains
and valleys, plus more than 32,000
miles of rivers and streams winding
through, it’s no great surprise that fi shing
is a beloved Maine pastime.
But fervent as they are about the sport,
Maine men are just as devoted in their approach
– whether they’re sinking a bob
from a 20-foot boat or tying on a fl y as
they wade up to their hips in a rushing
current.
Dibner, for his part, has been exploring
the thoughtful and deliberate techniques
of the latter since he was 7 or 8.
Fly-fi shing is an art he learned from
his father; he still has notes, hand-copied
from books, from when his dad was
learning the craft of fl y-tying in the 1930s.
Dibner, himself, started tying fl ies at age
9, and, “from there on, it was just addiction,”
said the Portland investment adviser
and fi nancial planner, who prefers casting
for trout and salmon.
In the years since, it’s drawn him and
his family to streams and rivers all across
the country, and he’s even tested his fl ies
in sluicing waters in Russia, Scandinavia
and Canada.
He’s caught 24-inch rainbow trout in
New Mexico on a fl y the size of a pinhead;
huddled in a poncho in the water during
a blistering rainstorm in Oklahoma; and
attracted swooping eagles with fi sh he’s
tossed back (which he does with all of
them – if he wants to eat fi sh, he said, he’ll
go to the supermarket).
“It’s just magical out there,” he said,
calling fl y-fi shing “poetic,” “esoteric” and
“intellectual.”
Garcia used different adjectives to describe
bass fi shing – but with no less enthusiasm.
FISHING SEE PAGE 8
7
BY TARYN PLUMB
A COLORADO RAINBOW TROUT, CAUGHT ON THE YANPA RIVER (AND THEN TOSSED
BACK) BY CHARLIE DIBNER.

8
FISHING: BELOVED, ATHLETIC, CEREBRAL
All told, it’s
bout “enjoyng
the day, enjoying
the surroundings
that
we have here
in Maine,” he
said. “We’re
pretty blessed to have such a variety of
waters to fi sh from.”
For nearly 30 years, the 59-year-old has
een fi shing Maine’s currents – up, down,
ast and west – angling for both largeouth
and smallmouth bass from his 18oot
Lund boat.
A lot of it is the thrill of competition:
e does between 10 and 15 tournaments
year.
His biggest catch? A 7-pound-12-ounce
argemouth bass, pulled out of Long Lake
n Naples.
Still, the smallmouth variety is the most
un, he said, calling them “scrappy, aerial
nd acrobatic.”
Like fl y-fi shing, there’s a calculated
echnique. Different seasons require vari-
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ous baits and
casting tactics,
and researching
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can also help
anglers root fi sh
out of their hiding
places.
“It’s pushing yourself to catch bigger
fi sh, and fi sh in more diffi cult spots,” Garcia
said, “and learn about their habits.”
Fly-fi shing is a similar art and science.
As Dibner explained, it involves an indepth
understanding of atmospherics,
geology, and entomology – among many
other things.
Casters come to understand how fi sh
react to ecosystems, insects, water temperatures,
water fl ow, water quality, and
time of day.
This, he says, is what makes it so cerebral
– and consuming.
“It is the only recreational undertaking
YOURSELF, THAT’S THE ONLY
THING THAT MATTERS.
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FISHING SEE PAGE 9
FROM
PAGE 7
CHARLIE DIBNER SNAGS A RAINBOW TROUT DURING A
FISHING TRIP TO GEORGIA. THE SCARBOROUGH RESIDENT
HAS BEEN EXPLORING THE THOUGHTFUL AND DELIBERATE
TECHNIQUES OF FLY-FISHING SINCE HE WAS 7 OR 8.
