Running From Freedom

Generational curses plague many of the families residing in the Orlando community of Pine Hills. Some of the youth become institutionalized at a very tender age. It would seem they feel more comfortable behind bars than running free in the world. Crimes are committed for very little gain at a high risk with dire consequences. No forethought or great planning goes into their criminal behavior; usually it is based off of opportunity or emotion. Poor decisions and youthful indiscretions equate to long prison terms and broken families. The generational curse can be broken but it starts in the mind. These youth are often blinded to the possibilities of the future because they don’t see examples of it from the elders in their family. Sometimes it’s hard to be what you never get an opportunity to see.

Criminal minded Curtis was bred to be a menace to society. Nature and nurture worked in conjunction creating a mini monster in the hood. Son of a felon, dad first saw the inside of prison walls in his late teens. After spending time in the juvenile detention center where his father worked, Terrence graduated to the big house. He was led by one of his older brothers, a criminal mentor to both him and his son Curtis. An armed robbery yielding less than two hundred dollars landed the dynamic duo in separate penal complexes for twenty-eight and thirty-six months respectively. That was the first of father Terrence’s stints behind bars. Older brother Ray served much more time at the pleasure of the warden and the great state of Florida.

A family gang they created surrounded by friends from the hood, ex cellmates and low level dealers. Violence and intimidation were their greatest tools in achieving their felonious goals. By the time Curtis could walk, he knew how to throw up his set. The toddler twisted his fingers in several different ways to show his love and loyalty for his gang. Preschool brawler he became, taking what he wanted from his peers leaving tears in his wake. Once in elementary school he formed his own crew. They terrorized the playground and cafeteria to the dismay of students, teachers and administrators alike.

Whenever a neighborhood parent would knock on Terrence’s family’s door to express concern for the abuse his son had inflicted upon their child, he would greet them with a scowl. A child cried out to him.

“Curtis keep fightin’ on me.”

Terence looked upon the kid with no compassion then back up at his parent.

“Well looks like you need to get your boy to toughin’ up. He can’t be soft 'round here,”

“What are you gonna do about your son?”

“Nothin’. Now get your punk ass up off my porch.”

“Are you serious?”

Terence face hardened as he raised the bottom of his wife beater exposing the pistol in his waistline.

“Dead serious!”

Hustling away, the man and his son heard Terrence called out to them.

“Oh and you better take him home and teach him how to fight ‘cause Curtis is going to be mad when he finds out you told on him. Ooh boy you gonna get it tomorrow jit. Curtis gonna beat yo ass.”

Terrence went back into the house to congratulate and joke with his son about his nefarious behavior. In their home lived four generations of family led by a figure head matriarch. She was honored and revered by all of her offspring but she had little control over their actions or decisions.

The curse flowed like a virus through their veins as brother taught brother, taught nephew, taught son, taught grandson how to destroy themselves. A good woman at heart she did good but bad consumed her life because she didn’t do enough to condemn it. Terrence had two older brothers and they both resided in mama’s house most of the time. Curtis’ uncles would leave the nest from time to time but always return for the winter. After the passing of their father it seemed the boys latched on to home tighter.

The green was burned and the powder was sniffed daily in and around that home were they slept head to foot and foot to head. Loose women and high homeboys frequented the halls of this full house. In the garage transactions were made. Sex, drugs and money were exchanged daily and Curtis got more than an eye full. He also received an earful of misinformation about how things work in an amoral world. Curtis watched his older kin fight, fuss and buss… shots at the opposition. He was always told to never be soft and to take what he wanted. Curtis obeyed.

By the time he made it to middle school he was committing more serious crimes, extorting money and strong arm robbing big ticket items from the rich kids at school. Although terrified of Curtis and his band of thugs a few of the students confessed to their parents that they had been robbed of their valued possessions. Their voices grew louder as more victims came forward.

Parents demanded actions be taken and they ordered the administration to make the school safe for their children. A town hall meeting of sorts was held to decide what to do about the young delinquents roaming the halls of their beloved school. Many a dean, counselor and teacher reached out to Terrence but he never returned their calls or attended their scheduled meetings. He had more important hood activities to attend to. No charges were pressed but Curtis and his crew were expelled from school and sent to an alternative school that specialized in educating children with behavioral problems.

After several fights and daily rule breaking Curtis was no longer welcome there either but before they could remove him he landed himself in the same juvenile detention center where his grandfather once worked and most of his uncles served time. He and his friends went on a burglary spree in his other grandmother’s neighborhood on the other side of the county. In her home there was very little supervision or guidance; at least with his father he heard the occasional no and had to follow some household rules. Curtis’ mother frequented her mother’s home from time to time but her drug habit kept her in the streets and on the corners trying to find a fix. That was the initial reason Curtis was turned over to his gangster father. Mama couldn’t care for him and her drugs too. Curtis liked it better in Winter Garden where he could roam free. The neighbors, on the other hand, really didn’t appreciate his presence in their sleepy little community. Through their windows and screen doors he crept stealing all his hands and pockets could hold.

