Everyone is relieved that the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped by an underground cave-in have been found alive. At the same time it is frightening to think of the ordeal ahead of them. It is estimated that it may take until Christmas to drill a tunnel large enough to lift them, one at a time, out of their rock walled prison 2300 feet underground.
It is very, very difficult to imagine what this must be like, starting with the depth of the underground chamber. How far 2300 feet? It’s the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building stacked one on top of the other.
The space they occupy – how small? It’s 530 square feet, described as the size of a studio apartment. Oddly, you can buy a party tent that is roughly that size on Amazon for $530 dollars.
The notes suggest you use this canopy for a wedding reception or as a carport. There’s no mention of what it would be like as a dark, hot waiting room for 33 human beings for four months straight. I doubt that most wedding guests would stand for it, even with the mimosas and free hors d’œuvres.
God help these miners and their families. I pray they all survive and are mentally healthy when they emerge, and that their resilience is an inspiration to the world.
It would also be nice if they could receive royalties for the various ways their story will be told. People trapped underground at their jobs for 16 weeks shouldn’t have to go back to work, ever. No doubt there is already talk of a reality show to mimic this catastrophe, though I suspect even the publicity hounds who populate our network airwaves would never agree to submit to this level of extreme mental torture.
A playwright somewhere could already be at work on a first draft of the stage version, though there are clear obstacles. Most theaters can’t afford to put on a 33 character show and it would be difficult for 11 actors to do triple roles. Even if they could, blocking would be a nightmare, and how long would it take to get through the happy ending scene with each man getting hoisted, one after the other, into the fly space above the stage? And didn’t they already do that with Grizabella in Cats? The critics would yawn and call it derivative, no doubt.
A major motion picture is more likely. Surely there are 33 “A list” actors in Hollywood who would love to be drenched in fake sweat while painting a picture of emotional despair and the ultimate triumph of human will over adversity. That’s Oscar grade material. The studio executives would work their usual mischief, tweaking the story to make it palatable for a U.S. audience. For instance, it would be necessary to have some of the miners be starlets whose coveralls were shredded almost to bits by the violent air blast that washed over them after the underground rock slide. And one of these female miners might have to be pregnant. With a due date that coincides with the estimated Moment Of Rescue. But you know how that’s going to turn out. Rescuers won’t be able to lift her to the surface while she’s in labor, so the more cowardly characters (Jude Law, Tilda Swinton, William H. Macy) opt to leave her underground even though some terrible danger (floodwaters, earthquake, cave bears) approaches. The noblest miners (Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep) elect to stay behind and face the worst of it in order to stand guard over mom (Anjelina Jolie) and her baby, Pepito (a Jolie-Pitt child yet to be named).
Let’s hope for a story that’s genuinely happy enough to be mishandled this way.
Name your favorite disaster movie.
Trail Baboon 
Good Morning to All,
I’m suprised that I can even remember the name of a disaster movie, but I guess there are some famous ones, like the one about the Titanic, that we all know. The one that came to me first is The Poseiden Adventure. I think this is the one that centers around escaping from a sunken ship by traveling through passage ways that are filling up with water. For some reason, that story really held my attention.
I guess I can identify with people trying to get out of small enclosed spaces in movies or in real life because I don’t do well in such places. I don’t like being in these places even when they are safe. I certainly hope there is a happy ending for the Chilean miners.
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I’ll see any movie with William H. Macy in it and that’s a damn fact!
(The only reason I posted way up here is for the attention.)
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Got mine.
Amen to Macy, well, he made some real dogs lately, but other than those . . .
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I’d like to delay responding, but my internet connection is so wonky I don’t have the luxury of delaying. Since it is working this moment, I’ll have to use it. I’ve just learned that threatening a WiFi router isn’t a sure way to make it behave.
I think 99% of disaster movies are movie disasters, so I’ll cheerfully vote for my two all-time favorite disaster movies: Tremors and Airplane! I can’t decide which is better.
Have a lovely day, all. I hope I can come back and enjoy your answers to this important question.
