Sadness From My Home and Decisions Made

Tragedy has struck my home state of West Virginia. Twelve coal miners have died after an explosion trapped 13 miners 260 feet underground. One miner survived and is in the hospital in critical condition.

The really sad part of this is that the family members of the dead miners were initially told that the miners were removed ALIVE. This info was delivered by the command center and cause the families to begin celebrating. When the real news came out, sadness hit like a stone. My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones.

WV is know for coal mines, glass, crafts, and tourism. It is some of the prettiest land you will ever see. It is also one of the poorest states in the union. Coal mining is dangerous work that many West Virginians undertake because it pays better than most jobs available. When I was growing up there, the stories of mine accidents and death were common and the foundation for many ghost stories.

My doctor (the back specialist) called yesterday to ask me what I decided to do about the growing pain I am having. I told him that I would go ahead with the surgery, since my life without it would be painful and most likely very expensive. The surgery is scheduled in a couple of weeks. I will not be allowed to work, but I am going to keep my work laptop handy so I can watch movies and keep up with the news. I hope to be able to post some while I am healing. I will be out of action for about a week, then I have to take it easy for a month or so to give everything time to heal. Please pray that God will guide the surgeon's hands, my recovery time will be short, healing will be complete, and especially keep my wife in your prayers. She will have to wait on me for a while and even though she loves me, this will be tough on her. It will be tough on me too, since I hate being served. I like doing things myself (I think this is part of the lesson God is trying to teach me...to graciously accept help when it is offered).

Remember my post about my mango plant? I should have waited before I took the photo. That evening after being out in the warm sun and fresh air, 4 more leaves began sprouting. The "trunk" of the plant is growing taller and a bit thicker and is look good. I want to buy a nice planter to put it in sometime soon. All this plant talk is so unlike me. I feel like a geek :-) .