WARNING: This blog contains copious amounts of adult GAY material. If that's offensive to you, please leave now. All pix have been gleaned from the internets so, if you see a picture of yourself that you don't wish to have posted here, please leave a comment on the post and I will remove it with my apologies.I REPEAT: If you see a picture of yourself that you don't wish to have posted here, please leave a comment on the post and I will remove it with my apologies.
Dear Rick,
ReplyDeleteThe first photo moved me a lot. My dad was a coal miner and often explained to me how hot it was a thousand meters down. He often worked naked or almost naked... I imagined him when I saw this photo. He died at 38 from miner's disease (silicosis).
This is what I love about this blog, people such as Coquin Belgium sharing a little of themselves with an audience of personal unknowns from around the world. This is what gives each of us a sense of community, a connection with like-minded people and a good dose of self-worth. Thank you all and thank you Rick.
DeleteMilleson,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your message. I'm not here just to see pictures of naked guys. I like to share my emotions, my ideas with other people. I live alone and I think that many of us share this solitude, otherwise this kind of blog would be deserted. I have had serious moments in my life and often, I have had help from others for my great moments of despair. Sometimes simply with messages from friends, but also from people I don't know and will probably never see. What saves me in life are my passions, I write books and I draw. It allows me to express myself, I don't have children, but I know that I will leave a trace behind me with my books and my drawings. Who knows? In a hundred years, one of my books or one of my drawings will one day be found in an old attic. So, I won't be completely dead.
If I were to die in an hour, if you were to die in an hour, and that fact would be made known to either of us, this small exchange of words would be remembered. As long as one is remembered in some small way, the body dies, but the essence of our existence lives on. You add to that with your writings and drawings, I with quilts I've made for the important people in my life, numerous cross-stitch works and memorable Christmas gatherings at my home that many will never forget. That's all I need to feel a completely fulfilled life.
DeleteLoved all the comments; thank you both. I have to agree. As for me, I remember seeing the top photo before--been around a lot. What struck me (besides the nudity) was that they weren't wearing anything on their feet--no shoes, no workboots. Seems that the rocky floor would have been dangerous for bare feet. Was it because the heat would cause their feet to sweat too much and cause all sorts of grody fungi and bacteria to grow down there? Or were they kept so poor that they couldn't even afford shoes?
ReplyDeletePurple Wolf,
ReplyDeleteMy dad wore shoes when he was down in the mine. The rocks and coal would have torn his feet off. In this case, I guess they couldn't afford shoes.
That first picture of the miners made me wonder what the story was. One search result was about the Sulphur mines in Italy in the 1800's to early 1900's. Pictures showed many men completely naked with not even shoes walking on shards on rocks. I think the men went naked not just due to the heat and dirt but because they probably only had a few things to wear and couldn't risk them in the mine. Those mines were also infamous for their use of child labor as young as 8 often sold to the mine owners by parents or orphanages. It was their job to haul the ore out of the mine by hand, I hate to think that there are probably dark places in the world today where similar things are happening so we can have our shiny cars, phones, computers etc.
ReplyDeleteEveryone - Thank you all for your wonderful comments and, even, conversation.
ReplyDeleteIn those days many couldn't afford shoes in the poorer parts of Europe. Look at vintage pictures of European tenant farmers and many are barefoot.
ReplyDeleteMy maternal grandfather came from the Galicia region of Spain and he said many people went barefoot because of the poverty back in his day, the 1900s. If you had shoes they were only worn occasionally so they would last, as they were sort of a luxury.
Those Italian miners were brave as there were no worker safety laws or protocols back then, and it is still dangerous work. -Rj