COURTESY PHOTO
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FISHING: BELOVED, ATHLETIC, CEREBRAL
DAVID GARCIA, OWNER OF NAPLES BAIT & TACKLE,
SHOWS OFF HIS WINNING 6 POUND, 9 OUNCE LARGE-
MOUTH BASS CAUGHT DURING A THOMPSON LAKE TOUR-
NAMENT. GARCIA SAYS HE COMPETES IN SOME 10 TO 15
TOURNAMENTS A YEAR. COURTESY PHOTOS
that absorbs every facet of my thinking
and my being, physically and intellectually,”
he said. “Time passes, hours pass,
and I’m not aware of it.”
Fly-tying is equally engrossing. Created
from various furs, feathers, hooks
and threads, fl ies represent different insects,
and even more specifi cally, different
phases in the lives of insects.
The range of ties is limited only by
imagination, Dibner said. For instance,
for one micro-stage of one variety of one
type of insect, there’ll be dozens of different
versions of imitating fl ies.
In the end, it’s a process of “ongoing
problem-solving,” Dibner explained. “It’s
very much a thinking person’s sport.”
Despite the differences in style,
hough, beginners to both approaches
start out the same.
Both sportsmen advised new anglers to
go simple – and practice.
“Just get a few baits and be profi cient
with those,” Garcia said.
Most importantly: “Talk to people who
fi sh,” he said.
Also, be courteous, Dibner noted. Have
consideration for the people around you.
“You do to other people what you want
done to yourself,” he said. “That’s the only
thing that matters.”
TARYN PLUMB IS A MAINE RESIDENT AND
FREELANCE WRITER WHO HAS WRITTEN FOR A
VARIETY OF PUBLICATIONS, INCLUDING DAILY
AND WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS, WEB SITES, TRADE
AND BUSINESS JOURNALS, WEDDING, ART AND
REGIONAL-THEMED MAGAZINES.
FROM
PAGE 8
MARCH 2010
EDDY ANN DIBNER, CHARLIE DIBNER’S WIFE, WHO FRE-
QUENTLY ACCOMPANIES HIM ON HIS FISHING TRIPS,
TESTS THE WATERS ON THE SOQUE RIVER IN GEORGIA
WITH A RIVER GUIDE.
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9
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ON ALL NON-CURRENT
BOATS IN-STOCK!
“The Family Boating Marina on Sebago Lake”
www.richardsonsby.com
633 White’s Bridge Road • Windham, ME 207-892-4913
Annex: Route 302 • Windham, ME 207-892-9664

10
STAY-AT-HOME DAD TELLS ALL
Men are idiots. I know this because
I watch a fair amount
of television. Almost every
commercial during a football game is
premised on the extreme lengths we’ll go
to get beer or, alternatively, get away from
our gorgeous blonde girlfriends so that we
can get beer. There’s also a fair amount of
humor around
the daddy day
care concept,
elaborate setups
that involve fl ying
poopy diapers
or troublesome
recipes
that explode
and leave us
covered in some combination of fl our and
dark goo. No wonder we just want to just
get away and be with other men and golf
(and drink beer) or watch football (and
drink beer). We love our families. But
it’s best for everybody if we have as little
contact with them as possible.
And so it is that men work. We spend
long hours at the offi ce, in our cars, at
important meetings, and when you ask a
man what he does, he says proudly that
he’s a doctor, a lawyer, or that he drives a
snow plow or digs ditches. Nobody ever
volunteers fi rst that he’s a father, that he’s
at home with the kids. If that’s that your
primary job,
you’ll say
anything
– “I write,
I work part
time, I do
odd jobs”
– before
you admit
that, mostly,
in life, you make sure that everybody
gets to where they’re going to each day,
that they have clean underwear, a sandwich
for lunch and a hot meal when they
come back to you. At all costs you want
to avoid saying you’re a stay-at-home dad
in a social setting, lest you get the look,
WE LOVE OUR FAMILIES.
BUT IT’S BEST FOR EVERYBODY
IF WE HAVE AS LITTLE CONTACT
WITH THEM AS POSSIBLE.
