West Virginia has turned into a chaotic place this week. In Raleigh County, my old home, a coal mine explosion has killed 25, leaving two injured and four others missing. It's the worst mining disaster in the United States since 1984. And in Kanawha County, my current home, members of the Topeka-based Westboro Baptist Church have come to town to demonstrate utter hatred, contempt, and ignorance for anything which doesn't conform to their particular brand of crazy. And this morning, two cars collided on I-64, lost control, crossed the median, and collided with a tractor trailer which then caught on fire.
I've noticed a pattern of many things going to hell almost simultaneously and then nothing big happening for a long time. Last summer's week of celebrity deaths comes to mind as a good example. Is this week another week of madness? Maybe.
There seems to be a larger and more generalized pattern of chaos in play. Two snowstorms a week nearly all winter long, work being absolutely crazy for most of last year, Arnold's passing, my brother's divorce. With this week's events, though, it looks like the chaos is moving to things external to me instead of affecting me directly. Not to say they aren't any less tragic, or any less worthy of mention or observation. I've fallen asleep to CNN reporting on the mining disaster every night this week, so it's getting worldwide attention.
Can we focus on fixing the problem now, so this never has to happen again?