Marijuana was a gateway drug in my life. I know that from personal experience. Without digging too far into circumstances I never questioned and never cared to examine until now, I was taken to Burbank, California, to live with my biological grandmother, Connie, and her husband, John D. Clement. John was my step-grandfather, a British American, a Purple Heart recipient, a World War II veteran, and a UCLA graduate. He was born on June 25, 1918. We lived on Bethany Road, and I attended Thomas Jefferson Elementary School from first through fifth grade.

At the time, Burbank was peaceful, quiet, and enjoyable. Later, my mother, who lived in Sylmar with my father, decided that I would attend Saint Didacus, a private school in Sylmar, from sixth through eighth grade. Looking back, I believe that decision was a mistake. John Muir Middle School was literally one block from our home, and I believe my likelihood of being arrested or suspended would have been extremely low had I attended school in my grandmother and grandfather’s neighborhood. Saint Didacus placed me in a setting very different from Burbank in terms of its environment, social dynamics, and socioeconomic conditions. There was nothing inherently wrong with that setting, but I now believe it was the wrong decision for me. Instead of keeping the car in Drive, we shifted it into Reverse. Looking back as a responsible adult, I can recognize that this was when my life began to take a wild turn.

To be continued…