by stevesparks | Nov 26, 2020 | Mental Health Advocacy, Military, Ptsd, Veterans
I imagine my father, Vernon, following bootcamp 1937, standing next to the big guns of the USS Tennessee Battleship. The young Seaman Sparks was preparing for his 1st sea duty. The Tennessee would sail off in March 1937 to the Philippines with a stop at Pearl Harbor....
by stevesparks | Nov 22, 2020 | Building Healthy Communities, Mental Health Advocacy, Military
While little Jerry slept in her arms, Marcella was transfixed on the beauty of southern California. She so enjoyed traveling the country on a train. Marcella remembered the fun ‘caboose’ stories as a kid growing up in St Paul. Ohhh! “The orange...
by stevesparks | Nov 17, 2020 | Building Healthy Communities, Ptsd, Uncategorized
It was Christmas eve 1935 in St Paul, Mn. My dad, Vernon, and his pop, Al Sparks, just returned home after an afternoon visiting his Pop’s favorite bars in the neighborhood. Grandpa was already “3 sheets to the wind” as his family would observe when...