Great Pastimes
and Fun for
Dads and Kids
Fabulous Toys and Games
for Everyone
STAY-AT-HOME DAD ROSS
LITTLE, WHO LIVES IN
SOUTH PORTLAND, WITH
HIS DAUGHTER PHOEBE.
COURTESY PHOTO
the hesitation, the awkward three-second
silence that says, “You poor, wretched,
goo-soaked, lost man.”
It is here that I have to admit that I
know some of these goo-stained characters.
They are my friends. They live in my
neighborhood. Here, too, I have to admit
I myself have lain down in the goo. For
the past few years I have been home with
my kid while each day my wife goes out to
earn a living, to keep us in beer, diapers,
ingredients for goo and money for cable
television.
Of course, as a man who lives in Maine,
I also have to have money for a Carhart
jacket, buckskin gloves and a reciprocating
saw. This isn’t New York City. To live
here you have to accept that it’s going to be
eight months of winter and four months
of bad sledding. You have to be prepared.
As a Maine man, you’re part of a rugged,
pickup- truck driving tradition of individuality.
Note to self – ask my wife for a snow
machine.
But there’s another tradition in Maine,
as well. My friend Ted likes to say that we
“get by” in this state. You do what you have
to do. If you live here, it’s because you like
it here. You choose to raise your family
here and, if you do that, you’re not looking
to get rich. There are no stories wherein a
wise old man tells some young pup to go to
Bangor to seek his fortune. Nope, we’re all
just plugging away in this state. We’re all,
with a few exceptions (damn you, Stephen
King!), just trying to get by.
And so it was, in my capacity as a Maine
stay-at-home dad, that I began the research
for this column. I read about guys
who don’t know how to pay the household
bills, men whose self-image had been shattered
by staying at home with kids, fathers
who can’t sort laundry, and dads who, on a
BY ROSS LITTLE
regular basis, send their kids to preschool
without a sweater or even a jacket. To be
fair, I also read about capable fathers, parents
who push back against the image of
the inept male at home, men who write
blogs with cool names like “Rebel Dad,”
and “Clark Kent’s Lunch Box.” To my
surprise, I found out that I had missed an
annual conference for stay-at-home dads
held last October in Omaha. And while I
sympathized with the dads who struggle
for their identity because they’ve lost their
jobs in this economy, and I applauded the
dads who refuse to give in to comic stereotypes,
did I feel bad about missing the
conference, probably my last best chance
to go to Omaha? I did not.
I’m a Mainer. And while I believe that
maybe there should be in better work/life
policies in this country that recognize families
as a whole, I’m not jumping up and
down about it. I chose to raise my family
here. I asked my friend Dennis Yesse about
being at home with his daughter and how
it warps his sense of himself as a man.
“That’s a tough one” he said to me. “It’s
all pretty seamless. I’m not sure it ever
interfered with my manly view. I always
thought of myself as a parent, and with
that, the lines are blurred in every direction.”
That’s my view, too. That’s the Maine
view. Seamless. Maybe it’s because we’re
all secure in our masculinity; in this state,
if you’ve never shot and butchered a deer,
you sure as heck know somebody who has.
Or maybe it’s the weather, which shapes
so much of any Mainer’s weltanschauung;
the long deep winters, followed by short
brilliant summers, capped by colors that
rise and fall and disappear. Such a pattern
teaches us that life is short, that time
is precious, and that we should hold our
families close in the best way we can manage.
We’re all getting by in this state. We’re
all doing what we have to do. What could
be more manly than that? What could be
more admirable?
And besides, what does it benefi t any
man to have an array of plaid work shirts
in his closet, the color and variety of a
box of crayons, if that man cannot also
decrust and cut a peanut butter sandwich
into the shape of a heart for his little
daughter? I’m a stay-at-home dad. I live
in Maine. I do a bunch of stuff. You wanna
make something of it?
ROSS LITTLE IS A FREELANCE WRITER WHO
LIVES IN SOUTH PORTLAND.

My name is Heidi Klum
and I’m an American Red Cross volunteer.
