Robert Spearman:  

Not sure how to start this story other than to just tell it the way i remember it, and this is just for those few who might have wondered what happened to me since southwestern high school days. Now I don't know how other folks remember me..but to me i was always a very insecure person growing up and always felt 'less than' around people, i knew i was smart in school, i was given a scholarship to go to any college i wanted in the 9th grade after the schools SAT test scores came back and being among the top 10, plus, i had some talents, Played in the band with Frank Garcia for awhile (saxophone), did a bunch of gig's, made some money but when we didn't get signed up with Motown during our try out's to back up this new female singing group, I moved on and never played again, and in spite of what i had going on that others might of admired, that was never enough, i always felt that if i was like this person or that person i could finally feel better about myself, and being easily impressionable with older guys who could get pretty women to do there bidding, dress with the latest fashions, drive the newest cars or take command in a street fight, I started hanging out with some pretty rough characters around the age of 15, thinking some of that would rub off on me...well it didn't, not really. These guys gave me my first drink of wine and let me hangout with them on the weekends, it wasn't long before i realized that these guys were into some serious criminal activity and being much younger than they were i was never a threat, plus it boosted there ego's to see someone actually admire there endeavors, and i was foolish enough to think they were hip and cool, so they allowed me to tag along on some of there adventures, attitude control as they called it (protection money), armed robbery, B&E's, pimping, getting a woman to take care of them, stupid stuff like that, they taught me how to hustle and set up con games, short and long con, in many ways it was kind of exciting, going to the after hour joints meeting pimps and players, drug dealers, business owners etc... who all drove fancy cars, wads of money all the time. Then i started to gamble, cards, dice, learned to play pool (8 ball and 9 ball) and got good enough at it to make some money, so i did that almost everyday down on Visgar rd in River Rouge, ignoring school all together. That lifestyle of course led to marijuana and pills, then one day somebody offered me a drug that they said would make me feel real good (didn't know it was heroin) and since i didn't feel very good about myself to begin with and wanting to fit in and be cool, i tried it, they were right, i did feel real good, in fact so good i planned to do some everyday, it was only a dollar a pill back then (60's). Of course life for me went down hill, not like many folks i ran into because i kept many things that i saw others doing to get high at bay, i just wasn't going to do it. I ran into so many folks from southwest Detroit strung out on that stuff, it was just terrible, all 'A' students now chasing heroin, gorgeous young lady's selling there body's for that stuff, folks i would never have thought would be stupid enough like me to get into this life style showing up at dope houses, folks just ruining there lives and dying to, i've seen or heard of so many people i knew getting killed or over dosing on that stuff or going to prison it's was scary. I screwed up big time, blew my scholarship, dropped out of school in the 12 grade, got married because she was pregnant after her Dad told me to marry her or else, i thought i was being a man and doing the right thing. I was so immature and reckless in my behavior, anyway at 19 i joined the Army to get away from it all with the attitude i was going to get myself together, leaving my then 18yr old wife to raise our son all by herself (I was just stupid! stupid! stupid!), i got sent overseas to Vietnam and then spent 12 months in Thailand, (3 1/2 yrs total) however, while there i figured out away to send pure heroin back to the U.S...I had a pretty good business going to, but the military got wind of it after about 6 mo. and tried to bust me, but i had covered my tracks pretty good and they couldn't make anything stick so they sent me to a hospital in Bangkok Thailand, stole all my money, took all my custom made gold rings and jewelry, electronics, hand made clothes, shoes etc...kicked me out of the military (they said for the good of the Army) and gave me an Honorable Discharge with full benefits, so i only had 15K waiting for me when i got home. I now regret that i didn't serve my country better, and maintained the level of integrity and moral fortitude expected of me. I started out with a great deal of respect from my commanding officers and non commissioned officers in boot camp and AIT, they felt i would have a great career in the military if i continued on.you think i would have learned my lesson, NOPE At age 28 i again found myself needing to do something about my drug use, plus some guys were looking to shoot me for messing up there drugs, so i had to get out of town, so my mother contacted my real father in Los Angeles, CA ( I didn't know who he was and had never met him) and he sent for me. so for the first time i spend time with my actual father and realized i had 12 other brothers and sisters with the last name Spearman, it was a real treat, i knew nothing about them. Life for me for the first time was going great, I was working, i was drug free, then a few months after i got there In 1978 i had a fantastic spiritual experience that altered my life forever (if i told you what it was you wouldn't believe it so i won't even mention it, sometimes i find it hard to believe myself, but it happened), I fell in love with God of the bible and was so excited, i wanted to do nothing but do his will and talk about his love for us, to anybody who would listen, i guess you could say i was a fanatic. I then got a part in a play called "The Great White Throne Judgment Drama" that went all over CA. Arizona, and some other states performing, it was a play about that day after we die when we all will stand before God and give an account of our lives, it was a great play, thousands would wait in line to see this play it was good, I played the part of an Angle, believe it or not..hundreds would come and give there life to Christ after seeing this play.. life was good, I sent for my wife to come to Calif.to be with me so that we could be the family we should be but she didn't want to relocate and i wasn't going back to Detroit and risk getting back into that life style again, so we got a divorce after 13 yrs, it broke my heart to have to leave my kids and not be in there lives, because i always knew i could be a good father if i could just get those dam drugs out of my life. I got a job at Lockheed Aircraft in there "skunk works" division, as a jig and fixture builder, they did "top secret" projects for the Gov't and we were being trained to build these tools for aircraft assembly, the stealth bomber at that time, some jigs and fixtures we built were as big as houses, very precise and detailed work, tolerances sometimes of 10,000 of an inch, i loved it because i have that kind of mind, then i was given the chance to be a tool design engineer in the engi...Expand for more