Blond haired moppets only need apply
If they were blond haired and blued eyed and cute (no offence guys) Todd Russell and Brant Webb would have the entire (western) world obsessing over their fate and following progress by the minute. If they were Americans we would have news of the progress of their rescue fed to us at the top of every news bulletin with major developments interrupting normal scheduling. As it is they get tacked onto the fag end of news bulletins and make a few column inches buried deep within the pages of the paper.
But then stock images of Todd Russell and Brant Webb show two big hairy thirty-something year old Tasmanian miners.
They might have been blond haired moppets once upon a time but now even their kids appear largely to have outgrown that phase. Todd Russell and Brant Webb are prime Aussie Beef, or they were when the photos were taken.
As I write Todd and Brant are in their thirteenth day in a three metre long cage that isn’t tall enough for them to stand in, a kilometre below ground.
Todd and Brant aren’t emulating that drip David Blaine. They’re gold miners who’ve been trapped below a rock fall since a small earth tremor on April 25 that killed a third member of their team.
By the time the body of their colleague Larry Knight was retrieved I was assuming the worst but these guys survived on a snack bar and seepage for days until a microphone detected their voices. Since then a painstakingly slow rescue mission has been underway and by all accounts the spirits and condition of the two survivors are remarkably good.
A utility pipe has reached them and the guys have been receiving rations, clothing, bedding and material to break the monotony, though sadly for the two men this last has been described by the company as ‘suitable’ (so that’s not Penthouse or Pot Holer’s Monthly at a guess). Both are insisting that they be allowed to walk to ‘freedom’ while one has reportedly demanded the job classifieds; in retaliation for which his boss has threatened to sack him for ‘lying down on the job’. Notwithstanding the new IR climate a largish claim for overtime is in the offing. I guess you have to be Australian.
At 9:23 on Friday Saturday night (6 May) the two men had been trapped for 264 hours. I’m lousy with time differences but I reckon now that’s 272 hours and counting. I’m off to bed soon and overnight the rescue will move into its most critical phase as the bored tunnel is completed by hand.
Preparations for an honour guard to salute the two men as they’re taken from the mine to a hospital for a check up (accompanied by the wives and children with whom they’ve been reunited) are in place.
If I have posted this and you read this before the outcome is known cross your fingers or say a prayer or do both or do what ever it is you do in these situations, because while they may not be blond haired moppets they're still worth it -IMHO.
If you feel inclined or simply intrigued you can get more information on this story via The Age a link for which is provided, or any other Australian media outlet as the story dominates domestic media.
But then stock images of Todd Russell and Brant Webb show two big hairy thirty-something year old Tasmanian miners.
They might have been blond haired moppets once upon a time but now even their kids appear largely to have outgrown that phase. Todd Russell and Brant Webb are prime Aussie Beef, or they were when the photos were taken.
As I write Todd and Brant are in their thirteenth day in a three metre long cage that isn’t tall enough for them to stand in, a kilometre below ground.
Todd and Brant aren’t emulating that drip David Blaine. They’re gold miners who’ve been trapped below a rock fall since a small earth tremor on April 25 that killed a third member of their team.
By the time the body of their colleague Larry Knight was retrieved I was assuming the worst but these guys survived on a snack bar and seepage for days until a microphone detected their voices. Since then a painstakingly slow rescue mission has been underway and by all accounts the spirits and condition of the two survivors are remarkably good.
A utility pipe has reached them and the guys have been receiving rations, clothing, bedding and material to break the monotony, though sadly for the two men this last has been described by the company as ‘suitable’ (so that’s not Penthouse or Pot Holer’s Monthly at a guess). Both are insisting that they be allowed to walk to ‘freedom’ while one has reportedly demanded the job classifieds; in retaliation for which his boss has threatened to sack him for ‘lying down on the job’. Notwithstanding the new IR climate a largish claim for overtime is in the offing. I guess you have to be Australian.
At 9:23 on Friday Saturday night (6 May) the two men had been trapped for 264 hours. I’m lousy with time differences but I reckon now that’s 272 hours and counting. I’m off to bed soon and overnight the rescue will move into its most critical phase as the bored tunnel is completed by hand.
Preparations for an honour guard to salute the two men as they’re taken from the mine to a hospital for a check up (accompanied by the wives and children with whom they’ve been reunited) are in place.
If I have posted this and you read this before the outcome is known cross your fingers or say a prayer or do both or do what ever it is you do in these situations, because while they may not be blond haired moppets they're still worth it -IMHO.
If you feel inclined or simply intrigued you can get more information on this story via The Age a link for which is provided, or any other Australian media outlet as the story dominates domestic media.
posted by Enyo @ 11:54 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home