Time Now to Grieve

2:37 p.m.

Some family members of the 29 miners lost in the explosion at the Pike River mine will remember that time for the rest of their lives. At random times in the years to come, they will glance at their watches or clocks and see those numbers on the clockface and remember what happened on this day in 2010, what happened to finally seal the fate of their beloved men (one of them just 17 years old and on his first shift at the mine) — their loved ones, their friends and family members, their sources of strength.

Now, the situation has been reversed. Now, the people left behind, as their loved ones carried on into the next journey of their lives, will have to go on and live their lives without the ones they knew and loved most — fathers, sons, cousins, nephews, friends.

The entire Grey District has just short of 14,000 people. Greymouth's population numbers about 10,000. It's a coal area — has been since the British arrived, in the mid-19th Century. It's New Zealand, so every one of those 29 miners was known, friends with, and/or loved by someone in the area. Such close-knit communities forge strong bonds, bonds that are tested by trying times but not broken, even in the midst of shared tragedy.

The men had been trapped in the mine for a few days, as the result of an explosion underground. Two miners managed to make it out, but the 29 others remained. As the number of hours without word mounted, families do what families do best — come together, say a prayer, hope against hope for their darkest fears to be swept away by an ocean of relief and good news.

But this story did not have a happy ending.

This was no Chilean Miracle. This was a reminder that life is precious and that we take it for granted at our peril. At times like this, we think of what we wanted to say but didn't, said but didn't want to, or wish we could say if only because it would mean that the person is there before us, instead of buried deep underground, never to return to be spoken to, listened to, or hugged for all they're worth.

This was a story that just kept getting worse. Rescuers couldn't enter the mine because the gas levels were too high. Rescue robots broke down or found nothing useful. A mixture of gas became toxic and then created a second explosion, this one even bigger than the first.

The Prime Minister has given a speech, calling this disaster a national tragedy and saying that the miners "leave behind them a hollow space, that will not be readily filled."

This is a story that is continuing, even as the ultimate of the missing is now known. Eventually, others will be able to enter the mine and answer some of the questions that linger: when did the men die, and did they suffer horribly, and could they have been saved. Answers to all of those questions, and more, will come in time.

Time can be so cruel sometimes. Time can take our loved ones from us. Time can steal moments from our lives. Time can rob us of our hopes, dreams, and desires. Time can slow to a crawl when we're waiting for good news amid aching despair. Time can fly by when we hear the good news at last.

Sadly for the families of the Pike River miners, the time of 2:37 brought nothing but pain, grief, and sadness.