Walk to Beautiful: The Power of Love and a Homeless Kid Who Found the Way by Wayne Jimmy & Abraham Ken

Author:Wayne, Jimmy & Abraham, Ken [Wayne, Jimmy & Abraham, Ken]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Itzy, Kickass.so
ISBN: 9780718021856
Amazon: B00KQ2G3HG
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2014-10-01T04:00:00+00:00

Twenty-four

BUMPING INTO ANGELS

AROUND MIDMORNING, OCTOBER 27, 1987, A UNIFORMED detention center staff member came to my cell. “Come with me,” he ordered, and I quickly complied. By that time I was convinced that some of the staff members were angels, and some were devils—and it seemed that the devils had the angels outnumbered. I had been repeatedly cussed out and referred to by every derogatory name I had ever heard and some that I didn’t even know the meaning of. Granted, there were several dangerous characters passing through the detention center on their way to more secure facilities, so I understood why the staff couldn’t be buddies with the boys. But why did they have to demean and denigrate everyone merely to keep order? Why did they purposely attempt to make everyone feel like trash, simply so they could maintain some sort of mental or emotional leverage? Most of the boys in detention weren’t hardened criminals—yet. But if they were moving in that direction, little about the detention experience would stop or prevent them from spiraling downward. There has to be a better way, I thought.

The staff member escorted me to the front office, where I saw Lawrence Spicer sitting in a chair beside his brother-in-law, Maurice Edwards. Was I ever glad to see them! The surprise got better. Lawrence explained that they had come to get me out of the detention center and planned to take me to live with his family until Maurice and his wife, May, could be certified as foster parents. I would then go to live with Maurice, May, and their son, who was close to my age.

I didn’t know the Edwards family, and I had no idea how they arranged these details so quickly, but I was ecstatic and tremendously grateful when we walked out of the detention center and went to Lawrence’s trailer. I stayed with the Spicer family, they enrolled me in school, and we planned for me to eventually move in with Maurice and May.

My hopes soared. The Edwards family lived in a nice house in Chapel Grove, a quiet, suburban neighborhood. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I was finally going to have a real family. Throughout the month, as Maurice and May prepared to become official foster parents, I visited with them in their home, spending lots of time with them and their son.

Imagine my disappointment when I learned that after my few visits with the Edwards family, they decided not to follow through and become foster parents. The official reason given had something to do with Maurice’s health. Whether it had to do with me personally, the family situation, or something within the system, I never knew for sure. But I couldn’t help thinking it must be some defect in me.

I couldn’t blame the family. They didn’t know me; they were simply operating on Lawrence’s recommendation, so their willingness to try taking me in was commendable. Compatibility between foster parents and foster kids, as in any

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