Eventually he and his group of cat burglars were caught plundering their neighbors’ houses on camera. The police found most of the stolen goods hidden poorly in each of the boys’ homes. So, off to juvenile they went. Curtis felt quite at home behind bars. Never contrite or apologetic for his actions; Curtis still had regrets. He regretted quitting football two years earlier because his Pop Warner Coach ordered him to run for disobeying team rules. Curtis refused and forfeited two years of hard work and dedication all because he would never submit to authority. Compliance or an apology would have saved his spot on the team but Curtis refused to concede. The boy fought authority and authority won. The first of many losses the lad would suffer at the hands of rules, law and order. His team won the Mid-Florida Championship that season and his name was absent from the trophy. Curtis would have been one of the main ball carriers on that team but it was not to be. It was more important for him to be hard.

Oddly when Curtis applied himself to his studies, he really excelled. In the detention center he held a 3.5 grade point average and learned the basics of sign language. Upon his release he went back to his grandmother’s home against his father’s protest. Her address was on the paperwork so that’s where he went. Within a month he was back in custody, this time for a more serious crime. His transgression left a man without the use of his legs confining him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Curtis never fully accepted responsibility for his actions.

Curtis fancied himself to be a great car thief. Grand theft auto was his new game and as usual he didn’t have a plan, only a desire to do harm and commit crime. In a stolen car Curtis raced with his best buddy Reggie. The police were in hot pursuit but the boys weren’t going down without a fight. Through intersection after intersection the boys blew lights flipping birds at the choppers above. Recklessly they sped through the city streets with no regard for their safety or anyone else. Their vehicle slammed into a man on a motorcycle sending him flying. The man was lucky to not have lost his life. He was hospitalized for nine months recovering from his injuries. His life would never be the same. After hitting him, Curtis stomped on the gas causing the car to fishtail. He lost control for a moment but righted the car and turned down a side street. Police set up a barricade and Curtis stomped on the gas again. He wanted to see the needle go all the way over. They crashed through the barricade but their momentum carried them into a parked van. Their running was over. The two unconscious youths were pulled from the vehicle, given treatment and arrested. No more juvenile detention center for Curtis, his crimes had aged him out. He was charged as an adult and again followed his father’s history of being sent to the penitentiary in his teens. Curtis adapted well to be incarcerated once again. Prison offered him structure and guidance. He needed the rules and the walls to help him control his urges and destructive behavior. It also gave him an opportunity to pick back up on his sign language. By the time he was released Curtis had mastered the art of signing.

While under lock and key his father tried to reach out to him but Curtis was somewhat resistant. Terrence was actually giving his son good advice and trying to provide a way for him to get his life back on track. Curtis was looking forward to going back to Winter Garden and his mother and grandmother’s lax care for him. There was one problem… Granma didn’t want him. She agreed to receive him after prison but he would immediately be transported to Pine Hills where his father resided.

Terence spoke with Curtis’ uncle Spade and a friend of theirs who was a coach at a local Christian Academy to try to see if they could gain Curtis admission. He only needed three credits to graduate so he was almost home. Terrence was trying to be the best father he knew how to be. When his boy was released he bought him new school clothes and looked for employment opportunities for Curtis. Unfortunately Curtis had other ideas. He skipped school and never went to a single interview for employment. Instead he went back to his old ways.

While Curtis was in prison some of his old crew in Pine Hills found themselves in hot water after some questionably brazen decisions and actions. The young men got a lead on where the biggest dope boys in their part of Pine Hills hid their stash and money. They broke in and broke out with more than they could hope to move. It was a brazen burglary and to compound it the boys made a very questionable decision. They attempted to sell the drugs out of their families’ homes in the same neighborhood where they stole them.

The dealers they stole from weren’t the forgiving type; no, they were the murderous type. It only took two days for them to find out who had their product and where they were selling it at. Within two days after that, three of the four boys had been shot, two of them were dead on arrival. The third boy’s family got him out of town before there was a second attempt made on his life. Curtis’ closest friend of the bunch was shot a week later outside his grandmother’s house and was still in the hospital in critical condition when Curtis was released from prison.

Curtis went to visit his fallen comrade; angered about the condition he found his friend in Curtis wanted retribution. Fortunately he listened to his father’s thin words of wisdom. Terrence warned his son that his homeboys messed up so they had to be dealt with. He didn’t want to go to war with those guys over some thieving jits. He also didn’t want to lose his son over something that wasn’t even his business. After getting over the fall of his crew in his absence, Curtis rounded up a new group of knuckleheads looking to put in work.

Back into neighbors’ windows he climbed only this time he was in Pine Hills or Crime Hills as it was commonly called. Curtis and his new band of bandits stole items of no real value; it was as if they were taking just for the sake of taking. In the front yard of his family home Curtis was spotted by one of his victims wearing his clothing. He had the man’s entire outfit on, hat to sneakers. When he yelled out, Curtis made his escape on foot.

The man knocked on the door of their home and he was greeted by Curtis’ female cousins and sisters. Cussin’ and fussin’ ensued and the man left the house vowing to get revenge. Fortunately Terrence and his brothers weren’t home at the time. A simple argument could have easily led to gun play.

