Fire in the Hole!

What did I tell ya. It's a not-so- daily squeal.
Anyway, I had an interesting day. We went on a trip to the Lackawanna Coal Mine and we actually went down into the mine.

We hopped into the mine car, and an attendant shut the doors. Then we started moving. We were all sitting backwards, going down a rather steep slope into the mine. It didn't go terribly fast, but it was cramped and crowded, and it got darker, and darker and darker. I figured out something about myself: I'm a bit clostrophobic (if thats how you spell it). We got down into the fifty degree mine. It was dimly lit with electric lights, and was extremely damp. I didn't like it at all.

When we came to the first part of the tour, the guide showed how a miner would drill a hole, and place a stick of dynamite into the hole. This was fake dynamite, so don't be alarmed. He pushed down a lever, and sounds of explosion echoed through the mine. I kept myself from screaming, but clung to my friend Krissy, who did scream. Then there was the hand. The guide gave us examples of the dangers of the mines. One section showed a depiction of a cave-in. Out of the rubble a hand was reaching up for help. If that wasn't freaky enough, the fingers started moving! Krissy and I screamed.

There were models of miners everywhere you looked. They each showed what jobs the miners had. They were extremely life-like. It didn't help when the guide pointed to one of the models and said: "There's my dad!". I took it literally. The guide also said at one point: "If something brushes against your legs, its probably a rat as big as a cat.". Some guide. In most cases I wouldn't mind seeing a rat, but one as big as a cat ?

When we were deep in the mine, the guide decided to turn off the electric lights to show us how little the miners could see. He had a miner's hat on. He turned on the light, and covered it to show how little light there was when miners had to use candles. Then, at the boys' request, he turned off all the lights. Krissy and I screamed.

Going back up wasn't any better than going down. Although we were now facing forward, we were going at what I say are break-neck speeds up the incline. When I got back to the surface, I was nearly blinded by the light. When I could see again, Krissy pointed with a trembling finger to the upper right hand corner of the semi-open front. a hand was there. I yelped.
I later found out that it was a fake hand that was ued to let the attendants know where to stop the mine car.

Just a reminder that all the things in this blog are not tall tales. Thank You!!