I pulled the sheet off their faces. Their faces were black with coal dust and didn't look like anything was wrong with them except they were dirty. The both of them had smiles on their faces. I thought maybe one of them had told a joke just before they died and, pain and all, they both laughed and ended up with a smile. Probably not true but but it made me feel good to think about it like that, and when the Sister came in I asked her if I could clean their faces and she said, "no, certainly not! " but I said, "ah, c'mon, it's me brother n' father, I want to, " and she looked at me and looked at me, and at last she said, "of course, of course, I'll get some soap and water." When the nun came back she helped me. Not doing it, but more like showing me how, and taking to me, saying things like "this is a very handsome man" and "you must have been proud of your brother" when I told her how Charlie Dave would fight for me, and "you're lucky you have another brother"; of course I was, but he was younger and might change, but she talked to me and made it all seem normal, the two of us standing over a dead face and cleaning the grit away. The only other thing I remember a nun ever saying to me was, "Mairead, you get to your seat, this minute!. Sheldon Currie
About This Quote

The events that took place in Mairead’s life were a turning point in her life. She grew to see both sides of the story, and she realized that her brother and father had actually been happy before they died. She was able to handle the fact that they had died by herself and was able to talk to the nun about it as well as clean their faces as if nothing had happened.

Source: The Glace Bay Miners Museum: The Novel

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