« X-rays for stress fractures, part III | Main | Learning Python, part II »
August 26, 2004
Curdling
Dad wanted to visit a cheese dairy. Nathalie found a place in St. Marie du Mont where they let you strain the fromage blanc yourself.
The dairy belongs to a farm where 28 residents with mental disabilities and illnesses live and work. They have a few cows, some pigs, donkeys, a horse. 35 staff members help them handle the place and themselves. Looks more therapeutic than sitting in a hospital watching TV, though I prefer my own wage slavery situation for now.
The children ladled fromage blanc into clear plastic molds, then we went to see the animals. Diane tried screeching like a rooster. The pigs screeched and sneezed for their dinner, which according to the staff is mainly whey.
A couple of the more extraverted residents sat with us while we had a snack of fromage blanc, cream, and granulated sugar.
The folks who came to sit with us had me wondering where writer Will Self found raw material for Ward 9. One could tell the staff from the patients at 15 meters. I think. Those of us on the outside conform to some rules about physical and social presentation with which the other folks appear to have gotten out of sync.
But you don't have to sit there too long to start wondering how close you stand from the edge. As you drive up to the farm you can see the edge of the road. On the other side lies a beautiful, sheer cliff. The bearded guy (doctor, patient?) who showed us the cows and answered Dad's questions about volumes of milk and whether they had their own bull said you got used to the drive up. He's probably used to the other edges as well.
Posted by Mark at August 26, 2004 06:07 PM