Complex sentence: When he was only a few months old, his mother abandoned him, and his father took Jess to Oakland, California where he supported himself and his son by working as a crane operator, truck driver, and scrap metal salvager.
Split into simpler sentences: When he was only a few months old, his mother abandoned him. His father took Jess to Oakland, California where he supported himself and his son by working as a crane operator, truck driver, and scrap metal salvager.