Words of wisdom from an old coal miner haunt me tonight.

[WindRiverMan]

My dearest friend was an old blacksmith in the coal mines. He was a child during the end of the great depression. The called him "Plug" because he was fond of plug chewing tobacco and always carried a wad of it in his hip pocket on his overalls.

I remember one time, as a young man myself, when the miners were on strike. I was at one of the meetings where the union folks were holding a meeting for public support. When his time came, Plug walked up to the podium to speak. He did not wear a suit, not even slacks, just the same old green flannel shirts, blue coveralls, and workboots he wore daily in the mines.

Plug's words were metaphorical, but put simply as was his way. "These people, these corporate people, you know they would have made piss poor farmers. They remind me of a man I knew as a kid. He had one horse and one mule. A plow mule he used to work the fields, and a fancy black horse he used to ride to town for Church on Sundays. This farmer, his Sunday horse was always sleek and shiny. He alwasy put shoes on his Sunday horse. He fed what grain he could afford to the Sunday horse, he let his mule crop grass. I remember asking him one time, why don't you give that old mule some grain, he's thin and works hard. The farmer replied that his Sunday horse needed the grain to keep his shiny coat. Well, it didn't take too long until the old mule broke down. Hard work and poor feed will do that to an animal. It wasn't too long after that, the farmer had to sell his fancy Sunday horse. Then he had no mule and no horse. These company men would make piss poor farmers."

Plug's words came again to me tonight while I listend to Obama, and the stories of the people he chose to make his point. Plug is gone now, black lung and emphysema taking their toll on him. Next Tuesday I will cast my vote in remembrance of Plug and for the future of my own sons.

[WheelWalker]

1. Here's a kick and a recommend for Plug.....and for that mule.

:kick:

[smuvop]

3. My father,

He had a saying, that still lives with me today,

He always would say that your best pair of shoes, should be the ones you wear for work, because these are shoes that will help you get thru a long day on your feet at your job.

[WheelWalker]

7. A great paradox of life is

that my father has been gone for 32 years; yet, he gets smarter and smarter every day. Witness the Paradox.

[sonias]

2. In remembrance of Plug!

May he rest in peace and be with us next Tuesday and smile at our win from above.

Obama will help us rein in those greedy corporate bastards who would treat us all like their work mules without any fairness.

:toast: to Plug!

Aonis

[whirlygigspin]

4. very touching, great post

you can view this wonderful documentary at the link below, if you have never seen it, you should.


H a r l a n C o u n t y USA

This documentary will help to remind us that our freedoms and working conditions were not won by U.S. soldiers in foreign lands but through the suffering and sweat of our fathers and grand fathers in their struggle against commercial interests.

These are my heroes, there sacrifice, courage and fortitude are worth our respect and gratitude.



http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13730.htm

Directors: Barbara Kopple - Production Company: Cabin Creek - Runtime 105 Minutes

[WheelWalker]

8. Good to see you, brother.

[Bozita]

14. It'd put too many tears in my eyes to watch that film tonight. "Harlan County, USA"

Fantastic documentary with a special relevance to this moment in time.

[tech3149]

5. Plug had wisdom and common sense

Not many today are so blessed

[varelse]

6. what a perfect metaphor

thank you for sharing this story with us :)

[Joe Chi Minh]

9. Great anecdote, great message.

[EVDebs]

10. Plug would've loved the movie Matewan

Matewan
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093509/

not too long after the Ludlow Massacre came the Matewan shootout.

[WindRiverMan]

11. Plug's father was at the Ludlow Massacre

as was my grandfather. It is why I will never in my entire life, vote for a Republican.

[EVDebs]

12. OMG !

It's at a place not far from Trinidad, CO, and I've talked to people from Denver who've NEVER heard of the Ludlow Massacre. Our school system seems to want to let the Rockefellers and Baldwin Phelps' of the world off the hook. I say, not so fast. Let's remember.

BTW, thanks for this great parable and your tribute to Plug. My granddads, both of them, were coal miners. That's why I can't go the GOP line either.

[JimWis]

13. Thanks for sharing your story. Great words to remember.