Later after hearing what happened Terence paid his neighbor a visit and convinced him to let the matter go. A little arm twisting and subtle threatening got the job done. The man understood how nothing good could come from him trying to get revenge. He knew that he could lose his entire family behind a minor beef. So he swallowed his pride as he watched Terrence walk back down the street to his house. Terrence had been shot ten years earlier; he walked around with a bullet wedged close to his spine but he was still up for a fight or a shoot out anytime. Terrence tried to explain to his son that he couldn’t be running around the hood stealing from their neighbors. Most of what he said went in one ear and out the other. When Curtis gave disrespectful looks and then got up and dismissed his father, things turned physical. Knowing his father’s condition, Curtis still fought hard causing his dear ole dad to need stitches in his lip and under his left eye. The defeat was humbling to Terrence but he still forgave his unruly son for his transgressions against him and his community. He had raised a monster and now the monster was becoming a menace in his life. Actually Curtis was becoming a menace in the lives of whoever had the misfortune of crossing his path.

A few weeks later there was an incident at the family home. Curtis’ sisters and his female cousins were in a vehicle driven by their friend Tisha. Tisha always liked to start stuff, very disrespectful and combative. On this particular day, after everyone loaded up in her vehicle, she quickly backed out of the driveway. There was a car driving down the street, not looking, she almost backed into them. The driver of the other vehicle simply swerved around the back of her car and kept driving down the road. That didn’t sit well with Tisha.

“Oh hell naw! They cut me off!”

She raced after the car through the Pine Hills streets until she made it to the intersection at Pine Hills Road and Indialantic Dr. Tisha cut the car off, got out making threats and cussing followed by her home girls. The man in the other vehicle got out and grabbed a brick to fend the girls off. He returned their insults and threats. Before the encounter became physical a police car passed them by causing everyone to rush back to their vehicles. The girls vowed to get revenge on the people in the car. They lived just five houses down the block from them. Tisha was ready to start a small feud over nothing with people who lived within walking distance of her friends’ home. She couldn’t be more wrong in the situation. The other car actually had the right of way and she was backing out of a driveway blindly. The driver didn’t yell, throw up a middle finger or even beep its horn at Tisha when she almost hit them but she still felt wronged.

She felt wronged and she was going to do something about it! They told Curtis. Things went from bad to worse.

Curtis was determined to make the people down the street pay for their transgression? He grabbed one of his father’s firearms and headed down the block to their house. After calling the man and his eldest son out of the house he started firing on the family as the man’s wife and children looked on from inside their home. None of the bullets came close to hitting anyone. On slug was lodge in a car parked in the yard next door and the other two ended up in the trunks of trees.

Police swarmed the neighborhood as he fled. Curtis was not captured that night. His father found him a safe haven across town while he tried to sort things out. Terence went to work on the neighbors as well, encouraging them to give a false identification of the suspect. As dad was trying to work it out, son was sabotaging his efforts. Instead of staying put, Curtis made his way back to Pine Hills because boredom set in on him across town. There he was, back walking the sandy streets to the scene of his latest crime.

His victims spotted him in front of their home and perceived it as a threat so they quickly called law enforcement. The police arrived and swarmed the house looking for Curtis. Curtis didn’t try very hard to hide. He lay asleep on his grandmother’s couch as the police searched the house from top to bottom. There was one officer posted at the front door and Curtis was in plain sight of him during the entire search.

The police concluded their poor pursuit of their suspect and left a word of warning with the family to call them if Curtis surfaced. His father was left perplexed, it was as if Curtis wanted to get caught. It was almost like he was running from his freedom. Three days later he was spotted in the neighborhood again and the authorities were called. This time they weren’t going to offer the courtesy of knocking on the door. Grandmother heard the police talking to neighbors outside her window. They were saying that they were going to kick the door down and catch the suspect by surprise. He had been spotted in the area less than an hour before so his family was obviously harboring him.

The matriarch of their family had heard enough. She called Curtis and his father to her room and demanded the young man turn himself in. Curtis walked out with his hands up and allowed the detectives to take him into custody without incident. He was charged with attempted murder and is currently awaiting trial.

A week prior to his shooting incident Curtis received encouragement from an older male cousin on how he could best put his talents to use. He was an intelligent young man and a very gifted signer. His hands flowed, movements precise truly grasping the language. Curtis was given the card of a gentleman who worked to help inner city youth through mentoring and employment opportunities. Curtis never called, instead he stayed on his self destructive path.

The curse still had a hold of him infecting his young mind and affecting his decision making. Bad was good and vice versa; his value system was upside down. Morality was absent from his young life and he held little empathy for his victims. This lifestyle had become a family tradition and this was just the latest generation of the curse manifested. Running From Freedom, body locked down, doing time. Curtis may be a prisoner in a penitentiary for many years but he can still gain his freedom by allowing the cloud to be removed from his thinking. He was in need of enlightenment and moral fortitude, then he’ll run no more for he will finally be free. In a cell serving out his time Curtis will gain true freedom when he frees the most important thing… his mind.