Keith and Mandy

Keith and Mandy are good people.
I departed Joplin and the mess there and headed towards a small burg called Carl Junction. I don’t know who Carl was or why he had a junction but it had a store and not a lot of traffic. As I passed through, a woman was checking out her plants in her yard. As I wheeled by she acknowledged me, and at the same time her husband pulled up on a mower and got off. We talked a bit about my trip and they offered me water and food, which I happily accepted, and then I was surprised at the offer of a shower, which I also gladly accepted.
After a nice hot shower in their absolutely gorgeous home, with three children (or was it two?) running around, and a cat as well, we got to talking about the area, and Keith told me that it was considered the meth capitol of the country, with numerous busts for manufacturing that nastiness happening all the time. I asked him if he was a cop, for he spoke as if he knew what he was talking about. That was when he told me that he had been a meth user for over ten years, and Mandy added that she had done it for a few years herself with him. They had stopped several years ago and had turned to the church and their faith to help get them through that trying time. Now they both have good jobs—Mandy is a hair stylist and Keith is in the construction field. As I said, they have a beautiful home, a lovely family and were as generous to a stranger as they could be. It is good to know that when someone does go down that road, the downward spiral can be stopped and reversed, and Keith and Mandy , nice people, are living proof of that.
Good for them!