Paying Respects

Before I moved to West Virginia, I only had a vague idea where it was on the map. And up until the news broke out last week about the 13 miners trapped underground.. I'm sure there are people who didn't even know this state existed. It's unfortunate that it has to take a tragedy blasted on CNN to force minds to step outside their own little bubbles..

The mine that exploded and killed the 12 miners are about 2 hours away from where we live.. and like anywhere else, life goes on and the mood's gotten somewhat better (using the term loosely) since they announced the unsuccessful rescue last week. As flags continue to fly at half-staff, many signs in front of businesses had changed from grief for the dead miners to prayers for the sole survivor. But most people still express a sense of loss.. even if they don't know anyone who died personally. What I learned quickly when I moved here is that this is a mining town.. if you didn't mine, or your father didn't mine, you knew someone who did.