Just One Thing with Derek Maiolo

Derek Maiolo’s essay “Rescue” features tense family pressure, a biting Colorado winter, and inexplicably stray cattle. Here, he shares just one thing about the piece: 

I grew up in the far corner of Northwest Colorado, in a coal mining town called Craig. I'm the son of a coal miner descended from a long line of coal miners. As one might assume, a coal town wasn't exactly a supportive environment for a gay kid. It's a place where people have done things a certain way for a long time, and most would rather keep on that way than consider change. 

And yet, like it or not, change is coming. The region is suffering under a twenty-year drought, exacerbated by climate change. Coal mines, which contributed to this disaster, are on the brink of closing. The local power plant will either shut down, transition to some other form of energy, or turn into a data center. I hold out hope that what comes next is better because, despite its shortcomings, I love this place, feel at home among the sagebrush and sandstone. There's a beauty here that takes time to appreciate, a pulse tied to my own that keeps me coming back.