West Virginia Sadness

Today I have been so sad about these coal miners and their families in W. Virginia. When I woke up this morning, the news was just breaking that the families had been given false information and that only one coal miner survived instead of twelve. Oh the anguish these poor people have been through. On Geraldo at Large tonight he was showing pictures and footage of the families as they rejoiced that their loved ones were okay. He then contrasted that with the footage of the families when they found out that the opposite was true. I don't think that I have ever seen such raw emotion, with the exception of 9/11. I've just had a lump in my throat all day. I cannot even imagine what these wives and mothers must be going through. My heart also goes out the the wife of the one survivor. I'm sure that she is going through so many emotions right now...worry, guilt, relief, sadness. Right now, I'm watching CNN and they are debating the safety of mines. I'm glad they brought it up, I've been thinking about it all day. Did you know that mining is the 2nd most dangerous profession? How sad. Being in the Tennessee, I don't know much about mining, so I'm speaking only from information I've seen on TV. What I wonder, and this is only a musing based on pure ignorance of the profession, is why machines can't do more of the dangerous parts? Maybe they do and I just don't know it. It's not that I want to replace people with machines, I know that jobs are very scarce in more rural communities like mining communities. I just seems like we still use people as disposable commodities in this age of technology. I would love to hear from someone who knows more about mining, set me straight, I love to learn. Anyway, I hope that everyone remembers these families in your prayers tonight. Kiss your babies and loved ones an extra time or two today, every day with them is a gift.
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