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I love Tremors – the whole series! They are so cheesy! One of my favorite ways to cheer myself up when I’ve fallen into a funk, usually about mid-January…
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My favorite disaster story is a book, “Blizzard.” Some evil empire finds a way to make snow and blankets the entire East Coast with the white stuff paralyzing all of the country. I read it before I moved to Minnesota and learned that you can survive in spite of drifts.
Sorry for the scary thought on such a gorgeous summer day.
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And cue the Ballad of Harriet Miner-makes me cry EVERY SINGLE TIME!
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Rise and Shine Babooners:
Steve, may the force be with your internet. You have my sympathy. It is your own little micro disaster. We get our new service on Friday. Hope it works better than what we have.
I avoid most disaster movies, because my own life has had just enough real disasters, that I don’t find it entertaining to watch a contrived disaster. That said, my favorite in retrospect, is Jaws. Any time it is shown as an oldie, I love to watch it, but not because of the “disaster.” My favorite elements are as follows:
Watching the “wooden-ness” of the fake shark. It no longer looks real. How could that have scared us?
The beach–always fun.
Richard Dreyfuss’ zit–he apparently had an acne attack because in some scenes he has a huge zit near his chin, poorly covered by makeup. It shows up in some scenes and not in others, giving a clue about the order of shooting the movie scenes.
The music, which remains truly great.
Now off to the day. Hope it is not a disaster!
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Like Jim, I don’t do confinement. I used to get anxious for the s&h before he was born, trapped in that tight, dark place-no wonder he had to get out of there early.
Dale, you have got me thinking about that script. I’ve worked on operas with casts of well over 100, so a 33 man opera seems really doable. I also once worked on a 10 person production of Pacific Overtures-looks like the original cast was 22, most playing multiple roles. It was pretty great, and the costume changes were as entertaining to watch as the show on stage.
I’m thinking this could be done with maybe 3-5 people-some of the roles would have to also be the people up top. Casting about in my mind for a playwright-
Ok, I think I now have my claustrophobia under control now-what was the question?
Don’t do disaster movies myself. For some strange reason, our parents took us to Airport when that first came out. I see according to Wikipedia I would have been 8.
No wonder I hate flying.
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Madislandgirl, I hope your attack of claustrophobia wasn’t too bad. My biggest fear is places with narrow openings that are entered by crawling such as the crawl space under a house. I can imagine all kinds of bad things happening in these places.
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Flying isn’t so bad. Crashing, though, really really sucks.
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lifeboat
tallulah bankhead, kind of twelve angry men in a boat. haven’t thought about it in years.
the average double garage is about 500 sq feet. 33 is about the max occupancy but for 3 4 montha. makes me think about how the visit form the relatives gets old after 3 or 4 days. what are yu going to do with the guy who whines all day or cracks his knuckles all day long. with that many guys can you find room to stretch out? even 15 minutes a day if you take turns. now that they are able to lower food and drink cna they also lower a bag to take out the human waste. can you imagine 33 times 120 days in the corner. makes my eyes burn with methane. what would you ask for in the sardine can set up like this? a long long antenna and a radio? send down batteries every day. how would you all agree on the channel.
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Our house is 800 sq. ft. I don’t like to run the air during the summer, because I hate having to be closed in that much more than I hate sweating (but somehow, this bothers me not a bit in winter and seems cozy-go figure). I’m thinking 33 is just a bit over the number of people I work with, most of whom are indeed Spanish speaking. Like them, but having them all over for between now and Christmas –not so much.
Send me lots of yarn, a set of circular needles and an iPod loaded with all the recorded books I can’t seem to get around to reading. It’s the only way I can see that I would ever get all the Christmas knitting I’d like to do done on time. Heck, I might even get a couple of quilts done for next year’s State Fair.
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Those poor miners! I hope they never have to work in a mine again. That would be awful! I’m sort of claustrophobic (with small spaces and crowds), so there’s no way I’d be able to stay sane in a small room with 32 other people. I wish them luck.
