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Where Are They Now: Paperboy
A True Gamervision Story
by Sarah
We’ve all seen him. Day after day, regardless of any obstacles standing in his way, he tried his hardest to get the news to all of the subscribers on the block. Sure, he might have lost a customer from time to time, or been run over by a few cars, but that never stopped him. But when you think about it, how much did we ever really know about the Paperboy?
This is the story of a man who worked alone, starting at the bottom and working his way to the top. This is the story of Paperboy.
Paperboy’s rise to fame started at the age of ten, when his father lost his job at the start of the busy 1984 holiday season. In order to help out his struggling family, the Paperboy took on a paper route, thinking that the simple job before and after school would be a breeze. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
The first few years were rocky for the Paperboy. Unaware that a plain-looking neighborhood street could be so dangerous, he was wildly unprepared for the hazards he faced each day on the job. Each day of the week seemed increasingly difficult for him. He got used to the screaming old ladies, the breakdancers, and the rabid dogs rather quickly. However, the sight of the Grim Reaper gives him chills to this very day, and he cannot even count the number of times he has evaded Death.
Despite these unforeseen challenges, the Paperboy did a fairly good job, keeping most of his customers and pleasing his superiors at the paper route. The money he brought home helped keep his family afloat, although he never got to keep any of it for himself. This started to get to him after awhile; after all of that hard work, he felt like he had nothing to show for it.
At the age of 14, Paperboy dropped out of school and became a full-time newspaper carrier. It was around this time that things really started to go downhill for him. His parents kicked him out of the house over his refusal to return to school. He claimed an eighth-grade education was all he needed to be the best Paperboy in the world, but his parents didn’t quite see it that way. While living on the streets, the Paperboy took out his aggression by vandalizing houses that belonged to non-subscribers, often breaking their windows or tipping over the headstones in their front yard cemeteries.
These bad deeds caught up to him at the age of 17, when he was finally arrested after years of being a serial vandal. It is estimated that he caused about $500,000 worth of damage between the years of 1988 and 1991. The court case that ensued saw all of the Paperboy’s savings go down the drain, and he was sentenced to ten years in prison. Because he was still a minor, his name was never released to the public.
Because of his good behavior, he only ended up serving about half of his sentence. After being released in 1996 at the age of 22, the Paperboy decided that he needed a fresh start. Since delivering newspapers was the only job experience he had, Paperboy decided to take a job in the mailroom at The Daily Sun, the same paper he delivered as a child and teen. He struggled to work his way up in the company, and at the age of 30 became the paper’s editor-in-chief, despite his limited education.
Still feeling like this was not enough, the Paperboy decided that he wanted to make his opinions known and take a stand against corrupt politicians, war, and misinformation in the media. He purchased his own printing press and has been publishing an underground anti-government newspaper for the last two years. While some government officials have been trying to track him down, this process has been hindered by the fact that no one has ever learned the Paperboy’s real name.
Now 33 years old and more of a Paperman than Paperboy, he delivers his own underground newspaper to thousands of subscribers. Having finally fulfilled his lifelong goal of being the world’s best Paperboy, he has also made amends with his aging parents, often hiding out in their basement while the government is on his tail.
What’s next for our Paperboy? Well, only he knows for sure. The Paperboy Press is still running strong and he has no plans to stop bringing the real news to the public. He has also been dating a local Papergirl. Could there be a Paperbaby in their future? We can only hope.
This is the story of a man who worked alone, starting at the bottom and working his way to the top. This is the story of Paperboy.
Paperboy’s rise to fame started at the age of ten, when his father lost his job at the start of the busy 1984 holiday season. In order to help out his struggling family, the Paperboy took on a paper route, thinking that the simple job before and after school would be a breeze. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
The first few years were rocky for the Paperboy. Unaware that a plain-looking neighborhood street could be so dangerous, he was wildly unprepared for the hazards he faced each day on the job. Each day of the week seemed increasingly difficult for him. He got used to the screaming old ladies, the breakdancers, and the rabid dogs rather quickly. However, the sight of the Grim Reaper gives him chills to this very day, and he cannot even count the number of times he has evaded Death.
Despite these unforeseen challenges, the Paperboy did a fairly good job, keeping most of his customers and pleasing his superiors at the paper route. The money he brought home helped keep his family afloat, although he never got to keep any of it for himself. This started to get to him after awhile; after all of that hard work, he felt like he had nothing to show for it.
At the age of 14, Paperboy dropped out of school and became a full-time newspaper carrier. It was around this time that things really started to go downhill for him. His parents kicked him out of the house over his refusal to return to school. He claimed an eighth-grade education was all he needed to be the best Paperboy in the world, but his parents didn’t quite see it that way. While living on the streets, the Paperboy took out his aggression by vandalizing houses that belonged to non-subscribers, often breaking their windows or tipping over the headstones in their front yard cemeteries.
These bad deeds caught up to him at the age of 17, when he was finally arrested after years of being a serial vandal. It is estimated that he caused about $500,000 worth of damage between the years of 1988 and 1991. The court case that ensued saw all of the Paperboy’s savings go down the drain, and he was sentenced to ten years in prison. Because he was still a minor, his name was never released to the public.
Because of his good behavior, he only ended up serving about half of his sentence. After being released in 1996 at the age of 22, the Paperboy decided that he needed a fresh start. Since delivering newspapers was the only job experience he had, Paperboy decided to take a job in the mailroom at The Daily Sun, the same paper he delivered as a child and teen. He struggled to work his way up in the company, and at the age of 30 became the paper’s editor-in-chief, despite his limited education.
Still feeling like this was not enough, the Paperboy decided that he wanted to make his opinions known and take a stand against corrupt politicians, war, and misinformation in the media. He purchased his own printing press and has been publishing an underground anti-government newspaper for the last two years. While some government officials have been trying to track him down, this process has been hindered by the fact that no one has ever learned the Paperboy’s real name.
Now 33 years old and more of a Paperman than Paperboy, he delivers his own underground newspaper to thousands of subscribers. Having finally fulfilled his lifelong goal of being the world’s best Paperboy, he has also made amends with his aging parents, often hiding out in their basement while the government is on his tail.
What’s next for our Paperboy? Well, only he knows for sure. The Paperboy Press is still running strong and he has no plans to stop bringing the real news to the public. He has also been dating a local Papergirl. Could there be a Paperbaby in their future? We can only hope.
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