When I was in 10th grade, my American Studies teacher showed us a movie, The Big Carnival (later renamed Ace In the Hole). It was an old movie (black and white! Kirk Douglas! Ew! Groady!) and Mr. Stevens was enchanted by the way Kirk struck a match with the typewriter carriage. (Oh...just look it up, kids. Carriage Return. Right after Carbon Paper in the Big Book of Quaintness.)
The reason this movie related to American Studies class was because we were studying media, and specifically, Floyd Collins. On the up side, I still remember clearly Floyd Collins and how he was trapped in a cave-in. On the downside, I'm not sure how much is fiction. Did they decide to dig Floyd out from the top of the mountain down so it would take longer and earn the town more tourist money? Did Floyd have a big speech right before he died? Did the journalist who told his tale look like Kirk Douglas?
I think of that movie whenever there is yet another mining disaster. And - and I want you to know I am ashamed of how disgusting I am - I stay up all night watching what I think of as "The Miner Show." The best episode ever of The Miner Show was the very special Quecreek episode. That was the one that lasted till Geraldo Rivera went out to get dinner, and nine miners were rescued while CNN played the Breaking News logo every five minutes whenever a miner came up, and Jeff Flock took over for Geraldo and I fell in love with him because he was like a big puppy chasing his tail and jumping all over the allegedly sincere journalists. Like Geraldo.
Of course, the Sago Mine episode was not fun. I stayed up expecting to see twelve back-to-back Breaking News logos, but they let me down. Luckily, I stuck with CNN, because while Fox can punch up a crisis with rumors, they called this one all wrong. At least Anderson Cooper didn't quite believe his source and said all twelve miners were "allegedly" saved. I see CNN is rerunning this episode tonight.
This current Utah episode about is running overly long, and now CNN is suggesting the miners are being left to die because one complained about the safety conditions in the very level of the mine they are thought to be in. Jacking up the drama? Pandering to those of us who treat human tragedy as entertainment?
All I can say is there had better be a very happy ending to this episode.
I pray I'm wrong and there will be a happy ending, but too much time has passed for me to be optimistic.
Posted by: Friend #3 | August 12, 2007 at 08:58 AM
Yep. I hope they weren't stuck trying to get out through a tunnel when an aftershock got them.
Strangely, Mom not only remembered seeing Ace In the Hole / The Big Carnival in the theater, but she can still sing the song the crowd sang to the 'Floyd Collins' character.
Posted by: TheQueen | August 12, 2007 at 10:57 PM
Yes, I too am holding onto hope, but it's getting harder as each day passes.
Posted by: sue | August 13, 2007 at 11:04 AM
Never having been entombed in a mountain, I'm just trying to imagine whether you could hear all that drilling. If you could, wouldn't you do everything in your power to be heard during moments of silence? It doesn't bode well that they've heard and seen nothing. Maybe this third hole will provide answers.
I'm not terribly optimistic at this point, and it's not sounding entirely safe for potential rescuers. I hate to say it, but how much risk should they incur?
Posted by: Caroline | August 13, 2007 at 12:40 PM
sue - Yes, I keep thinking they'll be found under that 2 ft of rubble at the bottom of the cavern. OR (wouldn't this be cool) maybe they're just hiding out to draw attention to the hazards of mining.
Caroline - I'm thinking the third hold is so they can send someone down with a shovel. Sad.
Posted by: TheQueen | August 13, 2007 at 08:52 PM