The Miners of Chile

In the last 48 hours the amazing miracle of the 33 miners in Chile has played itself all over the TV screens around the world.  I think this has to be one of the most amazing stories of good news that I have seen on the news for many years.  

 (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)

The feeling of those miners as they emerged into the world after 70 days underground must have been overwhelming.  They were all different in who they were yet under extreme conditions they came together and formed a team that enabled them to survive for this unbelievable period of time underground.

In many of the news reports they said it was like these men were getting new lives.  They were getting a second chance at life after an experience that should have killed them.  I can only imagine the uplift in their spirits as they emerged from the rescue capsule and stood in the fresh air.  It was almost poetic in the fact that the rescue capsule in some ways resembled a coffin.  They were freed from deep within the earth by riding this coffin almost one half mile to the surface.

One of the interesting things about the mine rescue is how these men departed for work one day with all the normal flaws and quirks of everyone.  After 70 days underground they have been reborn and the image that we see of them is that all their flaws and quirks have been washed away and they have been “reborn”.

To me this has been one of the best “feel-good” stories of news that has come about for years.  I hope the future for these men will continue to have the solidarity and comraderie that they built underground.

At long last the weekend is just around the corner.  Yay!  I managed to work from home today instead of making the mind-numbing daily driver to Boulder.  Since I had a day working from home I managed to get an appointment to donate platelets.  It wasn’t too bad of a donation as they could only take 1 unit of platelets off of me as my platelet count was only 214,000.  My normal platelet count runs anywhere from 200,000 to 250,000.  (Normal platelet count for the whole population is 150,000 to 440,000)  But when I am down near the lower end of the range they usually only take one unit as opposed to two.  Donation time for one unit of platelets takes about 1 hour for me.  Whenever my platelet count is above 220,000 they normal take 2 units of platelets which takes from 2 - 2.5 hours.  That stinks because by the time I am done with a donation of that length I have to pee like a race horse!

Zack was supposed to have a swimming lesson after school but we had a scheduling mix-up with his instructor.  I had this Thursday and next Thursday on the schedule while she had next Thursday and the following Thursday.  Oh well – we got it straightened out and he will have a lesson the next two Thursdays.

No major plans for the weekend – I had originally planned that we were going to go to the mountains, but instead have decided to stay here and work around the house.  I found out from my brother that my sister-in-law Carolyn (my brother Paul's wife) is coming into town on Sunday for a business meeting on Monday, so depending upon what time she arrives we might all get together.

I do have a couple of big projects planned for the weekend.  One big project I plan to do is clean as much of the garage as possible.  I really want to be able to get a second car into the garage by the end of October.  Additionally, I am planning on taking my digital camera and doing a "light study" from Bluffs Regional Park in Lone Tree.  My plan is to take pictures from the top of the Bluff at sunrise, mid-day, and sunset.  I think the difference in the light will present a wonderful contrast in the pictures.  It should be interesting and fun to do!

I hope everyone had a great Thursday!

Thanks and peace to all! ~ J.