A streetwise hustler turns into a single father of two sons
For much of his life, Nate Morris III was a streetwise hustler in D.C. He made a living selling counterfeit jewelry, having honed his skills by enrolling in a school of gemology just long enough to learn the lingo. He became a heroin addict and nearly died after overdosing on fentanyl. He’s been in and out of prison for a variety of offenses, including parole violations.The silver tongue that helped him unload fake Rolexes also helped him attract women looking to share in the spoils of his con.
McLean found Morris was a “fit and proper person” to be awarded sole custody of the children. And so, with the stroke of a pen, he went from being a former con artist to the sole custodian of his two sons. It took four injections of the anti-overdose drug Naloxone to revive him. He was also lucky to have overdosed in front of Edwin Chapman’s medical offices. Chapman is one of the few physicians in the country that specializes in treating opioid addiction among low-income and homeless African Americans.Chapman helped stabilize Morris after the Naloxone kicked in and put him on a treatment program that involved enhanced dosages of buprenorphine, which reduces cravings for opioids.
The old Morris — the hustler and con artist — might have run from the situation, certainly not run toward it. Whatever hardship the mother encountered would not have been the hustler’s concern. As for the baby, there are many cases in which children from such chaotic relationships end up neglected and abused, in prisons, homeless shelters and morgues.
Morris never spoke ill of her. “She’s still the mother of my children,” he told me. In his book, he wrote, “I pray for her.”For the most part, though, he tries not to look back. Nothing can change the past, he’s concluded; there is only the present moment to tend to. And if he sometimes wonders whether it is fair for such young boys to have a 60-year-old dad, he’s convinced he is a better dad today than he would have been in his earlier years.
Endless questions from the kids also take up quite a bit of time — even if he doesn’t always have the answers.
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