33 Miners in an RV

If you've been watching the news lately, you may have heard about some miners that are trapped in an RV. Well, actually they aren't in an RV at all. They're trapped in a mine under the Atacama Desert in Chile. The area in which they are enclosed is approximately 550 square feet, just a bit bigger than the RV in which I am enclosed in whilst writing this paper. Thus, I am in a unique position to relate to those miners who are trapped down there. With 33 people in 550 square feet, that gives each person just over 16 square feet each. That's about the size of the slide I'm sitting in to write this post. Chile officials have contacted submarine specialists to learn about how people should stay in shape while trapped in such a small space. They have also met with NASA specialists on how to take care of the miner's psychiatric needs. I think that might be going a little far. I sleep in a 24 square foot box every night and I don't need psychiatric help so far as I know *eyebrow twitches*.

So I do share many similarities with these trapped miners. The difference? I'm sharing this space with three other people and two dogs (one of which can take up lot of room, let me assure you), whereas these miners share that same space with 33 other unshowering people for about four months, or until a rescue tunnel can be dug. Even I have problems with just three other people. For one, my little brother has the top bunk. He can't just leap out of his bed every morning, however, because that would shake the whole trailer like we just had a 10.0 earthquake. So he has to step down onto my bed and, consequently, onto me as well (not too delicately I might add). Even my dogs are kind of hard to bear in close quarters. For example. Ginger, the biggest, gets up at exactly 4:00 a.m. every morning and starts running around the house and barking to try to wake us up so we can feed her. If that doesn't work she turns to me (of course) and licks my face. The end to every single dream I have ever had is being drowned because I have a dog that has enough slobber to run a City Public Water system for two hours.


Another difference is that as I look around I have several comforts to make living in a small space much more comfortable. For example a tv, a radio, a computer on which I am furiously typing in order to go to the library, and (probably most important of all) a toilet. With a sewer hose waiting to take any unsightly matter out of sight and out of mind. Not exactly out of smell, but that's beside the point. The miners have no such comforts. I was watching the news report and specifically saw a box of Huggees diapers being passed down through the supplies hole. *shudders* I really hope you're not eating while you're reading this post.

Despite these small (and, in one case, disgusting) differences, I just thought those miners down there having some quality time with their unshowered buddies might feel a little better knowing that someone has had experience in that same circumstance and has turned out ok.....so far.