My parents divorced when I was 2. Shortly after the split, my late father, Milton Kessler, grew out his hair and let his hippy flag fly. Then in 1969, he was busted for marijuana possession. This was Texas and back in the day possession meant a minimum of 5 years of hard time in prison. So my dad jumped bail and fled to Canada where he lived for the next 12 years building a successful Bagel Bakery business.
I was 6 when dad left and I didn’t see him at all for the first 2 years. Then for the following 10 years, I spent every summer vacation (3 months) living with him in Montreal. I loved those days I spent with my dad in Canada and in many ways my siblings and I made up for lost time with him (even though it was only 1/4 of the year).
Eventually, our dad was able to move back to the states, but karma’s a bitch and it’s undeniable that the lost time with our father had bitter effects on me and my siblings. Effects which I’ve gradually understood and come to terms with growing older. Even more so now that I have my own kids.
I’ve been reflecting on this a lot because U.S. President Joe Biden announced he’s going to pardon the thousands of people doing federal time for simple pot possession. It’s a decision that is long overdue and I’m proud that Biden is doing this. It’s the right thing. It will never give back the time so many people lost because of unjust pot laws. It won’t give back the time I lost with my dad. But this is justice and that is so satisfying.
There’s been too much lost time.
#DarkBrandon #losttime #fatherandson
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