Glints of a Dying Light: Stories and Life Trials of Lucas

By Julius Knight

Drawing from a life-long history of misfortune and setbacks, Lucas shares pieces of his life story. A life marked by memories of adversity and uncertainty. Suddenly, he achieved a handful of triumphs and accomplishments that were then crippled by his confinement to collateral consequences. Lucas chronicles the life events that got him to this place. The social ills known in the ghetto; things like growing up in impoverished and crime-infested residential projects, the early abandonment by his father, surviving child sex abuse, the untimely death of his mother, foster homes, drug-dealing, and habitual incarceration, were things that Lucas endured. They were also the things that resulted in his risky relationship with civil death. The story of Lucas resonates with people of all ages who have lived through any of the trials that he has. Julius Knight looks to uplift and inspire anyone who can take something from the Stories and Life Trials of Lucas.

Glints of a Dying Light is a true story of resilience and the quest for civil freedom from collateral consequences.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781644627211

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Glints of a Dying Light

Stories and Life Trials of Lucas

Julius Knight

Copyright © 2021 Julius Knight

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2021

ISBN 978-1-64462-720-4 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-64462-884-3 (hc)

ISBN 978-1-64462-721-1 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Early Accounts

An Unspeakable Evil

Early Years

An Untimely Death

The Aftermath

Down the Wrong Path

The Road Less Traveled

The Curse of Collateral Consequences

Dedication

In Loving Memory of Carmen Miranda.

Preface

This is just a part of the story of Lucas. A man who has had and continues to have his share of struggles in life, just like the rest of us. The trials of Lucas are not exclusive to him. Everyone has their own share of struggles in life. There are people less fortunate who have been through worse things. And then there are those who are foreign to some of the afflictions described in this book. Either way, this is his story. My purpose for telling the story of Lucas, in his own words, is to uplift and inspire anyone who has experienced similar struggles and afflictions. If you or anyone you know grew up in a broken home and without a father, overcame sexual abuse, lost their mother at an early age, experienced homelessness, went through the foster care system, and lived a life of crime that resulted in the curse of collateral consequences, then you may want to keep on reading.

On the other hand, if none of that motivates you to read on, you may want to read on anyways, lol. Chances are, you may find something that you can relate to, something that may move you. At the very least, you will find something that will compel you to feel agreement, anger, compassion, disagreement, inspiration, laughter, sadness, solidarity. Hopefully, anything but boredom, lol.

To protect the privacy of the people and places mentioned in this book, I have changed their names.

Acknowledgements

First, I want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for giving me the strength to endure all that I have. For being there for me in the ways that he has. I thank him for his mercy and countless blessings. Without his continuous grace, I would not be here fighting for another day. Thanks to the Page Publishing team for their assistance with this project. Special thanks to, Lana Beers, my publishing coordinator, for her patience. Also, thanks to the editing and design team for their contributions. I am eternally grateful to Dr. C. I. Pi., who guided me through my years of academic formation and who was endlessly supportive to me and my kids. Her mentorship and alliance were unconditional. May she rest in peace.

I want to thank the friends and relatives who believed in me and supported me in one way or another. I want to thank my brothers, for being my brothers, lol. Lastly, I want to thank my children, Justus, and Julie. You are the inspiration that moves me every day. Remember that through determination, hard work, and sacrifice, you can achieve any goals you set for yourselves in life.

Chapter 1

Early Accounts

Before me

Before my oldest brother was born, my mother was expecting a baby girl, but that baby girl died at birth. Later, when my mother was fourteen, my oldest brother, John, was born. John is from a different biological father. Because my mother was so young when she had him, my grandmother decided to raise John. She raised him as her own. Since my mother was still a minor, she couldn’t really do anything about it. She had to accept that grandmother would raise her first-born son and would have full custody of him. After a while, mom got used to the arrangement. After having John, mom continued to live with grandmother for a while. Eventually, she got involved with who would turn out to be my biological father and moved out of grandmother’s house. She then went on to have more kids. When she was eighteen, she had my second oldest brother, Jake. At age twenty, she had Jay. Then, at age twenty-one, she had me, Lucas. It was the seventies. I never got to know what my mom was like in her youth, what she was into, what her interests and aspirations were. Many of my childhood memories are fuzzy but based on what I can gather, it’s safe to say that mom grew up with her own share of struggles and challenges.

Norman

Norman was not our maternal grandfather. He was a Vietnam veteran and a retired correctional officer who had worked most of his adult life at the infamous Great White. The Hellcat Penitentiary was better known by the locals as the Great White. The prison was also known as the Alcatraz of the region for its notorious reputation. Norman was an incorrigible grouch; he was very antiquated and strict in his ways. He wasn’t the loving or understanding type of grandparent. He didn’t really act like a grandfather toward us and I didn’t understand why. At some point, I began to think that he didn’t care much for us. His indifference was palpable. Eventually, I concluded that he resented my mother. If I had to guess, it was because she dropped out of school in the 9th grade and gave birth to four kids at an early age without being able to support them, adequately.

After a while, I felt that Norman didn’t like it when we went over to visit them. He didn’t like that we lived in the projects. Despite our efforts to treat him with respect and see him as a grandfather figure, he never really warmed up to us. I distinctly remember him hating it when grandmother fed us. Oftentimes, mom didn’t have money to feed us. The days that we didn’t have food to eat, my brothers and I had to walk about an hour to our grandmother’s house to get food. Knowing that Norman didn’t allow her to feed us, grandmother would sneak around when he wasn’t aware. She would serve us hot meals in plastic containers, and she would slide them underneath the front gate. We would wait outside of the gate, quietly, until we saw the plates slide from underneath. We’d grab ’em and get back on the concrete trail…back home. The smell of scorching asphalt and concrete punished the air like gasoline fumes at a gas station. By the time we made it back home, we were soaked in sweat and exhausted from the hot sun. When we uncovered the plastic containers, the food looked just like us…melted and exhausted, lol.

Father

I have very few memories of my father. He left when I was still in diapers. He was addicted to gambling, particularly