Will you join me?
Through her involvement with the American Red Cross,
Heidi Klum changes lives every day.
To learn how she is helping, or to find out what you can do to
change a life, starting with your own, visit RedCross.org.
MARCH 2010
11

12
TRANSITIONS
BEATING BACK THE VOICES
OF RESPONSIBILITY BY BEN BRAGDON
Late last fall, in one week’s time, three
of my friends, all contributing members
of society in their early 30s, announced
they had babies on the way.
Soon after, another friend, also in his early
30s and a contributing member of society
in his own right, suggested we spend an afternoon
playing something called Edward
Forty-hands, in which a 40-ounce bottle of
malt liquor is taped to each hand and cannot
be removed until empty.
This is where I fi nd myself at the start of
my third decade, watching as one set of friends
marches merrily into parenthood while the other
holds on mightily to the childish and pointless
ways that made our early 20s so much fun.
Sure, the divide is not always so clear, as a
few of my less-tethered friends seem content
to spend their free time on the couch, while
some of the new parents sneak out now and
again for a night of harmless immaturity.
But those nights are always a little like
watching Larry Bird in the early 1990s, when
he would reel off a few jumpers and a no-look
pass or two. You were always glad to have the
old Legend back, and you’d even talk yourself
into believing that he’d be around for a while.
But then a back spasm would hit, and he’d
walk gingerly back to the sideline. And you
knew a certain moment in time had passed.
So we remaining few move on without
them. Often, while swapping memories
around a barstool, the names of one of the
departed will come up.
We’ll laugh as we remember that one night
when a friend asked a cop for a ride home,
telling him it was the offi cer’s duty to protect
him and serve him, just as it said on the side
of his cruiser.
Or how another buddy, when fl ustered
with the speed of service at one establishment,
found the beer taps within his reach, and took
matters into his own hands, only to have his
night cut short by an ill-tempered bouncer.
Or how yet another former lost soul won
the addresses of two young women over the
course of the night, before deciding on one
and heading her way, 40 minutes away, in a
cab, only to fi nd he had gone to the wrong
woman’s address.
These stories are always good for a laugh.
But they come packed with an extra weight,
as if we are talking about a lost war buddy.
Their absence hangs over every punch line,
and as the stories end we glance at each other
and wonder who will be the next to go.
As more and more of my fellow happy
wanderers fall by the wayside, part of me
mourns a time that I know will never be recaptured
fully, but only in fl ashes. I wait for
those fl ashes, plan for them, revel in them
when they come.
But another part of me is experiencing an
annoying bout of perspective. I wonder if it is
fully appropriate for a 32-year-old who spends
his week focused on the serious work of journalism
to fi ll the weekend with late-night pub
crawls that end at Denny’s.
This thoughtful adult, once a stranger, is
now always on me, asking if I’ve truly considered
how one more whiskey will ruin my
Saturday morning, or if an afternoon at the
pub will really bring me closer to achieving
my life’s goals.
But then I remember that this epiphany
sounds awfully similar to the one that pushed
George W. Bush into sobriety and onto his
path toward the presidency. And we all know
how that worked out.
So I block out that voice, at least for the
meantime, and head to the store for some 40ounce
beers and a roll of duct tape, hoping
that I can empty the bottles before I have to
hit the head.
Paul’s
Shoe
Repair
BEN BRAGDON IS MANAGING EDITOR AT
CURRENT PUBLISHING. HE CAN BE REACHED AT
BBRAGDON@KEEPMECURRENT.COM,
OR FOLLOWED ON TWITTER AT
TWITTER.COM/BENBRAGDON.
