To continue Dark Skins story of how his incarceration has impacted his sons and his relationship with them. I was surprised and relieved to learn that my eldest son was not yet a father, which taught me a lot about his frame of mind. After I questioned him about why he had not yet had children, his response was amazing, "I want to be there for my children, and right now I'm not ready!" Totally opposite of my mentality while I was running the streets. I was sort of like the man wherever he laid his hat was his home. My son explained to me that he was assisting his mother with raising his younger brother, helping to pay the bills, walking him to school, and being there when he needed guidanc
Dark Skin is one of our incarcerated friends participating in our pen pal project. He is a regular blog contributor as well, giving insight to the impact of incarceration on himself and his family. Part I "One of the worst crimes I ever committed was abandoning my children!" I chose the streets over supporting, defending, and protecting my own children. Some may ask, why? To this day, I also inquire as to how another human being could leave their children for superficial activities, that will not benefit me. (crying) At the age of 15, I experimented with illegal drugs; however, I refuse to use my drug abuse as a way out of the crime I have committed against my own children, who were too
