Yes I'm a Coal Miner's Wife

Homer Hickam speaking of the 12 killed at Sago in 2006: "We are proud of who we are. We stand up for what we believe. We keep our families together. We trust in god. But rely on ourselves. By adhering to these four simple approaches to life, they were a people who were not afraid to do what had to be done. To mine the deep coal and to do it with integrity and honor. "

I can give you tons of facts and numbers. Numbers that I use to make myself sleep better; In 1900 the death rate was .33% and in 2007 it was just .02%. Numbers that should make you care; 50% of the electricity used by Americans alone comes from coal. Those are just numbers though. They don't explain how I feel or how we live. The coal industry saved us and that's the truth. There are not many opportunities here and the ones that do exist are not all that lucrative. My husband drove an hour to work each day and worked hard in a sawmill for 10 hours to then turn around and drive an hour back home for very little pay. Yes, a college education gets you a better job but not a job around here. It still would mean moving or an even longer commute. Yes, we could simply move but we love this community. It is where we both grew up and where we wanted to raise our kids. He gave up many chances to go into the mines through the years because we just weren't sure that we could handle the life. Now that seems so foolish. He loves what he does even though it is dangerous at times. It is hard for me knowing that every time he goes he is at risk but it is no more risk than he was taking on a 2 hour commute every day (figure up the statistics). We no longer have to worry about losing everything that we have by tomorrow though, we don't struggle from day to day, we can breathe easy and live a decent life. I am very proud of my husband and what he does. There are many people around here that hate the coal industry and often they go to far. They have called us Coal Hoes because apparently letting your husband provide for you so that you can stay home with your kids means you are letting him buy you. I've had substitute teachers tell my kids that any one who works in "those mountains" doesn't care about them and is killing them. This may not be a great comparison and I may catch some heat for it but it is the closest thing I can think of. No matter how much you disagree with the war, you don't condemn the soldier for following orders. You may disagree with the tactics used in coal mining but don't condemn the men who go back into that black hole everyday. They are all just doing their part.