I haven’t been here at my blog lately. I live in Raleigh County….just a few miles from where the Upper Big Branch Mine exploded. I am grateful that I did not have family working there. But, I do have friends who work at that mine. I can not tell you how relieved that I was when I found out that my best friend’s husband and son had already left the mine when the explosion happened. My friend’s husband has been a coal miner for around 30 years. He has lost friends in mining accidents. Patty, my friend, lived a life of wondering every day if her husband would return home safely. You cannot imagine how upset she was when her son decided to go to work in the coal mines. He got a job in this very mine……Upper Big Branch Mine….with his Dad.
There are still 4 men unaccounted for in the mines. And, there are bodies that have not been identified. One of TPSkipper’s best friends growing up has a cousin that is still in there. His mother goes to church with me. I can’t begin to image what she is going thru awaiting word on her son. Is he alive or dead? The waiting for her is horrific. She wants so badly to believe that he is in there just waiting to be rescued. But, in truth, the odds are greatly stacked against that.
I know many lives that this has touched. I can remember when I was a really little girl, a mine exploded in Mt Hope WV. It was the Siltex mine. My brother-in-law was working at that time. My Dad loaded the whole family up in the car and raced to the mine site to find out if he was OK. Just a minute or so after we got there, he walked out and I still get chill bumps remembering seeing him. Unfortunately, there were several others that didn’t make it out. Many of them we knew and/or were friends with.
Coal miners are hard working people. They love their families and want to provide the best that they can for them. The stereotype of stupid, toothless coal miner is far from the truth. Most of these men are educated, caring, strong, and God-fearing men. They put their lives on the line everyday for their families.
Please spend a few minutes today in prayer for these miners and their families.
Prayers being said….
prayers big time from here TPB. This is sooo tragic. ((hugs))
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My thoughts and prayers also. Such a horror for the families!!
Time is running out and hope is fading for the 4 still in the mines. One still there is the son of my friend. Families members have staged a contant vigil since the explosion. So many prayers have been said and are still being said. But they have changed from one of hoping that their loved one will emerge alive to one of wanting closure. Indeed, this is a tragedy…..so very sad.
Thanks for your comments, friends.
To make matters worse, that hateful Westboro Baptist Church of Crazies has been here with their hurtful signs and fliers. So far, though, West Virginians have resourceful by managing to not give them media coverage (which they soooo desire) and by emcompassing their protesters with people carrying LARGE signs of love. WV people have been drowning out their hateful rhetoric by singing LOUDER than their shouting. And cars and trucks have driven by blowing their horns so their hateful speech is only heard by them. I am proud to be a redneck from West Virginia!!! These people are being skillfully managed without violence…which is also what they want. They would love nothing better than to be slugged by a burly coal miner so they could sue. That’s how they finace their hateful trips.
Just remember that if they come to your part of the country.
How incredibly sad. Just heard on the news that there were no more alive. I feel so bad for their families and will keep them in my prayers.
As for those church crazies…………..well, I won’t say what I am thinking but I am glad that the resourceful west virginians are handling things so well. They came to the funeral of one of our local soldiers who died in battle. The locals misled them into thinking the caravan of funeral cars was going through one street but it actually went a completely different way so no one saw them. Serves them right.
steppin…so many people around here are in one way or another connected to the coal mines. I don’t believe that I have ever seen such an outpouring of grief. The last four bodies were recovered late last night. One family lost 3 members. Such sorrow.
Kudos to your community for fooling those crazy people. Fooling them and ignoring them are the only ways to deal with their cruel actions. Our local press wouldn’t even cover them and for that, I was really happy. Other communities need to get wise to their shennanigans. Those people support themselves by lawsuits.
Thanks for the comment.
I’ve refrained from comment but have said my prayers for those in need of help. I can’t imagine what your friend is going through, and then to have those hateful bastards there on top of it all….I know that hate is what fuels them, but I have a really hard time stomaching them. Anything that spoils whatever kind of screwed up goals they have just makes me cheer.
And yes in my mind they’d get the crap beat out of them, but of course they would sue.
Never have I seen a group of people make a religion look so scary. Thank GOD they are the minority. I wonder why no one has shown up to a funeral of theirs with “Thank god for dead __________”
My condolences to you and everyone in the mining community. Something needs to be done to make working conditions safer for the brave men who go into the mines every day. What a tragedy…