Post 1150 – X ---> Vacation

Xavier Cugat, the famous band-leader, was once asked what his favourite vacation spot was.  “You see”, he replied, “When a man does exactly what he wants to do for a living, he’s always on vacation.”  Zero Mostel, Xavier’s best friend, had the same opinion.

All of us are meant to do “something” with our lives.  Because most of us don’t find that one special thing, we tend to live for the weekends, or our vacations, and getting the frig out of Dodge.  Can we help it that educational opportunities are lacking, or the funds do not exist, to help pave the way to that special job?  Don’t think so.  Even the best of us fall prey to “settling”. 

Frankly, I have never had the right attitude toward vacations.  Give me a nice meal, a pleasant walk, perhaps a glass of wine, some time away from work, and I’m well on my way to being happy.  Heaving myself from pillar to post, from airport terminal to airport terminal, is no recipe for bliss.  I just don’t see the point of it.  Judge me not.  Kneeing myself in the groin would be easier, and more therapeutic, than the travails of reaching a vacation spot.

Let me tell you, however, about my very favourite vacation location.  Maybe you remember all the times I have mentioned it here.  Not for nothing do I love our cottage.  Oh, it’s not perfect: We have no cable, or satellite, and tv reception on the over-the-air channels is spotty by times.  Please remember, though: It is such a peaceful place for us, a refuge from the cacophony of city living, that it is difficult to imagine just going away somewhere else; and there is something to be said for just getting away from the bustling and bothersome aspects of our lives. 

Quick-tempered folks reading this just would never understand.  Reality for them includes all of the things that our cottage environs do not possess, and never will.  Surely, nothing I state in this post will persuade them to consider a slower, more methodical lifestyle.  There are too many different types of folks out there who feel that a vacation should consist of initial travel inconvenience to and from, punctuated by running around from tourist destination to tourist destination, that I would be wasting my time trying to convince them that there are many simple pleasures associated with cottage living.  Until they have done it, they just won’t get it.

Well, it was good enough for Xavier Cugat and Zero Mostel, so what are you waiting for?