The Evening Rambler for October 13, 2010

I'm back.

It's been a long time since I've posted, shame on me. There hasn't been a lot on my mind that I've thought was "Porch-worthy", or that wouldn't be much improved by waiting, word processing and editing a time or two. On the other hand, if I ponder all the details and wait too long, I lose enthusiasm for it and nothing ever gets posted. So I have a few comments in mind...and it's time to let fly!

I haven't been just sitting around though; at least not all the time. I've spent quite a bit of time on a garage de-cluttering and cleaning project. It had gotten really bad, stuff had just been dropped on the floor or stacked or leaned against the walls for a long time. So my goal was a makeover. Throw out the obvious trash, recycle what I can, and actually put the shelves to good use so I can find what I need in the garage. One thing that I will enjoy this winter is being able to easily open and close my car door. That should be obvious, I suppose, but it wasn't a reality last winter.

Without boring you with all the details I'll just say that today I cleaned a wall mounted tool case (folding doors that swing open to reveal an expanse of pegboard and hooks), began arranging and putting the tools back, and removed old weatherstripping from the bottom of one garage door. My wife sanded and painted the bottom edge of the door, and after the paint dried we nailed up the new weatherstripping.

The rescue of the miners in Chile has been an ongoing news item and really caught our attention. Today's successful conclusion was inspirational, and I applaud all the smart people who planned where the shafts should be drilled, how the rescue capsule would work, what would need to be done in what order; in short, all the preparations and the operation of the rescue. Every one of these people deserve a bonus. A big bonus.

What I'm still not clear about is how many paramedics went down into the mine and when. My guess is that the first thing that happened - after the capsule was tested - was that one paramedic rode down to where the men were, then the first man was put in the escape capsule and lifted out, and so on. I wouldn't be surprised if someone else was sent down to assist; I haven't read anything about that one way or another.

All that to say, after the last miner was brought up to the surface, were there still paramedics or engineers down there to be brought up? Also, is there anything down there worth retrieving...lights, food, medicine, things of that nature that were sent down? Or did they just get All the people out? Which also begs the question, will that mine, or at least that part of it be closed and sealed?

Now, I've been in caves before; it was interesting and I might even do that again. Maybe.

And I have a lot of respect for miners.

But I would never go down a mine shaft. Well, maybe if Bill Gates gave me half his money on a dare. But maybe not even then.