Passing This Along George Saunders "On Story" posted Aug 1, Home Archive Issue Jesus Christ rides the Somerset Avenue streetcar into Windber, Pennsylvania, in the middle of the afternoon.
In his grimy pit jacket, heavy denim pants and polystyrene kneepads, he is already prepared for a long night shoveling in the cold and damp underground. Jesus is in no position to afford three days without pay. Jesus is already flirting with unpopularity with the other miners on his crew.
His long hair has been the subject of quite a few not entirely tasteful jokes concerning his sexuality and the soreness in his hands keeps him from being as adept with the pick as the other miners on his shift.
Miners are rushing toward the opening in the earth carrying coal shovels and blasting boxes. The daylight crew boss is calling for the fire boss and yelling for the tippleman to get the superintendent of the mine on the phone.
Miners further back, near the fanhouse, are calling out to one another, asking what is happening. Jesus does not need to ask any of the frantic men what has occurred.
