Post by maddogmarkwright on Jun 18, 2024 16:20:15 GMT -5
It’s 5am and Mad Dog is driving down the back roads of Southern WV to his job at Alpha Coal. Hostess Powdered donuts, black coffee, and a Black & Mild are breakfast today and almost every day of the week. Mad Dog rubs his eyes, trying to wake up. To help himself wake up, Mad Dog turns the volume up on the radio, and the sweet sounds of Dolly Parton come through the speakers.
Workin’ 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin’
Barely gettin’ by, it’s all takin’ and no givin’
They just use your mind and they never give you credit
It’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it
Coal mining is dark, dirty, and dangerous work. It’s not for everyone, it’s for the few who love to descend into the bowels of the Earth to extract “black gold”. Even as they face the risk of mines collapsing, or catching fire, or long-term health threats like black lung.
Mad Dog is a third-generation Coal Miner. He had seen his grandfather and father break their backs in the mine. Then, he saw his grandfather die of black lung, his father gets laid off, the mines go bankrupt, and his father lose his pension. Mad Dog didn’t want to be a coal miner, but in this part of the state, it was the mines, Walmart, Dollar General, or Welfare.
Barely gettin’ by, it’s all takin’ and no givin’
They just use your mind and they never give you credit
It’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it
Coal mining is dark, dirty, and dangerous work. It’s not for everyone, it’s for the few who love to descend into the bowels of the Earth to extract “black gold”. Even as they face the risk of mines collapsing, or catching fire, or long-term health threats like black lung.
Mad Dog is a third-generation Coal Miner. He had seen his grandfather and father break their backs in the mine. Then, he saw his grandfather die of black lung, his father gets laid off, the mines go bankrupt, and his father lose his pension. Mad Dog didn’t want to be a coal miner, but in this part of the state, it was the mines, Walmart, Dollar General, or Welfare.
Mad Dog began coughing, a heavy and deep cough. He covers his mouth with his hand, and when he finishes coughing, he notices his hand as he moves it away from his mouth. As he moves his hand away from his mouth, he notices a fresh, wet, black powder covering his palm.
They let you dream just to watch ‘em shatter
You’re just a step on the boss-man’s ladder
But you got dreams he’ll never take away
Mad Dog stares at his hand, thoughts of his grandfather and father running through his head. Is this what he wanted out of life? He knew the answer was “no”, so why not chase his dream of professional wrestling? Mad Dog had grown up around the sport and had been a “weekend warrior” for years now, but he had been afraid to go all in and throw away his steady income, benefits, and 401k... after all., he has mouths to feed.
The sound of a blaring car horn snaps Mad Dog out of his daydream. He looks up and sees he has drifted into the other lane. Mad Dog whips his F-150 back into his lane, narrowly avoiding a collision. The passing vehicle continues the blow the horn and stops only to give Mad Dog the middle finger.
Mad Dog pulls off to the side of the road, his leg burning from the coffee that spilled onto his thigh from swerving the truck. “Ah, f**k”, Mad Dog mumbles as he reaches into his glove box to grab some McDonald’s napkins to dry off with. There, in the glove box, buried behind the napkins, is a flyer from a previous event, “Crusher Charly Wright Memorial Cup”, it reads at the top. The annual memorial event for his grandfather, where the proceeds go to helping his grandmother pay for her assisted living home. Mad Dog drops the napkins and picks up the flier. He looks at the old photo of his grandfather in his prime. He had always looked up to him, even though he was a superhero. As a child, Mad Dog thought that Crusher had hung the moon.
“F**k it, just do it, Mad Dog,” Wright says out loud to no one but himself. Mad Dog grabs his phone, scrolls to a name, “Sunny Jim”, and hits dial.