Arthur Sparks

Ruthii: the Days of '43 Arthur Sparks

These are the days of the friendship bonding between a teenage boy from the hills of eastern Kentucky and two teenage girls in Columbus, Ohio. The names of everyone in the Ohio setting and the railroad passenger train personnel have been changed to protect the innocent, with the exception of me and my cousin, Charles Edgel Sparks. The times we spent together going to movies, eating in hotel dining rooms and fine restaurants, and trying to be served a frosted stein of beer were part of our adventures together. Every Sunday my city education was enhanced by attending a different church with one or both of the girls. We became attracted to a black church, mainly because of the singing of the minister's wife. One of the girls, a runner, became friends with my landlady, and we were granted the privilege of using my room as a meeting place, so long as the room door was left open. The names of everyone in the Kentucky settings have also been changed to protect the innocent, except for those of the Sparks family and the given names of the members of the James Luther family. One of the girls was blessed with a forest vision, while the other sat in a cave, out of a freezing windstorm with Arthur J during a quail hunt. The appearance of the Highway Patrol is fictitious and is used to enhance the wild mule- wagon run through the country town. Finally, the day came when, one by one, we had to move on to meet our destiny, I hope the reader will enjoy the melding of fact and fiction in this autobiographical recounting of the formative years of my life. Arthur J Sparks