re: #262 Citizen K

Awaiting Trump’s coal comeback, miners reject retraining

The delusion is strong, and damaging.

I for the life of me don’t get these guys. You see, my grandfather was the son of a miner. Grandpa when he dropped out of high school tried the mines out like his Dad had. He hated it. When he got home from the Army in 1952-53, he went to trade school to learn how to become a bricklayer. As far as I know, none of his brothers finished their careers as coal miners and for Grandpa, it was a good decision, he lived to be 79 years old and all his grandchildren be born. And my grandmother also was the child of a coal miner. She’s still with us. She doesn’t get the nostagia for the mines. She remembers her Dad who died at the age of 63, a few years younger than my Dad is now in fact having a difficult time walking at the time. The tragedy of it is, Great Grandpa was very healthy towards the end other than his lungs. I have no doubt had he worked some place other than a coal mine, he would have like his brother and father lived a long and healthy life. I probably would have never met him still since he would have been 100 years old the I was born but he would have definitely gotten to know my mom and her brother.