As I watched football bowl games the last two nights (actually good match ups for a change) at times it seemed like a roller coaster ride as the momentum switched back and forth between the teams. But there was this nagging thought in my head, that would not leave - no matter how exciting the game. There was a constant thought for the miner's trapped below the ground in West Virginia.
Then Tuesday night the roller coaster ride from hell began. After more than a day and a half of waiting and hoping, and finding one man no longer alive, the families of the remaining 12 miners were told the men were alive. The celebration and cheers that ensued were more encompassing than anything ever experienced by anyone present. Yet, very soon, this roller coaster which had climbed to its highest peak, would crash. Only one of the twelve was alive, eleven were not.
I grew up in WV very close to the location of this accident. Men from my home-town died in this tragic accident. As a child, I had many school friends with fathers working in the mines. As a second-grader I remember a mine accident that killed 78. It was years before the bodies could be retrieved. Some remain buried at the site of the accident still today.
Myself, I had felt numb and sad for the last two days. Then I was euphoric. Only to awaken the next morning to a feeling of shock and despair. If I felt this bad, I can not imagine how the families must feel.
It's easy to read and understand how the miscommunication occurred. What's more difficult is the confused, mixed-up emotional feelings associated with celebrating one survival, mourning the death of one along with the roller coaster ride from hell for the family of 11 miners from WV who were told their man was alive only to find out a few hours later, he was not.
These families will be in my thoughts and prayers always.