Listening Post: Downtime

The Listening Post is a day early because I am taking a few days off to see family. In America, we have taken to calling such an occurrence “downtime,” an unfortunate borrowing of a term (originating in manufacturing) used to describe that percentage of time when a production line is not operational due to breakdown or scheduled maintenance. The preferred term would be “vacation,” but downtime is actually more apt, given that like most Americans, I have no idea how to take a vacation.

A sure sign of this is that I am writing my post early, rather than letting it slide while I’m on break. In the past, I’d have dragged along my laptop to post while I was  off-the-clock, so in that sense, I am improving. But it’s been a very long decade.

The simple truth is, in the American mythos, vacations are a sign of sloth and weakness. The French may well take off the month of August to sip a little wine, make a little love, read in the garden and wade in the sea. And if there is no one back at the office covering their turf, tant pis, it’s August. There’s just no accounting for the French.

They probably reckon that the point of working is to make a living. But in my secret puritan heart, the point of living is to do some work. “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” Since I got working papers at the age of 14, the only time I have ever had more than two weeks off in a row was called unemployment, a form of existence so miserable that the state sent me weekly checks in compensation for suffering it.

I’m beginning to think, though,  that I should study up on how to take a vacation. The next step up in my career track is probably retirement, and I wouldn’t want to lack an essential skill needed to do the job.

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