22 Cumberland St.Westbrook • 854-4338

MARCH 2010
13

14
Southern
MAINE
Spring Home Improvement
& EFFICIENCY GUIDE
THIS SPRING, more than ever, folks are looking for ways to save money on
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From the paint we use on the walls, the chemicals to kill
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KICKING BACK
IN SHOES, MEN PREFER COMFORT OVER LOOKS
Shoes are a necessity of life, but how
much thought do men actually put
into them? It seems to most men
that women own more shoes than they
know what to do with, in some extreme
cases, hundreds of pairs (or if you are the
wife of a dictator of some small country, it
ould be thousands of pairs).
Men, however, make do with less – a
whole lot less.
Joe Arsenault of Steep Falls said that he
wns about fi ve pairs of shoes, spread out
mong his primary work boots as well as
asual “going-out shoes” and sneakers.
Dick Bergeron, the owner of Bergeron’s
hoes in Sanford, said that in his 38 years
f experience selling shoes, he’s found that
en care more about comfort and duraility
than women, who will go more for
ooks.
“Men are more practical than women,”
he said, adding that it isn’t a hard and fast
rule and there are men who will buy a shoe
for how it looks.
While looks are somewhat important for
Arsenault, he does have a very loose defi nition.
“(I’ll wear them) as long as they aren’t
pink or purple,” he said.
Bergeron said it’s important for men to
give some thought about what they are
putting on their feet. “They should care as
far as comfort is concerned,” he said.
Bergeron said on average, his male customers
come in once a year for work shoes
and will generally buy casual shoes once a
year, as well. However, Bergeron said, work
shoes are the bigger seller among men.
“They come in looking for comfort and
something that wears well,” he said.
Arsenault, who works at LeClerc’s auto-
BY MIKE HIGGINS
motive repair in Westbrook, said he spends
most of his time in work boots and for him,
comfort is very important.
“I do (pay attention to what I’m wearing),”
he said. “I’ve got sensitive feet.”
As for the style of work boots and shoes,
Bergeron said that during his almost four
decades in the shoe business, work shoes
have “pretty much stayed the same.”
Bergeron said that he has seen a move
toward more casual shoes over the dress
shoes of the past.
“Men don’t wear dress shoes that much,”
he said. “We don’t get much call for them.
People don’t dress they way they used to.”
Another item that is not as big a seller
at his store as they were in years past are
winter boots, Bergeron said. There are a
few reasons for this, he explained. First,
Bergeron said, he didn’t think that people
MAN ON THE FEET WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SHOES?
PAT MCNAMARA, PORTLAND
“I’ve had a pair of Reef Fatty T sandals
since ninth grade. They’ve held up really
well and they’re super comfy because they
on’t have a thong like a lot of sandals.
They also have a really thick sole, which I
hink has allowed them to stay together for
o long.”
JIM MARTEMUCCI, ARUNDEL
“I was in Colorado six or seven years ago
and I went into a store to pick up some
boots. The owner told me he had some
Lucchese cowboy boots that would be the
most comfortable I had ever worn, and he
was right. I own fi ve pair now but I had
never worn cowboy boots until that point.
They’re very comfortable, though.”
CHRIS CASWELL, BERWICK
“I just bought these sneakers made by
Keen and they are the most comfortable
shoes I’ve ever worn. I’m not sure what the
exact name is but they are basically outdoors
kind of hiking shoes, but I wear them everywhere.”
MARCH 2010
15
were wearing winter boots as much as they
had, and secondly, men who do wear winter
boots are buying them at discount stores
such as Wal-Mart.
Bergeron said his store has adapted to
the times, branching out from strictly shoe
sales to a business that provides doctorprescribed,
custom-made shoes and custom
orthotics. He said his customers, who
come from all over Maine and even out of
state, appreciate the services they provide.
“They come here not just for shoes, but
for the knowledge that we have,” he said.
BY BRANDON MCKENNEY
CALEB BELL, SCARBOROUGH
“I love my Cole Haan dress shoes.
They’re actually a company owned by Nike.
But they are really comfortable, especially
for dress shoes. I’ve been wearing them for
about three years, and I have a handful of
pairs that I wear so I like them a lot.”

16
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Cannot be combined with other offers.
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