My favorite disaster movie has to be The Day After Tomorrow. I don’t know why, but the idea of half the world covered in snow appeals to me. Especially on those 90 degree days. If it weren’t so far away, I’d move to Alaska. I think I’d love it there. There’s also the added bonus of getting to watch Jake Gyllenhaal 🙂
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Pardon me for having all the class of a fifth grader, but I wonder how they handle bathroom issues down there in that little hole. They must have food and water, or maybe those can be piped down to them. But 33 guys can’t just “hold it” for four months. Maybe the communication hole is big enough to send down some deodorant sticks, but they can’t send down a dozen porta potties very well.
Inquiring minds want to know.
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Hail, Babooners! Beautiful morning in Zim. I am appreciating the wide open yards that surround our house – not even a fence. Mike, can you play “Don’t Fence Me In”?
Can hardly think about the difficulties the Chilean miners are facing. Praying those who are organizing their rescue meet no problems, and actually can start moving the miners prior to the projected date.
Can’t do disaster movies – couldn’t even do Rin Tin Tin as a kid; hid behind Mom’s chair and peeked around the corner. But I do remember”O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and George Clooney’s character saying, “We’re in a tight spot! We’re in a tight spot” while he pats his hair net in a burning barn. Mike – got any tunes from that movie on hand?
Guess music is an absolute necessity for me to handle any of life’s troubles. Hope someone is piping some to the miners.
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“Damn! We’re in a tight spot!” “How’s my hair?” “I’m a Dapper Dan Man!”
I love that movie – one of my all-time favorites 🙂
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“Holy split infinitives, Batman!” I should have said: … George Clooney with a hairnet on his head, yelling, “We’re in a tight spot! We’re in a tight spot” while trying to escape a burning barn.
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“My hair!”
One of my favorites too…
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Morning–
I see some of us are on the same page– everyone poops, to steal the book title, and it’s gotta go somewhere… …. just….. …. yeah. I’ve shoveled, forked and scooped a lot of manure in my day… but didn’t store it in the garage either.
One report I read said they had some machinery down there; had dug for water and so forth… so perhaps they can dig a latrine?
I don’t watch Disaster movies either… Was supposed to go to ‘Jaws’ with my brother and his girlfriend when it first came out in theaters but the show was sold out and we didn’t go. Still haven’t seen the whole thing, just clips on TV. Haven’t seen ‘Titanic’. I may have seen ‘The Poseiden Adventure’ on TV… but I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite…
And I’m not claustrophobic… but I do like being outdoors and having fresh air.
Road trip to Minneapolis today! I’ll wave as I drive by–
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Disaster movies are not my thing. Found myself at “Poseidon” (a questionable remake of “Poseidon Adventure”). Stellar cast, fabulous costumes and set. Not worth the couple hours of my time. Sorry Kurt Russel and Richard Dreyfus. I want my two hours back. (And while I’m making requests for the return of time, I’ll put in a future request for 16 weeks back for each of the miners. With extra fresh air and clean water.)
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Since waste management is on everyone’s mind, I have to wonder-what do they do on the Space Station? Please oh please don’t tell me they are jettisoning it out into the space my planet is flying through.
I suppose they might be incinerating it all.
If these guys are in a mine, I am thinking they are in solid rock, and even with equipment, you can’t really do a latrine in solid rock, can you?
Obviously, they have to be venting OUT the CO2, so the methane could be getting out that way.
Nice to know you are such a practical group.
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Dale will know. I’m fuzzy about the fate of solids, but in the new space lab I think they are recycling the wet stuff to make fresh water of it so it can be consumed again. I’m sure the time will come when all right-thinking households will do the same down here on earth. I can’t wait.
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Un-like.
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fudge brownies anyone?
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My understanding is that the “wet stuff” is vented into space. The other stuff is stored in some kind of perforated bag that is then “exposed” to the vacuum of space, which makes it exceedingly dry, just like this official NASA explanation.
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I have a strong suspicion that if the apocalypse were to come, Baboons could gather and create a functioning village and survive for years. Practical and possessing a variety of useful skills.
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I don’t do disaster movies either. I deal with so many human disasters in my work that I can’t stand suspense in movies or in my personal life these days. Its my first day back at work since leaving on vacation, and I wisely didn’t schedule any clients. I have to partipate in a fund raiser “Jail and Bail” for Easter Seals from 11-12 and raise money to bail myself out of the Pizza Ranch. Woo-hoo!
