I've been in a working coal mine. It's a scary place and even more creepy when you get down there knowing that you are almost a mile below the surface of the earth.
The mine management issued us specially treated, antistatic, cotton clothes, to include underwear, while we toured the mine. It was in 1982. I was in a mobile radar unit in Germany and we had deployed to a coal mining region near Dortmund. Our Radar was atop a slag hill overlooking the area. Near the end of our three week deployment, the mine operator invited our unit to tour the mine. We were escorted to a locker room, given our clothes and a helmet with a lantern.
We were escorted to the elevator and and the a long walk down a tunnel until we reached the area they were mining the coal. As we passed the miners, we kept hearing the phrase "Glück auf!" as miners passed each other in the mine.
When we got back to the mine, we asked our host what that meant. He said there was no good translation and no one is quite sure where or when the phrase started, but essently meant "luck up" or essentially, luck getting up from the mine. You don't go out of the mine, you go up.
So to the six miners in Utah and to their families, "Glück auf!" Coal mining is a dangerous profession. I'm glad there are men willing to face those dangers. I certainly hope they find them alive and well.
VW
I admit, I'm usually not a story follower but I have been tracking this since yesterday, hitting my refresh button on my browser whenever work permits and at home.
I have a pretty good case of claustaphobia myself and could never work in a mine, maybe thats why I'm following it so close.
I'm hoping for the best
Posted by: Just another rpeublican | Thursday, August 09, 2007 at 21:45
I don't know if its because I'm more aware of the issues in the past 10 years as I've gotten older or what, but it seems in that time there has been a lot of stories of miners caught in a mine collapse. Is this coincidence or has the mining industry, in cutting corners in the budget to maximize profit, let safety standards slip?
Posted by: canuckistani | Saturday, August 11, 2007 at 10:30