I know nothing about mining. I’ve been in a few caves, and even the local gypsum mine, but my experience is that of a suburban-urban air breathing nerd who thinks of caves and quarries as the place where gnomes and dwarves live.
This is why the recent tragedies in the mining communities of West Virgina are not events with which I can identify. Plus, I’ve never lived in a place where everyone has the same job – the job that their fathers, grandfathers, and great grandfathers had.
The most dangerous job my dad ever had was cleaning up the glass after naughty teenagers broke into our church basement.