You've Got To Accentuate The Positive!

   I saw faces on the Mountain yesterday.
   Before you get ahead of me it wasn't
Mt. Rushmore! I expect to see those
faces a little later this year.
    No, this wasn't Mt. Rushmore. In fact
it wasn't even a mountain in the traditional
sense.
    It was a mountain of coal waste just
outside of Hazleton.
    And it's interesting to see that some
people have found a way to turn this
huge pile of "dirt" into a recreational
opportunity!
     Without questioning the legality of
their activity I must say the group of
All Terrain Vehicle riders I saw have
found a way to use this environmental
eyesore as entertainment.
     It brought to mind a family I came
across years ago while covering the
underground mine fire that has turned
the Columbia County community of
Centralia into a ghost town.
     With travel trailer in tow the family
was traveling along Route 61 working
it's way to Lancaster. The driver stopped
to ask me if he was heading in the right
direction. I explained that he was....but
then asked if he knew where he was at that
moment.
      When he said he did not I told him
the story about Centralia and the
evacuation of nearly every citizen who
used to live there.
       For the next hour I watched as the
family drove up and down the remaining
streets looking at what was left of the
homes there and searching for signs of
the smoke from the mine fire.
       My point is simply this. There are
a lot of "negative" things around us. But
viewed from a different perspective you've
got to wonder if some of those things
could be turned into assets rather than
liabilities!
        Suppose, for instance, the state
offered tours of Centralia with trained
guides, perhaps area natives, that could
tell the dramatic story of that town.
        Maybe "King Coal" could make a
comeback that won't leave us all
burned up?
        Hope you're looking for the
"positives" and that all your NEWS is
good!