After making two posts in my life story I have been combining them together for those that have not yet been introduced to my story. I have also put together the first part of my story with my life up until the beginning of this post. You can read it [(--Here--)](https://steemit.com/christian-trail/@nobutsd/my-story-begins)
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### Returning to Michigan
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After smoking crack for the first time in a Greyhound bus bathroom, I was getting off the bus in Detroit and returning to the small town I was living in with about 6- $20 rocks in my pocket. I only knew one person that might know about it, so I went to her house. I had hung out with her and knew she did Cocaine, but didn't know if she had smoked "Rocks" before.
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http://currentwave.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/drug-photo-1-sams-article.jpg
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### Crack Smoking Academy
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I went to this girls house and showed her the Crack I had, her eyes lit up, and she knew exactly what it was! I asked her if she had a pop can to smoke it with like I had been shown. She quickly explained that I was doing it all wrong, went and broke off an antenna from her radio, got some wire from her junk drawer and rammed it into the antenna for a screen, and showed me how to smoke just little pieces at a time.

She then proceeded to invite two of her friends over to her house. They didn't have any money they said, but they were willing to do anything I wanted. I soon learned all about the trading of sexual favors for hard drugs. I was 15 years old having three grown woman take baths together and do basically whatever I wanted. I also learned all about when the drugs run out and you aren't worth anything to the people that were using you anymore.

The best thing about this whole experience is that I lived in a small town and could not get more Crack once it was gone. If I would have been able to I would have turned out far worse than I did. This was not my last run in with Crack by a long shot, but I at least Had a break for a few years before I experienced it again.
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### Moving Back to the City
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My Mother had healed up from her surgery and had to figure out how she was going to live without my Dad and his income. She was not working and we really had nowhere to go. My Mom and Dad didn't really have friends because he was always drinking and they were always fighting. My Mom's only friends lived in Lansing So that is where we ended up moving to

We moved into Lansing and I quickly realized that I could not allow myself to be bullied in this city like I was in the small town. I was not going to get beat up by every guy that wanted to be tough. My Dad wasn't around to threaten me anymore so I decided to fight. I didn't only fight back, I became a bully myself. If I thought I could look tough by picking on someone I did it. It was sad that I was doing to others exactly what I hated so much myself.

I started hanging out with a group of kids that was pretty cliqued up together and always looking for the next party. We pretty much was together all the time and most of us ended up taking the same path in life. Out f the group I hung out with at this time, most either ended up in jail, on drugs, or dead.
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### Learning About Gangs
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It was not long before I ran into some guys that were banging with the Vice Lords gang. They liked the fact that I appeared to not really care about anything and I was willing to fight at the drop of a hat. They asked me if I wanted to hang out with them after I punched the assistant principle at my school and was expelled. The idea of having a group that was looking out for each other seemed like more of a family than I had ever knew. I was all for it. I didn't know at the time that several of my friends would be murdered, and I would end up in prison several times over hanging with this new "Family."
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### What Was I Thinking?
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I thought joining a gang was going to be all fun and games, but it was not long before I started experiencing the bad side of the lifestyle. One of the kids that ran with us was at a party when a girl from another gang found out who he ran with and stabbed him to death, he was 15. The last time I had saw this id I had taken a pack of cigarettes from him because I had more rank than he did. I will never forget that was the last thing this kid would ever know about me. I also soon learned about how the higher ups would extract dues from those underneath them. If you had money, you were expected to buy them things, and if you didn't you were expected to deal drugs or steal for them. I was not very good at dealing drugs as I would always used them, so I became a rampant thief.
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### Life Takes a Turn for the Worse
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My school attendance had been sporadic for a long time, and I was always in trouble there anyway. But on my 16th birthday I had actually went to class. When I got home I found all of my possessions on the front porch and the front door locked. My Mom had been telling me for a few years that she couldn't wait until I turned 16 so she could kick me out legally. I found out on my birthday she was serious. I had no drivers licence, no car, and no place to go. After knocking on the door for awhile and getting no response from inside, I put most of my things, not that I had much, in the shed and took a duffel bag with me. I went to the only real place I could go which was my weed dealers house. 
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### What Do I Do Now???
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It is funny really, all the tough guy gang-bangers I knew were either living with their Mothers, or were really predators taking advantage of juveniles to do their dirt for them to avoid jail themselves. When I found myself homeless with nowhere to go, not a one of them was able, or willing,  to help out their so-called brother. I ended up at the house of the lady I was buying weed from. She was the mother of one of the guys I ran with. She was in her fifties and was dating a guy in his sixties. They liked me because I would sit and play petty change poker with the guy. He reminded me of my Grandpa and I liked to hang out with him.  He kept a pistol under his table where he sat and was just a pretty cool guy to me.

They agreed to allow me to stay in their fifth wheel trailer in their back yard until Labor Day when they were planning on going on vacation, and I would be allowed to shower and use the bathroom in the house. My Mom kicked me out in April so I had about 5 months to figure something out as to where I would go. I planned on getting a job and getting my own place. Ah, the foolishness of youth!
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### Real Crime Begins
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I had participated in petty shoplifting and had done a few "Case Runs" where we would go into stores and run out with cases of beer, but now I began to really up my stealing. I began breaking into cars every night and stealing change, stereos, whatever I could find. Every once in awhile I would find a gun that someone left in their car, or a purse with a checkbook. I could sell stereo equipment or guns easily, and I was such a sophisticated criminal that I would take the checks and just write them out to myself or one of my friends that had an I.D. The worry about getting caught never even crossed my mind. A few times I found cars with the keys in them, and I stole the whole car. Because of my gang connections, I knew of some chop shops but I had to drive the car to Chicago, then ride the bus home. I was lucky to get $500 for a car.

I was partying as much as ever, using the money I made from stealing at night to buy cigarettes, beer, and weed mainly. Every once in awhile I would buy some Crack, but since none of my friends did it and they mocked "Crack-Heads" I didn't want anyone to know I did. I was living just as reckless as I always had and had no plans for what I was going to do come Labor Day.
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### Time To Pay the Piper
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One night I was out breaking into cars when I was drunk. I was sitting in a car looking through stuff when I realized there was a light behind me. As I turned to look, a police officer opened the door and ripped me out of the car. I had a knife shoved in my pants and some stolen credit cards in my pocket. I was taken to the jail and charged as an adult. Come to find out, they had been looking for me for a few weeks for a number of different crimes that I had committed. Seems I wasn't a criminal mastermind by a long shot. Too bad I didn't learn that then.

They put me into a regular dorm cell in the county jail, and it was not something fun at all. I was charged with 12 felonies in adult court, and I was scared.
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### As Always
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If you have enjoyed this post and would like to continue to read about a hard-core drug addict that has been redeemed by Jesus, please follow and support me. Also, if you would like to see a chat room opened on discord for addiction and recovery issues, please go to this post and leave a comment in support.
[Discord Addiction Chat Support](https://steemit.com/christian-trail/@nobutsd/trying-to-create-a-discord-channel-for-addiction-and-recovery-issues)
Thank you and God bless!!

Image Credit: [1](http://currentwave.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/drug-photo-1-sams-article.jpg)