"I was born in prison to a mother who was a drug addict and a bank robber, and I grew up in group homes that were full of gang members, orphans, and other kids who had no families. The place I was staying when I was a teenager had a school on campus, but they only offered the basics. They didn't have anything extra, so this one counselor, James from Ohio State, pushed for me to be allowed to go off-campus to high school. That experience really expanded my vision of what was possible.
"When I was 23, I went back and worked as a counselor at that same group home. I wanted to help someone like James had helped me. There was this 14-year-old kid there who really liked airplanes and always wanted to talk to me about them. He was trying really hard to get away from the gang life he had grown up in and make a life for himself, and this kid had been working for 4 months to earn a 2-week pass off campus. Just before he was supposed to go, he accidentally spilled a tray of drinks on one of the counselors. The guy already didn't like the kid, so he accused him of doing it on purpose and revoked his pass privilege. The kid went nuts. I felt really bad for him and thought it was a good time to give him the two airplane books I had bought for him. I thought maybe that would help him get back on track, but he went AWOL a few days after that. A week later, he was dead. Murdered."
"When I was 23, I went back and worked as a counselor at that same group home. I wanted to help someone like James had helped me. There was this 14-year-old kid there who really liked airplanes and always wanted to talk to me about them. He was trying really hard to get away from the gang life he had grown up in and make a life for himself, and this kid had been working for 4 months to earn a 2-week pass off campus. Just before he was supposed to go, he accidentally spilled a tray of drinks on one of the counselors. The guy already didn't like the kid, so he accused him of doing it on purpose and revoked his pass privilege. The kid went nuts. I felt really bad for him and thought it was a good time to give him the two airplane books I had bought for him. I thought maybe that would help him get back on track, but he went AWOL a few days after that. A week later, he was dead. Murdered."
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