Rico's Story*

Written late night, December 22, 2008

*Not his real name.

Rico, upon returning from court, was obviously feeling better, and saw fit to regale me with his life story. It is a harrowing tale that he has given me permission to share with you now.

He was first taken away from his parents when he was two-years-old, because they were responsible for child starvation, child negligence, and child abuse. He spent the rest of his adolescent life between various attempts with his parents to have their children back and different group homes and foster care centers.

His parents would never be able to keep him any longer than a year here and there. The same with his three younger siblings, J, V, and M. He began using drugs at age 8 in 1991 when methamphetamine was "cleaner" according to him.

He says that he would run away and use meth until he was taken into custody and he'd clean up for a few months. When he was 13, he was seduced into a sexual relationship with the head of a child services program he was involved in. This relationship would last on a physical level for almost ten years. She still sees him from time to time. She is an affluent marriage and family counselor now who gives him money here and there and will put him up in motels when he is down and out.

I have all her specifics, but she will remain anonymous in this entry.

Rico started using other drugs such as marijuana, coke, pills, and heroin at the age of 17. At age 20 he started drinking heavily with a girl he was in love with who drank heavily. That pretty much brings us up to speed with today.

His life started in a vicious cycle of abuse: his mother would beat him because his father beat her, and his father would beat her because she would beat him.

Foster homes, orphanages, child welfare centers, child placement homes, juvenile hall, his parents. Drugs, abuse, more drugs, new drugs, more abuse, new abuse.

He is now 25 years old, and has been using drugs for 17 years. That's more than twice as long as he didn't use drugs. Yeah, I kinda feel bad about some of the things I wrote about him before I had heard his story. It doesn't change the fact that his breath is atrocious and he hasn't showered or brushed his teeth since I have known him. But I kinda understand a little better why he is such a retard. And believe me, what you just read is the abridged version of his tale, which I cannot share in detail with you because I intend to retell it in either stage form or screen. He'll never know either. I had him sign a waiver I made up for him. Dunce. I am going to have him played by Efren Ramirez (pictured) who played "Pedro" in Napoleon Dynamite because he resembles Rico.

That's enough for today.