December 4, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. Kashina.

One aspect of our life in 2018 has been to get to know our helpers. Without the difficulties of our year, we would never have met these good folks. We have enjoyed getting to know them, including Kashina. In many ways, she is different. She is in her mid 30s and she is single with no children. She was brought up in a family with a mother and a father and siblings. The family has always lived in Crystal Springs, the place we bought our fountain. All the family lives close by. She has a degree in Education from Jackson State University. After her student teaching, she decided not to teach so she got certified as an assistant nurse. She has been helping people ever since. Kashina is a worker bee. The joy in her life is helping people. She does not enjoy parties. She does not drink alcohol or tea or coffee. She works long hours. Financially she lives within her means. Her mother is still alive and still works. She loves cars and still buys and sells and trades cars. Her father was a mechanic and taught her lots about cars. He thought she would be a mechanic but she rejected it after her father died. And she has some health issues and takes medication for thyroid and heart. And she is not particularly religious and does not attend church, which in Jackson is unusual. Perhaps the most interesting thing about her life is that she eats a terrible diet. She eats meat, mostly fried. And no vegetables or salad or fruit. She does eat mustard green and an occasional baked potato. And of course, she eats French fries. I have read about bad diets but I have never lived with it. But we do not criticize. She is a wonderful helper to both of us. She is competent and fun. And she is a good driver too. Without our issues, we would never have met Kashina. She has enriched our lives and for that we are grateful.