American Vacation sans Chevy Chase

We've certainly come a long way from the old Connie Francis tune about vacation just chillin' in the summer sun. In fact, I would suspect we've outdone the Go Go's vacation-themed ditty as well. How? We spend our vaction working, believe it or not. According to CareerBuilder.com at least one in four Americans plans to take work with him/her while on vacation. This means the BlackBerry comes along as well as the laptop and cell phone. What? Are you people nuts? I think you have missed the whole idea behind the word "vacation" which is defined by three or more days off consecutively.
Expedia.com estimates that American workers will give back over 574 million days of vacation this year under the use-it-or-lose-it plan. As our population edges toward three million people, this number represents a fair number of idiots (in my estimation). On average, Americans leave four days of vacation unused every year. Twenty percent of us took NO vacation in the last three years! This is simply absurd. Nobody, on his/her death bed, is going to say, "I should have spent more time at work." Are you simply irreplaceable? I think not. As an example, I missed six weeks of work fifteen years ago with a serious medical issue. I fretted every day about how my students would fare without me. When I returned, the comments ranged from, "Oh, you're back," to "We really did like the guy who took your place!" Snap!!!
And it's not as if Americans get a ton of vacation anyway. We lag far behind most of the working world. Americans average 14 days of vacation time. Australians get 17; Canadians get 24; Germans get 27; French folk get 39 on average. Heck, I know Swedes get a whole month off every summer. and they DON'T spend it hunched over the iBook.
Want to work for a company who understands the principle of vacation? UCG of Rockville (Maryland, I think) is a publisher of business newsletters...as if your IT people couldn't do that in their spare time. Anyway, this company has NO LIMIT to the amount of vacation its employess can take. The idea is that if you need a break, take a break because you'll be better when you come back. One of their employees took eight weeks off to ride his bike across America. Another took six weeks for her tour of China. Mind you, only a couple of weeks are paid, but still, the freedom would be cool.
How about a national bank of vacation days? People who were not going to use theirs could contribute, and the rest of the population, teens excluded, could withdraw them...something like Buffett's Bank of Bad Habits. Hmmmm....
I'll take the enforced vacation that comes with teaching. I leave the computer at work and pick up the handyperson tools and begin relaxing with the project jar. No hammock and mai tai, but no real stress, either; by August, I'm ready to get back to it. Nobody is going to short me on MY vacation days!