That, however, is tomorrow; between now and then, I have many hours ahead of me here in Elliot Lake, which, in spite of the wonderfully relaxed and amicable inhabitants, gives me a shuddering case of the willies. It's a quiet place, populated by approximately 12,ooo souls. During its heyday, it was home to about 30 thousand, largely supported by uranium mines in the area. After the mining operations shut down, the town dwindled, and has more recently become known as a retirement community.
It's the time of year when I walk around with my eyes cast upward, watching for the Scott's birthday meteor shower (also known as the Perseids meteor shower). The peak was last night, but apparently our home-away-from home in Sudbury is not in the best part of town, and I was advised not to go out wandering after dark. No worries, I thought, Elliot Lake will be nice and quiet and dark, and an even better place to watch the night sky.
Tonight after our clinic ended and the bunch of us (declared the alpha-and-omega clinic team by the other Sandra and I) had feasted at the Fireside Grill, I wandered out of doors to see what I could see. What I saw, as I ambled away from the ancient hotel (which itself reminds me a lot of the movie The Shining, to my great discomfort) was a perfectly intact little town, with not a single indication of life. Store signs and lights were on, although the stores themselves have been locked up since 6:00. The streets were completely empty of people and cars. A piece of plastic caution tape rustled at the end of the block. The monstrous hotel's decrepit air conditioning system belched startlingly and ominously behind me as I made my way through the parking lot. It felt like a scene from a Twillight Zone episode, the one about the guy who found himself to be the only living creature in town. I began to worry about zombies and bears, and whether I would be able to sleep with the AC in my room making those creepy organic burbling sounds. By the time I'd made it about 500 feet from the mall door (for the hotel entrance is within a little tiny mall which has been shuffled through by innumerable people whose lives are almost completely lived) I was completely unnerved. I acknowledged that there are indeed far more stars visible than either from home or from the Sudbury hotel parking lot, and then hustled back up to my room, locking the door behind me.
It may have been the pasta dinner (isn't cheese said to cause bad dreams and unease?), but I'll be glad to see the sights of Elliot Lake by daylight in the rearview mirror as we're burning out of town in the morning.
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