Ponderings on Tragedy

On this Friday morning I am thinking about "The Week In Review". This has been a strange five days. I certainly feel so sad for the families of the miners who died at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, WV. We have 25 miners dead and 4 who have not been located. The explosion was on Monday, April 5, 2010, around 3 PM. Amazing efforts are being made to find the four and; hopefully, by some miracle, they may have been able to enter one of the safety chambers. As I am writing this blog, the search teams have now been able to reenter the mine after a day of frustration yesterday when the teams had to be pulled from the mine due to unsafe gas levels.

The families of miners are among the strongest and devoted folks that I know. The effects on the families and region are so far reaching. I talked yesterday to our friend, Helen Kraft, who lives in Bloomingrose, WV. Helen lost her grandson, Jason, in the explosion. Jason's family is one of the fortunate ones since he was one of only seven whose bodies were recovered after the accident. Search teams will be removing the other miners as soon as the rescue operation becomes a recovery one.

Jason Atkins was born and raised in Boone County, near the coal mine where he lost his life, said his father-in-law, Rick Withers. The 25-year-old miner and his 28-year-old wife, Amanda met when they were students at West Virginia Tech and got married in 2008, Withers said. Amanda Atkins could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Withers said he was not sure when Atkins began working at the mine. "He was an hourly guy," Withers said. Atkins played second base on his high school and college baseball teams, but left West Virginia Tech without graduating, Withers said. He enjoyed playing golf.

Glenville State College also lost a graduate who was working in the mines at the time of the explosion. Roosevelt Lynch was a gentle man.

May I say that Governor Manchin is doing a great job of coordinating efforts. He has worked diligently during this crisis.

In the midst of this all this sadness, the spring weather seemed to remind us that we are blessed and need to appreciate each day that we "are above grass". The show of blossoms this week was most impressive. I took a short video of the side garden, but Blogger did not let me upload the critter. Will try again later. It has been in the 80's and 90's during the first of this week. Yesterday rain arrived and the cold front dropped the temperatures. This morning it is currently 39 degrees.

I am off to Spencer to pick up Mom Meads. Judy and I are taking her this evening to the performance on the GSC campus of the National Symphony. Have a great day and appreciate your blessings.