Ask yourself a simple and single question: do you get enough vacation? OK? Got your
answer?
My guess is that if you’re reading this blog, then your disposition towards vacation is positive. That is,
rather than listen to the bleat of a fax machine or smell the sour reek of xerox toner, you would more happily sip the
crystal waters of an undiscovered spring and/or inhale the sweet fragrance of mountain air (or, let’s
face it, even the fetor of your unwashed sleeping bag). If I’m talking about you, then you’re going to be a bit
pissed when you read the upsetting facts in this article (uh, MY
article) on MSNBC.com about the sad state of the American vacation. I spoke with Rick Steves and an economist at
MIT and, well, lots of folks, and they all agree on one thing: we are getting ripped off folks! We live in the most
advanced country in the world and we get the least vacation of all of them. Four weeks less, on average than our
European counterparts. Is it just me, or is that ridiculous? Rick Steves told me that it was “unbelievable how docilely
we accept the shortest vacations in the rich world,”
Amen, brother.