The only thing louder was Long John's laugh. The miner said if Lucas could prove the mule wouldn't eat meat, he would never do it again. When the miner tried to feed his ham sandwich to the mule, the animal spit it out. What he didn't know was that mules never eat meat. Lucas and his buddies laughed for years over that one.
Few gatherings can match the story-telling sessions that happen every time the miners get together.
Surprisingly, they don't talk about the deaths and injuries or the daily danger they faced each time they went underground. Someone, I won't say who, killed a deer and positioned the head in the face of the mine so the eyes would shine when a miner's lamp hit them. When Tarzan crawled up the shoot, he saw two eyes staring at him. The eyes seemed to follow his every move. Matyka and me were always playing jokes.