Chilean Miner - Personality!

First off, Edison Pena oozes personality. I just watched clips of his appearance on David Letterman and this man not only won my admiration but he caused me to laugh - long and loud. I don't think you can watch this interview without a sense that this man could be destined to great popularity - worldwide.

I did not intend to write a Hub on coal mining, coal miners, the Chilean miners or anything miner related. I hail from West Virginia, a state steeped in the coal mining industry. All I know about mining is that I'm claustrophobic and the mere thought of traveling that far underground in tight places makes me freak.

Edison, however, grabbed my fingers and forced me to write. He's uplifting. He's entertainment in a 'real' way the abysmal 'reality shows' can never attain. This man spent weeks underground, not knowing if his next breath might be his last and we went about our lives not knowing that a true, fun and light-hearted man even existed in Chile. What a loss it would have been had he died. Not just for his family, but for those millions of people that have come to know a little of him.

I needed a laugh today. Heck, we need laughs everyday. You don't really need an interpreter to see the comedic twinkle in Edison's eyes. He has that natural charm that we all want to posses. When he breaks into Suspicious Minds and Paul Shaffer's band kicks in, I was howling. The man is pretty good. I know I wouldn't even attempt to belt out an Elvis song in front of millions of viewers. This man not only did it, he did it well.

Charisma is the defining word here. Some people have it. Edison owns a boatload of charisma. Even Letterman sat back and enjoyed this one. You can tell when someone is pleasantly surprised, and Dave looked genuinely impressed, as he should be.

One of the great things about life is that from an incident like the mine collapse, which nearly became a huge catastrophe, emerges a man with charisma and personality that wins hearts and laughs and admiration. Yes, a star is born.

I may never have the pleasure of meeting this man, but he shared a wonderful part of himself on David Letterman for the world to see, and we are blessed and uplifted by the experience. Thank you David Letterman and most definitely, thank you Edison Pena.