Gregory Pereira

You had to.

Otherwise you were a victim.

My father says, no, back to New York you go.

So, back to New York I went.

My mother and my stepfather, both intoxicated, forgot which airport I was gonna land at.

And I had to find my way back into the city and back into pain, because pain attracts pain.

The gang life one more time.

Back with the cut off sleeves, the long t-shirt, and the headband.

And I did that for some time.

I felt a brotherhood, but then I felt a betrayal like I've never known before.

They left me for dead.

You know, there was a Beatles song when I was growing up that reminded me of family.

It was a line inside that Beatles song, that magic feeling.

And I had that with my mother.

And I had that with the gang life, the culture.

I had that for a little while.

But that magic feeling was no longer there and nowhere to go.

Alcohol and drugs became my new friends.

And that lasted for quite some time.

But what happened was I ended up finally, I guess through the big guy upstairs, changed my life.