The Rescue

I found myself strangely and deeply moved when I read that the Chilean miners have been rescued and are back on top of the ground now.

I come from a coal mining town, but it is a mine that is much different from the mines that many work in around the world. The mines in my hometown are big, wide, clean.

I have been in one of those mines even though women are traditionally considered bad luck there, and I could almost imagine I felt the weight of the earth above me even though I stood upright in what appeared to be a well lit hall. I have also been underground in caves when there is no light at all and it is not a place for the faint of heart, or those afraid of close spaces. There have been moments when I thought I could not breathe simply because I could not see a thing at all.

Being trapped in a hot, damp, mine that might collapse upon me at any moment, for a long period of time like these miners have been, is beyond the scope of my imagination. I can only imagine that it would a situation of constantly controlled panic for me, stressful beyond belief.

I am so thankful these men have been rescued.