We’ve talked about waiting before, but it was mostly about how we spend our time when we have to wait for an appointment or for a meeting. The consensus was we have effective strategies for using that time wisely instead of feeling frustrated. I cheerfully admit, though, I wouldn’t do nearly as well as the Chinese stuck in a 100-km traffic jam that as of this writing has been going on for about 11 days. Apparently it’s moving along at up to two miles a day and the drivers aren’t showing any sign of the road rage that would be breaking out here in America.
I thought that was bad until I read about the 33 trapped miners in Chile, who might be trapped for four months before they are rescued. They will be given food, water and other supplies, and the government is asking NASA for strategies to keep the miners from going bonkers during the wait.
Yes, I cheerfully admit l would not be good dealing with those long waits. If you were trapped in a 500-square-foot space for four months with 32 other people, what do you think you could do to keep your sanity?
One thing they will be doing is to try to stay in shape. For safety reasons the rescue shaft will be only 26 inches in diameter, and if they want to get out they need to be able to fit.
Talk to the other people.
First of all, they’re miners, so claustrophobia is not likely to be a problem, at first. But time, combined with that many people in a relatively small space may work against that.
They’re going to have to play games, tell stories, talk to each other.
26″ inches in diameter sounds small — and I thought it sounded kind of funny when I heard it on TV that they would have to make sure they could fit –, but it really isn’t if you do the math. The circumference for that size circle is 81.68″. I’m a big guy, but I’d fit in that circle with room to spare. Of course, they will need a bit of extra room for whatever harnesses and straps are used.
To start with, I doubt that I could survive in a place that small, if I ever get caught in one. By now, I should have simply gone off to meet my maker. Assume that it was in a similar situation, but not so claustrophobic, I would meditate a great deal and also teach others who are interested how to. Such opportunities come but rarely, and must be utilized fully.
Evan,
It would be interesting to hear what gets said in four months. I was on a long train ride with friends …on a milk train (stopping at every town) a good deal of the way… from Russia to Germany once. It was hot and crowded, and the favorite topic of conversation was our favorite foods and what we would eat when we got back to the states. My guess is there will be some of that. One fellow already jokingly asked for a steak and some beer.
Mike,
I also read that in order to fit your waist had to be less than 35 inches… nine of the miners need to lose weight to make it. My waist is fine but even though I’m 5′ 3 1/2″ and on the low side of normal weight, I would need to be almost anorexic to get my hips down to less than 35″. Another source of stress down there I would think. I’ll be watching to see if anyone else writes that number.
I don’t like crowds and that aspect bothered me the most, but apparently the tunnels are safe places to go for some privacy and down time. They’re talking about dividing into two groups so some men sleep while the others play cards, talk, etc. It would be nice to have separate soaces for that.
Rummuser,
Presumably the men are Roman Catholics. They’ve already asked for small statues of saints to build a shrine and one older fellow is emerging as a spiritual leader.
Some of the men have asked for cigarettes but the authorities decided (wisely I think!) to give them nicotine gum instead. One mother thinks the experience might be good for her son. She hopes he’ll mature and see there is more to life than just beer and cigarettes. She, too, can see that there might be an opportunity here.
Update: A CNN article includes a video of the miners and also says they have set up a social structure. One fellow is doing the health and psychological tests, one shift leader is taking the leadership role, another is the spiritual leader etc. It sounds as if the ordeal could be the most profound experience of their lives. It reminds me of guys who go through the hell of war but afterward miss the bonding and teamwork. I certainly wish them well. The fact that they were able to limit themselves to two teaspoons of tuna, a biscuit and a sip of milk every other day for the first 17 days bodes well.
The article says the rescue shaft will be 24 inches in diameter, but it doesn’t say how small the miners have to be.
PS We don’t believe that 35″ circumference story. We just measured my husband around his hips..bigger than his waist. He’s thin and wiry and it came out 36 1/2″, a half an inch less than mine. And there’s no way to get that down because it’s his bone structure. He’s wider in the shoulders but could scrunch them in. The video of the miners show that as we’d expect, their upper bodies are very muscular. Anyway, we’re spending some time thinking about it and are glad the miners are doing well given the circumstances.
very sad the miners predictment but as you have already said “they are making the best of the circumstances” and I guess if the “leaders” see anyone moving off-edge they will do their very best to bring comfort to them.
I sometimes state I have “all the time in the world” and just today my friend who is now a retired person said he “definitely had all the time in the world” although right then he hoped it wouldn’t rain before he got back home 🙂
I was talking to my best friend on the blower today and said “doing 2 papers is just great, I can spread the workload out, but if I had been doing 2 from the start it would have taken many more years to be at this point of only 4 left to do”
so it’s swings and roundabouts I guess – something mature far better if you have to wait – whilst others are best done faster and sooner 🙂
Next Wed is the first day of SPRING – yipee
Cathy,
I just read that 4 or 5 (I can’t remember which) of the miners didn’t want to be in the video and are withdrawn and aren’t eating. It’s clear they’re depressed, but there are plenty of people ready to help.
Yes, some things do mature if you work on them and then let them gestate for a while. I do that with some of my posts. If they don’t seem to be what I want I put them aside for a while and write about something else. Then later something clicks and I figure out how to do it. It’s a lot easier when you don’t have professors to please!
I want to see the video.
bikehikebabe,
It was included in the CNN article. Just click on this link.
Jean, never mind circumference. If a baby manages to get born squeezing through the narrowest of tunnels I am sure even 50 year old hip bones will adjust in face of adversity.
Claustrophobia; if ever there was a shithole. Can’t bear the thought of it. Still, our survival instinct might make us overcome that which we never thought we could in ‘normal’ life. On a practical note: Imagine all those life stories an observant listener will hear when surrounded by those in dire straits. Indeed how much you’ll learn about yourself. Not that an experience like that would teach me much at my age; would have been more useful a couple of decades ago.
Air, air to breathe, thinking selfishly, be my first craving. And then, after having been rescued, I’d become a hermit.
U
Ursula,
In addition to everything else, they’re now having trouble with “body fungi” from the heat and humidity. Arghh!
‘Body funghi’ – it might be bottled soon for all I know.
Anyway, we have our own problems or so the papers tell me: Bed bugs are on the rise – mainly imported from the Americas (I believe we touched on this subject recently). Leaving aside the seagull who used my crowning glory as a toilet last Friday 13th, people in this country have no concept of bedbugs. Everyone appears to think I am talking about dust mites (found in their trillions in your duvet and pillows – which is why Germans air their bedding every morning to the point of obsession). I know you are a scientist but looking at it philosophically: That which is not visible to the myopic eye does NOT exist – unless you are a scientist employing a microscope. There is a lesson in there somewhere and no doubt an old Latin piece of wisdom to boot; something along the lines of “ignorance is bliss”.
U
Ursula,
Yes, I’ve heard that bedbugs are a big problem now. In New York they’ve even invaded movie theaters and other public places. We don’t travel much but I worry about infesting our apartment when we do.