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If you’re not bailed out maybe you can spend the time relaxing in Pizza Ranch and trying to find salad on the salad bar.
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1. Never been to a disaster movie that I know of, but been to many movies that were disasters. Overacting is beyond my tolerance. Overacting in the last few decades is a result of . . . well, I will not say whom, mumble, mumble.
2. My son recommended Eat, Pray, Love, which amazes me, and it is a disaster by the opinion of most attenders according a couple of websites. We will see.
2. I , of course, as per my explanation of yesterday, have claustrophobia.
3. They always call me to do the bail yourself out of jail, I have no idea where they even get my name. I know about three people I could call, all of whom would have been quickly called by other people. And this is not done from a restuarant.
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We are a like-minded bunch of baboons, indeed.
“It would also be nice if they could receive royalties for the various ways their story will be told. People trapped underground at their jobs for 16 weeks shouldn’t have to go back to work, ever.” You have a wonderful sense of justice, Dale. I love that.
I’m not much into disaster movies either, but I will say that the Titanic story is fascinating history. I’ve seen the recent movie and thought it was just okay. The real story seems much more riveting and heartbreaking. If I was on the Titanic, I would have been in the band.
I wondered the same things about 33 people living in a small space for so long. I thought of the same questions that some of you have raised. Hm. It’s likely that those resourceful miners have thought up solutions for some of their difficulties – like digging a latrine. Maybe some disinfectant can be lowered to them with food. I’d be very concerned about the psycho-social aspects about the situation. If I was stuck 2,000 feet below the surface of the earth with my coworkers until Christmas, I tell you now that I would die. I know I couldn’t do it. I need air, sunlight, books and exercise. I need rest and privacy to clear my mind and heart. I think that many people could not fail to get on one anothers’ nerves in a space that small for that long. I wish them the very best and hope they can be rescued much sooner than predicted. And I hope they never have to work again.
Clyde, my mom has “pelvic floor tension myalgia” – a variant of FM- and irritable bowel syndrome. The latter causes the former in a vicious cycle of stress, IBS, excruciating myalgia. She takes an anti-anxiety med and has learned to eat much more healthfully. She also avoids stressful situations like the plague. She now shops at the Winona food co-op for organic ingredients and loves my vegetarian cooking. She also balances acidic/alkaline foods and this has helped immensely. I tried teaching her how to marinate and bake tofu but she can’t quite do it. She loves mine, though. She also loves my vegan chili recipe which I’ll share when the weather cools. I’m sorry to hear about your very difficult condition. I know how life-altering it is. I also have ridges on my fingernails and a tendency toward depression. No pain, though. Not yet.
From yesterday: I carried a home-made lunch until I was 12, then was forced to eat the school hot lunch. I liked pizzaburgers and the little cartons of milk. We didn’t have choices, no salad bar, no smorgasbord.
Please indulge me with a return to yesterday’s conversation about grammar: we call ourselves Babooners?
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I will await the vegan chili with interest. We are crashing together some of the vegetarian variety tomorrow-the instant it is not ridiculously hot, it is cool enough for chili at our house.
For now, can you share your method/recipe for marinating and baking tofu?
re: the sterling quality of the English language, may I remind you all that Oscar Wilde sent Algernon “bunburying”?
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Rules of all art forms–and using laguage is an art form–are written to be broken, for purpose. Delight, joy humor is certainly profound purposes. E. B. White once said esssentailly that.
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Krista–far from an expert on this, but my understanding is that pelvic issues are almost universal for women with fm, making life far less, pleasurable, shall we say. Other than that one issue, which is considerable, men tend to suffer more from fm.
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To reference a real movie based on a real trapped miner indicent see the attached:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043338/
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I too remember the Poseiden Adventure, particularly that huge wall of water on the screen coming toward them… don’t remember that much else.
The psychological aspects of the miners’ plight remind me a bit of the Secret Annex where Anne Frank’s family was confined for those 2 years. I always wondered how they could stand seeing only 7 other people (with a few exceptions). At least they had the light of day — I can’t imagine being in the dark for that long.
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I was thinking of Anne Frank too, Barbara… two great Baboonette minds are we!
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