Losing the American Dream

by Richard Kiefer

Mindy Menton is trying to survive a divorce. When she developed psychological problems, her husband asked for a divorce. Since she was in treatment, he told her to trust him and he handled everything legally. She lost her home and her money in the divorce proceedings. She has been homeless for six months now because she followed her former husband when he moved north from Florida with their children.

Menton is 37 years old , 5’7 tall and has blond hair and blue eyes. She likes children. She used to own and operate a successful day care center down in Florida called "Mindy’s Munchkins."

Because of her psychological problems she is no longer able to run a day care business. She had the American Dream. Her husband worked in sales for General Motors. She was a suburban wife and mother and she was a self-employed business woman.

Her worst nightmare has come true. She lives life in hell. But things don’t always necessarily get better.

She remarried recently. Menton thought she was moving to greener pastures. Her new husband woke up one day and decided to rob a bank. Now he is in jail.

Menton said, "This is a riches to rags story. This is a woman who should be paid $1,000 dollars a month in alimony wandering around sleeping in front of churches."

"My husband wanted the woman in the long evening gown with the long glass of champagne on his arm at the business functions. He didn’t want to have to be visiting the mental hospital and he used it (my psychological problems) to his advantage."

Copyright NEOC and the Homeless Grapevine published 1998 Issue 24