Visit Adirondacks

It Takes a Village

The little anecdote recounted here may seem tangential to travel in the Adirondacks, but then, maybe not . . .

In a Lake Placid convenience store the other day, a grandfather and his spritely granddaughter — she couldn’t have been more than 3 years old — were picking up some food staples. The little girl was a whirlwind and dashed around the store.

As the grandfather approached the cash register with his arms full, the little girl ran out the door toward the busy parking lot. Without hesitation, an older gentleman in line tore out the door to grab the little girl before she got flattened by a pick-up truck. Her grandfather hadn’t even had time to drop his purchases before this kind stranger, probably a grandfather himself, returned with the little hellion.

Maybe it’s because of our long winters or the stretches of wilderness between hamlets. Maybe we just don’t have “people fatigue”, as I imagine might happen under more crowded living conditions. In the Adirondacks, people have a tendency to take care of each other. That goes for visitors, too.