West Virginia is coal country. My friend Mike showed me an old photograph of an African American coal miner. It's a moving image. He suggested I do something with this picture. I need to represent our West Virginia heritage and her people. We live in an old coal camp. The people that used to live in our house were coal miners. This piece reminds us of our past as well as the present. Several of our neighbors are miners. They tell me stories of being underground before sun up and not coming above ground till after sun down. Much respect to these people. God knows they are a tough crew!