The 21st Miner

I assume most of you have watched, along with the rest of the world, as the thirty three trapped Chilean miners were rescued from 2,300 feet beneath the ground.

Before The Haters jump in and start telling me I'm a shitty person for writing this post, I'd like to say I was riveted by the story of the miners from start to finish.  I was absolutely thrilled with the rescue of the men.

It was emotional, amazing and just incredible.

Yesterday, a lot of publicity was focused on the fate of Yonni Barrios who was the 21st miner to be rescued from the collapsed mine.

Yonni, as you probably already know, was greeted by his mistress when he emerged from the mine.  As it turns out, Yonni was not the only miner to have both a wife and a mistress, but his story became the most public.

Marta, Yonni's wife of 28 years, just recently discovered he had a mistress.  Prior to the 69 days he was trapped, she had no idea.  After learning of Yonni's indiscretion, Marta chose not to be there to greet Yonni when he popped his shaft out of the shaft.

Ahem.

There is just SO much material here ...

Trapped for 69 days.

The mistress (instead of the wife) was waiting for him at the end of his shaft ...

Stuff like this is irresistible to my warped sense of humor.

Susana, Yonni's mistress, has apparently been having a relationship with him for over five years.  She greeted him with sobs, kisses, and hugs.  

Yonni seemed a little uncomfortable during her display of emotion.

The greeting by his mistress, with cameras zooming in to capture every moment, seemed a little awkward.

Yonni probably knew his wife was at home watching the exchange on television.

It must be a little strange and uncomfortable for Yonni to have his illicit extramarital affair revealed to the entire world.

Go figure ....

Now, I personally don't care how Yonni chooses to live his life.

Who am I to judge?

I know very little about Yonni, his wife, his mistress, or his life.

I've experienced enough of life to realize not all situations are black and white.

I also wouldn't pretend to know the slightest thing about Yonni's particular love triangle.

I do, however, know Yonni was allowed to choose three people to be present to greet him when he emerged from the mine.

He invited BOTH his wife and his mistress.  

Really, Yonni?

Really?

I'm wondering how Yonni expected that to work out?

Who was he going to hug and kiss first?

Apparently his wife, although upset upon learning of his mistress, had initially planned to be there to greet him upon his rescue.  That is - until she found out he had also asked his mistress to be there.  At that point, Marta pretty much told Yonni to fuck off.

My bet is, now that Marta has left Yonni - he'll want her back.

It seems to be human nature to want what we can't have.  If Susana had been the one to tell Yonni to fuck off, he'd probably chase after her.

It isn't easy to love two people at the same time.

Yonni's story made me think.

I thought about what I would do if I were Marta.  I thought about what I would do if I were Susana.  I wondered how often affairs are discovered when one of the involved parties becomes ill, involved in an accident or tragedy, or dies.  

I bet it's actually a pretty common phenomenon ...

I also thought about Yonni.  I tried to imagine being him.

I tried to imagine ...

And yet, I couldn't.

He asked both his mistress and his wife (who had just found out about his mistress) to come and rejoice together at his rescue.

It's hard for me to imagine being that stoopid.

Clearly, the man must have been oxygen deprived down in the mine.

So tell me, do you think I'm way off base?

What are your thoughts on the situation?

What would you do if you were Marta, Susana or Yonni?

© Twenty Four At Heart

Comments

[Jack]

Well if I were Marta I'd probably scream and wonder what the hell happened the night before. Went to bed as a man and woke up as a woman.

But on a serious note,if I spent 69 days trapped underground I don't know how clear my head would be. We get different things from different people. Haven't a clue whether he wanted to stay married or was thinking about leaving her.

It is a peculiar situation- not really sure what I would do.But remember I am trying to put myself in his place. Easy to sit here in the comfort of my home and say what I'd do. Much harder to figure out what I would do if I thought that I was going to die and somehow lived.

[Renee]

Yonni goy caught with his pants dpwn, I think Marta is smart to react how she did. I agree with you, her leaving him is going to make him want her back.

[di]

First let me say that I only chose to watch about 15 minutes out of all of this mine rescue. Lots of people love the emotional aspect of it all and consider it to be a miracle. blah blah blah. I don't watch overly emotional junk that the news stations attempt to draw us into so that we will watch THEIR broadcast and boost their ratings. Call me cold hearted, but I just prefer to save my emotions for my own friends and family rather than get all bent our of shape over the junk that goes on in a stranger's life... Sept. 11th being the exception.

Now, I have one word for Yonni: IDIOT

As for his mistress: Have some decency girl! She did the wrong thing by showing up. BITCH

His wife. Leave his ass. OR wait until it becomes a movie and ask for half of the royalties.

Guess that sums of my feelings about the entire 'thing'.

