Vacating

The equinox rapidly approaches and the usual destinations are bracing for this year’s influx of college spring breakers. They notoriously party heartily, because who needs a vacation more than college students? Don’t answer that.
 
Vacations or holidays (the terms are interchangeable in common parlance though the former is more American and latter more British) always have been a privilege of the rich. The well-to-do of the ancient world through early modern times were wont to travel and frequently to spend time at country estates away from their urban quarters. They still do that. To the extent middle class folk (craftsmen and the like) were able to take breaks and make excursions, it was usually for religious reasons. The ancient Greek festivals with their associated theater and sports events come to mind. For the most part though, farmers (the overwhelming majority of the workforce until quite recent times) had neither the resources nor the time to join them. One cannot just say to the farm animals, “You guys take care of yourselves for the next couple weeks ‘cause we’re outta here.”
 
The modern middle class secular vacation came along in the 19^th century with ongoing urbanization and industrialization. In the US, doctors and business management theorists argued not only that vacations were good for health but that they were good for business. They refreshed salaried workers and improved their productivity. Even ministers got in on the act, saying they were good for the soul: hence the slew of (especially) Methodist resorts appearing at the end of the 19^th century such as Ocean City, NJ. Rail connections to such places as the Jersey Shore and the Adirondacks made them readily accessible. Vacation time became a key demand in labor union negotiations with increasing success into the 1930s. Furthermore, they were affordable. Cheap gas and lodgings prevailed from 1920s right through the 1970s when I took a youthful three month cross-country road trip after college. I could not afford the same trip today despite having far more resources in real terms if one believes official CPI figures. Although 21^st century workers do go on vacation, they spend a lot on them. The growing popularity of the so-called staycation – just chilling out at home – is no surprise.
 
When I was a kid in the ‘50s/’60s my parents were adamant about taking a summer and a winter vacation – this despite the fact that my workaholic dad didn’t really like being on vacation and grew visibly antsy after three days. They regarded it as integral to a middle class lifestyle, which it was important to them to attain and maintain as it was for so many who grew up in the Depression. I suppose they also regarded it as a duty to my sister Sharon and me. I certainly didn’t complain. They weren’t terribly adventurous in their destinations. We regularly went to the same location in the Florida Keys in the winter and to the same lakefront spot in New Hampshire in the summer year after year. (In fairness, my dad had enough travel adventure in the Merchant Marine during the war.) It never occurred to me to question that decision, and anyway I enjoyed the familiarity of the places.
 

My mom and sister Islamorada, FL; my dad and I Gilmanton, NH – mid 1960s

Since the beginning of March I’ve been asked five or six times by various people if I plan a vacation this spring. In a way, this is a strange question to ask a retired person. Vacation from what? I suppose they mean the word in the literal sense of vacating the premises. In that case the answer is no. I don’t plan one. That doesn’t mean I won’t take one. An advantage of being old and single is being able to be impulsive. My wanderlust has diminished from what it was decades ago though. But maybe just for the heck of it, I’ll one day stand on a familiar beach in the Keys or lakeside in New Hampshire.

 

Jo Stafford – Let's Get Away from It All