Down in the Mine (written July 18,2013 after hearing pleas of a young adult daughter of a wonderful caring miner who died in PA in a mine)

I have watched very little television for months but saw the Fourth of July DC music and fireworks. Then I decided to see if there was some CT news about the holiday. Sadly early on there was an announcement about the loss of male youth who had gone to swim late at night at pool that was fenced off with 19 friends. The camera was not working due to the heat...and clearly without adult supervision precautions were not taken. The police chief asked that people not break into fenced off pools and such, especially not at night even with a group. His friends realized only after they had left the pool that he was missing. He was found at the bottom of the pool after they called for help and had returned to look for their friend. How very hard to have such a turn of events. Many posts about our late son Kaelan sound a bit familiar, but the theme of swimming in approved areas and with responsible oversight in safe areas and a close watch is similar. Other dangerous situations also need to be avoided if possible.

Another news update is that the soccer team trapped on the other side of the world in mines that had flooded are alive but need to be rescued..and that's not going to be easy. We can all glean lessons for making better plans and Not Doing Cool Spontaneous Things without a little more of a game plan to check for safety, get tips and permission from adults in charge such as parents and to be willing to say, "I need time to think about it for a bit.." and maybe opt out.