[Tami]

The mistress should have stayed away.
On the ohter hand, HE's the one who asked her to be there so it's really more his doing that she was there. It is possible to love two people at the same time. Marta did the right thing. She made her position known loud and clear. Actions and consequences. Its life.

[Jan]

I think Jack hit the nail on the head - 69 days trapped over 2,000 feet underground in a cramped space, 90 degree heat with 90% humidity and 32 other desperate men?

Yeah - not the best circumstances to make a decision like that.

Now, in a related bit of news, didn't those guys look awfully, well, CLEAN as they were brought up? After having spent 69 days trapped over 2,000 underground in a cramped space with 90 degree heat, 90% humidity and 32 other desperate men?

[laura]

First of all, I totally agree, the dude was totally stupid! WTH was he thinking? Even knowing his wife knew of the affair, if he knew she was going to be there he should have had the decency to not ask the mistress to be there. That just makes him more of a loser, a jerk, and he obviously showed he just doesn't give a shit about his wife. So, you ask, if I were the wife, this would have been the last straw. Buh buy loser.
If I were the mistress, well, normally most of them are to emotionally attached to see that the person is being an ass to their current spouse so they think it wouldn't happen to them, so no reality there.
As for him, I would never be him, he's just an ass!

[Erica]

You can be in love with two people without giving a mistress and a wife equivalent rights. There's no value in marriage to a man like Yonni. I'd leave him if I were Marta, not bother to marry him if I were Susana, and count on paying for companionship in my old age if I were Yonni.

[Kelly]

You can love two people at the same time.
I agree.
But can you be IN love with two people at the same time?

[Erica]

Maybe you can't be in love with both. I don't know. I've just heard people say that and assumed it's true. I've never experienced it.

Really, I'd have shown up for a husband who was rescued from a mine, even if his mistress was there too. I'd leave him later though.

[Amy_in_Stl]

Maybe he thought - like an old boyfriend of mine did - that he'd let the women decide which one "got" him. Personally, I decided that I'd let the weaker woman have him because I didn't need that crap. She's still married to him 10 years later - and he still contacts me periodically asking me to come visit him. Ew.

[Pseudo]

I have been too busy to watch any news (plus avoid it around elections). THIS was quite interesting though. Thanks 24.

[Sandi]

I would have done exactly what his wife did. I hope she changed the locks and had his shit sitting on the sidewalk when he finally made his way home.

[Issa]

I want to applaud his wife and smack him upside the head. Dumbass probably thought they'd both be so thrilled he lived that they'd both forgive him.

[Mama Bub]

Yonni? Probably not thinking clearly.

The mistress? Have a little class, please. Do you not see the many news cameras surrounding you? Is this the legacy you want to leave behind?

The wife? Well done, lady.

[Erica]

I just read this about Yonni at the dailymail uk website: As his wife began to get involved in his affairs on Camp Hope, he instructed teams on the surface to deal with his lover instead.

I don't think the women really decided who won this prize.

The article also says the two women had to be pulled off each other in the past, and the wife's kids were from a previous relationship, so she was trying to spare them possible embarrassment by not going to a potentially volatile televised event.

[Skyler]

I agree that it was totally stupid to invite them both to be there. There comes a time when you have to make a CHOICE. Sixty-nine days in a mine should have been enough time.

However, I would like to say that I heard no MSNBC that he had left his wife prior to being trapped in the mine and was indeed LIVING with the mistress. His wife was the last to know apparently.

I found out that my boyfriend of 3 years was not only seeing someone else, but was getting ready to ask her to move in when he got rushed to the hospital with appendicitis, called me, I called him back and SHE answered his cell phone. I'll bet that DOES happen a lot.

Once I filled her in and she filled me in, I didn't visit him in the hospital and she ended moving in with him before he was even out of the hospital.

I did a lot of research on people who lie like that. It's usually called narcissistic personality disorder.

Cheers!

[Pig in the Kitchen]

I wonder if he had some sort of epiphany and thought 'Hombre! It's time for this mierda to stop!' and by inviting both he wanted to force a change in his complicated life?

But yeh, stoooopid!

Pig x

[Life with Kaishon]

I didn't even know about that. And now I feel annoyed. Why on earth would he invite them both. What a quack! I am glad he was rescued. Totally annoyed with him though.

[karen]

Yonni is an ass. Inviting both? That's just.... well I could put a hundred expletives there. But just the one.. that'll do.

[Marissa]

The plot thickens ... apparently a 2nd Mistress has shown up! Whoops!!

[Rob]

Whaddya expect? Yonni's a latin lover.

You've all watched Lifetime television and swooned. He believes he's God's gift to women. It might have been the only thing that kept him alive.

At any rate, someone showed. I could vanish and even my mom wouldn't notice.