This feature length piece, the last one I wrote for Chicago magazine, stands out for me, because it's heartbreaking. The central figure, my friend Chicago poet Luis Rodriguez, had struggled for years to save his eldest son, Ramiro, from the gang life that Luis himself had escaped in Los Angeles. In the end it was not enough, and Ramiro was charged with the attempted murder of a Chicago Police officer. This story forced me to think a lot about the ways in which we inherit traits - both good and bad - from our parents, and how frustrating it can be to watch our children reenact our own flaws.
