My name's Thomas Johnson. I've been in coal mining since 1979. I've been working at Bowie Resources since August 3rd in 1998. At first when you were hired, back in '79, they usually put you out buy doing the grunt work, setting timber and support work and whatnot. And then about six months later is when they sent us to the face, and you were down there actually mining the coal. You can feel boxed in down here, I guess. I think I've done it long enough, I don't even think about it anymore. I just come down, and it's just a road down in a hole to me. You know, come down, do your job and get back out to support your family.
Then I eventually got put on the continuous miner, and I’ve done that for about seven years, and that was real interesting,
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You were completely drained after an eight-hour shift because of the adrenaline rushes. I mean, I don't know, you could have called us adrenaline junkies at one time, I guess, 'cause we kept coming back and doing it again, and there was days you brushed death a couple times a day down digging the coal and pulling the pillars and pulling the pillars. And you'd stay at a pillar until you made a cave. Some days they'd chase your butt right out of there because you were just so frightened. It was the scariest moments of my life, just knowing you might not ever see your family again. I have 5 kids and a beautiful wife back home, if I ain’t see them again that’d be devastating. That’s what you put on the line though, everytime you come back into this black hole. There's no question mining is a dangerous occupation, but it doesn't have to be unsafe. Our culture has changed to the point where it's not acceptable to get hurt or killed on the job, so we've made regulations to help prevent it. If you just do things the way you're supposed to, there's a good chance of finishing out a long career in the mining industry, and you can look forward to a good