The toughness of the human spirit.

I’m visiting the coal mines. Daily. Have to. To catch the spirit of Carbonia. Where I’m living this winter. On the island of Sardinia. In the Mediterranean Sea. Carbonia exists. Because of coal. A new modern city.  Created at the behest of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. In the late 1930s. A model city. Designed exclusively for the mining of coal. And that was Carbonia’s lifeblood. Until the 1970s. When the mines closed. But the buildings. The mine shafts. The sprawling grounds. It’s all still there. A ghost mine, of sorts. With a museum. Containing artifacts and pictures. From the mining days. I’ve been down into the mines. The tunnels. Crouched like a coal miner. Wearing a hard hat. But mostly, I’ve been above ground. Trying to commune with miners long gone. But their spirits still linger. The photos come alive. I see the miners. In action. Not exactly the best way to make a living. Unhealthy. Many miners died before their time. With black lung disease. A terrible shame. But still, they savored life. One can see it. In their faces. A happy glow. A labor of love. Or is it a love of labor? Reminds me of Sisyphus. Pushing a rock up a hill. Only to have it fall back before reaching the top. And going after it. Time and again. Labor. Labor. Labor. It ain’t all bad. Brings one close to the Earth. Another way to savor life. Despite the travail. Makes me wonder. About the perseverance of the human spirit.  –Jim Broede