Mama Diaries

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Ghosts in the Gold Mine

Thank you to all who visited during the 'Tis More Blessed Giveaway.  Milo James Fowler is the winner of my books.  Congratulations, Milo!

I took my kids gold mining in the northern hills of Georgia.  We had a great time.  Our stash amounted to fifteen flakes of gold, so I guess we'd better not quit our day jobs!  While we were on the underground mine tour, we heard a lot of tales about ghosts.  Apparently quite a few folks died in the mine.

Our guide led us to a dark area.  "Right in this very spot, the ceiling collapsed, killing all the workers under it.  The supervisor was standing over there."  He pointed to an area about twenty feet away.  "He was so mortified about losing his workers, that he went home and didn't eat or drink.  He died in about a week or so.  It's said that his ghost comes back to take care of those he lost.  So keep your eyes out for him."

That little speech totally freaked out my nine-year-old son.  "Mama, do you think that's true?"

"I don't know, Bubba.  But if it is, I doubt you're going to see him."

Bubba wasn't so sure of that.  He stayed close by my side as we walked through the cold, damp tunnel. After a while, he stopped.  "Look, Mama.  What's that?"  He pointed to a shadow on the wall. It wasn't very big, but it was an unusual shape.

I shrugged.  "Let's check it out."  I walked over to inspect.  "It's a ghost."  I said.

Bubba's eyes got big.  "Really?"

"No, Bubba.  Not really.  It's a bat.  See?"

I pointed at a cute fuzzy thing hanging from the ceiling.

Bubba breathed a sigh of relief.  "Oh.  It's just the ghost's pet."

29 comments:

  1. Congrats to Milo, a great post to read.

    Yvonne.

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  2. That would scare me. I'd scream if I saw a bat.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Oh, but these were so cute. Surely you would not scream at the sight of such a small, adorable, fuzzy thing!

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  3. Yikes! I could never tour a mine. My claustrophobia kicked in just reading this.

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    1. Doesn't sound like a place for you. But we thought it was pretty cool!

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  4. Bubba sounds too cute for words!

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  5. I'm a big fan of Bubba. I win? Yahoo! I'll be in touch to arrange delivery toot-sweet. Thanks again for participating in #Tismoreblessed 2013, Sherry!

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    1. Thanks for hosting it! I'll mail your books tomorrow.

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  6. haha I'd rather see a ghost than a germy bat

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    1. It would be cool to see a ghost. But I don't mind germy bats. I'm kind of used to filthy critters!

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  7. CONGRATS to Milo!

    It sounds like your gold mining experience was interesting.

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  8. "The ghost's pet" - too funny! I'm wishing you and your family a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2014!

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  9. LOL, I love how his first thought was that it's the ghost's pet. A ghost and his pet bat would be a pretty good premise for a picture book, actually... :P

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  10. He just knows the right thing to say even during a scary time. Dark tunnels are especially creepy. Such a tragic history though.

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    1. We heard about all kinds of untimely demises in that mine. I bet there are hundreds of ghosts down there!

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  11. Fun story! I would have freaked out about the bat, but I love your son's reaction. =)

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    1. It wasn't a very big bat. If it had been bigger, I'm sure there would've been a lot of freaking out down there!

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  12. I don't think I've ever seen a bat up close. I think they're a little scary, but maybe that's because I haven't seen them. I'll bet all of you were glad you didn't see a ghost. Rumor was that our house was haunted when we were little, but we never saw any ghosts, thankfully.

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    1. All the bats I've seen in real life have been cute. I'm not sure what I would think of a vampire bat, though!

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  13. That sounds like an exciting activity! I have been to caverns to see stalagtites and stalagmites....but...never panning for gold!

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