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A Times Editorial
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 30, 2002
The nation was in a sense of suspended grief as rescuers struggled tirelessly last week to reach the coal miners trapped 240 feet beneath the ground in rural Pennsylvania. Each passing day added to the incredible odds against the nine men, as the frigid floodwaters around them rose, as the rescuers' drill bit broke, as the engineers calculated the proper spot to punch a route to safety.
When the escape shaft finally broke into the flooded cavern early Sunday, all nine men were alive, and the relief as exhausting as it was unbelievable. When the mine caved in three days earlier, the trapped workers saved their friends by warning a second crew. They roped themselves together, passed around a single corned beef sandwich and huddled together to ward off the numbing cold.
America was transfixed by the character of the men and women in that community. In this day of corporate thievery and free agency, the concept of working together -- of staking your life on someone else's generosity and judgment -- can seem as dated as the work of coal mining itself.
Several of the miners appeared on television Monday to recount what helped them survive the ordeal: They found comfort in their faith. They worried about their families. And, above all else, they kept their cool. They called their rescue a miracle and bragged about eating steak and drinking beer again, of watching Sunday's NASCAR race and of getting a good night's sleep.
It won't take long for more indulgent distractions to capture the nation's attention again. But we will remember the inspiration Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker showed by keeping spirits upbeat at the scene, and the dedication of the rescue workers who were determined to bring the miners out alive. These men work every day in dangerous conditions. All they ask is to live and work another day. During their peril, they stayed focused on their families and their faith, their co-workers and their community. In the process, they allowed the rest of us to focus on what is really important, too.