Sugar Bear stole his first car… he was almost five

April 18, 2012 in Thoughts with 0 Comments

Sugar Bear remembers the car was orange. An El Camino. After stealing it, he pulled off the freeway, into a gas station, and climbed down from the vehicle. The police who apprehended him were startled. 

Sugar Bear grew up fatherless and lived mostly on the streets, episodically drifting into and out of the care, such as it was, of various female relatives. He kept moving on because one relative was beaten to death in an alley, another was killed by a shotgun blast and another had Drano poured in her eyes for reasons Sugar Bear does not remember. He supported himself gathering discarded bottles for their deposits and cadging hamburgers and peanut butter sandwiches from sympathetic strangers.

According to Pulitzer Prize winning author, George Will, people like Sugar Bear have holes in their souls never filled by the love of a father. World Impact worker Ken Canfield adds:

“If you don’t have the calm self-respect that a father gives, your passions go sideways. For a number of men, their passions become sexualized as they look for comfort and affirmation of their manhood.”

But today Sugar Bear is a cheerful survivor….

Read the rest of the article here: Washington Post.