There’s a very fine line between being broke and being humble. An angel seeded my dreams last night, and the wind broke my hunger. I think I died a little less. I need a vacation.
When I was a reporter in Philadelphia, I worked with a charming and dashing British journalist. He was dressed like a model for the aristocracy, tattered but expensive clothes, he had an Oxford degree, was headed straight for a peerage, a job at the Times Of London. He was gorgeous and brilliant.
A drinking problem – no problem at the Philadelphia Daily News where it was considered unethical to write a story while sober – had cut short a promising career in London – and his family had lost their ancient fortune and been forced to sell their mansion outside of London. Arch kicked around a bit, landed in Philadelphia at a tabloid.
Arch told me his hard story one night in the seedy and smokey bar where we all went to wash away the night, and he introduced me to the idea of the One-Day Vacation. He had a wife and two children at home, and he embodied the idea of the stiff upper lip.
“Have you heard of the One Day Vacation?,” he asked me. “Americans think vacations have to be far away, expensive and weeks long to be real. But when we lost the family home, my Dad said, “chin up, Arch, from now on, we will all be taking One Day Vacations. It’s all in your head, after all. Nobody can make you feel poor. ”
Arch would pile his family into the aging Volkswagen Beetle and head to Valley Forge for a picnic. Or to the shore, two hours away, for a day at the beach. Or to the Atlantic City Boardwalk for a spin at the games of chance or a ride on the ferris wheel. Or a day at Gettysburg touring the battlefield. He always had the best, “jolliest” time. “So many places to go in such a big country,” he would exclaim happily.
“We are,” he would grandly announce the night before, “off on vacation. See you tomorrow.”
I loved his never-complain-or-speak-poorly-of-your-life spirit.
If he was at all discouraged or sorry for himself, you sure never saw it.
He could write like Tom Wolfe, too, especially when drunk.
Sometimes these days, I think of Arch. As you know, we filed for bankruptcy this summer and nearly lost our farm as well. Our bankruptcy is over. I do not speak poorly of my life, or wallow in regret.
All in all, we are happier and better off than before, although I did get a very sympathetic e-mail this morning offering me an old car, a box of canned goods, and two weeks in a Maine cottage – no charge – if I needed it. “We worry about you,” wrote a reader from Maine.
Please, I said, don’t send me a thing. Food is cheap and plentiful here. We are doing fine.
I have learned so much this year.
Love and life can make a flower more fragrant, a blue sky bluer, and an empty bank account emptier. Or they can fill the cup up. I should probably sign up for another credit card, banks love to give them to people out of bankruptcy. We pay promptly and on time, we don’t care to do this again.
In fact, early Monday morning, we set out for one of Arch’s “One-Day-Vacation” specials, that is our new vacation model. Last January at this time, we were given a gift of a five-day trip to Disney World. Before that, we used to book a room for a few nights at a hotel in Manhattan, a block from the park and the carriage horses. Valet parking, too. Or sailed off to a beautiful Vermont Inn where Daniel Webster stayed up drinking all night. It was expensive.
Chin up, old sport, we will have an even better time on our One-Day Vacation. We will have fun and spend less on food all day than we did at breakfast in New York City.
And I need a vacation, it has been a difficult few days, and I am drained. The great thing about the One Day vacations is that you actually return refreshed, but not exhausted or broke. And our house-sitter Deb gets to spend some quality time with Red, for which she would probably pay us…Hmmmm.
This year, we are heading to Brattleboro, Vt. for a one night stay at a funky hotel that costs $105. Like Arch, we are excited.
It works like this. I trawl the Internet – I’m even exploring Airbnb, I’ll try it next time – and locate some well-reviewed but inexpensive hotels. I call them up and haggle over the room price – Monday is a good night to do this, as all hotels everywhere are empty. I am surprised at the flexibility. If you can be quiet for a couple of minutes, the price drops like a hawk going after a chicken. Sometimes, all you have to do is say you found a cheaper rate up the road.
I find a good Thai or Asian restaurant – is it my imagination, or is Thai food almost always good and inexpensive? Dinner for $30. Maybe a glass of red wine, so I can toast Arch, I wonder where he is, I can’t find him on Facebook, which is a bad sign.
In this case, a nearby movie theater helps They are showing Sisters. We will leave early Sunday, pick up coffee at the Round House Cafe and head that way. We’ll stop at some of Maria’s favorite Thrift Stores, I might look for a new pizza stone, maybe a new pair of suspenders. The movie at night, then hours of reading.
I’m bringing a book of short stories – it will be cold there Monday and Tuesday morning, continental breakfast and home. And my camera, always my camera.
Arch, wherever you are, you were right about One-Day Vacations. They are fun, simple, inexpensive and actually restful. Chin up, nobody can make you feel poor.