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

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