The Old Lab

One of Saranac Lake's local treasures is the old Saranac Laboratory. It is the first Tuberculosis (TB)lab in the US. Saranac Lake was a major community in the fight against TB, and remnants of this healing history are celebrated. Historic buildings have special plaques, there is a great historical society that regularly shares information on many of these buildings.

Recently the main part of the Laboratory was restored and opened up as a museum. The Library wing has been used for years as a place for social events, chamber music concerts and classic film screenings. It is now a museum housing artifacts from the time the lab was in use from opening up until the 1960s. Some of these include medical equipment, items from cure cottages (where many patients lived as they were being treated) and personal items and crafts from patients and former patients.

I have had the opportunity to visit the old lab on two occasions. Four years ago I was photographing the building and was invited inside and shown around. This was when the museum was still in the planning stages and the area was still unorganized. I learned about how the interior fireproof tiling used after Dr. Trudeau's original lab burnt down in an accident. Second floor doorways that now lead to nowhere used to lead to ajacent buildings demolished long ago.

About a month ago I visited the main area of the lab again, now as a completed museum. It is a small museum, but is very well done. Many of the artifacts are now in cases, the lab equipment is now set up as it used to sit in the days the lab was in use. Blown-up old photographs of scientists working in the lab adorn the walls.

The small size allows for a more intimate interaction with history. The old patient bed with attached telegraph, and wheelchair aren't even roped off. Only one area is shut off from visitor access and there are a few cases, but everything else is approachable. Even the old work table is easy to approach, giving a hands-on approach to history. In a way the experience is rather unique compared to many of the larger museums I've visited where it's hard to have that up close and personal feel with the subject matter.

Reminders

Every summer for the past four years I've visited the local farmers' market. I enjoy having fresh produce for cooking and like how I can find fruits and vegetables not common at the local grocery stores. Like some of the peppers I've posted above. A few years ago a second market came to town, both offer their own specialties.

The bittersweet part for me is that this may be the last year I'll be visiting these markets. By this time next year I'll likely be living elsewhere. The farmers' markets in a way have reminded me how set I am in my ways. I'm used to being a settled person. Unlike my army brat fiancee who's used to moving every few years I'm the type who settles and finds contentment. I've only moved a few times in my life.

It makes me realize that I will miss my hometown when I leave. I know I should leave just because as much as I'm attached I need somewhere else to grow personally. I'll miss my friends, and many of the art events I both promote and attend. I like that for most of the year it's a peaceful place to live. I'm not like most of my acquaintances who treat this town like it's the best place on Earth. It's great, but doesn't have what I need. It won't give me a career based from my studies aside from the occasional charity case. I've reached a plateau as an artist because what I do is different from what other artists do. Most artists are of the visual sort, and while I am of the literary sort most other writers I know either write about local history or traditional poetry. Their compliments help me feel like I'm going in the right direction, but I know I need to find others who write in the same style to get the growth I desire.

I'm sure wherever I go, I'll find other markets to shop at. They won't be the same as the ones I've been frequenting these past few years. I just need to remind myself that when I find where I'm going, and am able to settle, I should be fine.

A Moment

Recently I experienced an urge of spontaneity. It struck me as I was walking home from work during a downpour. I had my umbrella with me since I am usually practical. As of late I have fallen into a funk and feel like I'm at a crossroads in life. I was thinking about this during my walk, when I decided to just remove myself from the shelter of the umbrella.

I held it at my side, not even bothering to close it. I felt that I needed the rain and welcomed the downpour. I'm sure I looked crazy in my wholehearted acceptance of the rain. If I had decided to close my umbrella it may have been more discrete. Instead I let it trail behind me, collecting rain. There was something cleansing about the rain, I couldn't quite describe it really. Something about it just helped me feel better. It was healing.

Normally I wouldn't do such a thing. I would find the idea of getting drenched to be uncomfortable and frustrating. I would just want to get home and out of the rain. I find it funny that I felt I needed the rain that day to wash away something.