Their coal plant is gone, the golden age is over. What's next for the people of Milam County, Texas?
ROCKDALE David Montelongo isnt used to being alone.
He's spent his 60 years in the Central Texas town of Rockdale, surrounded by family and working the last 39 years in the local coal mine. He has a wife, three grown children, eight grandchildren and many other relatives in this town of 5,600.
Now, his days are lived on the road and at a West Texas oil field, where he is a supervisor.
"All I do is go home, sit in an apartment and wait for the morning to come," Montelongo said.
His time in an overpriced one-bedroom Odessa apartment is mostly quiet as he counts the weeks until he can visit his family in Rockdale and the years until retirement.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/2018/07/08/happens-coal-economy-dies-story-one-texas-town-life-support