vacation and Jesus

There is no such thing as a vacation. At the Jersey Shore, Ocean City, rent one of those surreys with the fringe on top to ride around on the boardwalk. We rented a six seater. Four pedaling adults and two basket-riding children makes for a hilarious photo.
Beach rule # 487: A one-year-old will find ways to retain sand on his small body which cannot be removed, even after several baths. Its easier to picj fleas off a poodle. Trust me.
Beach rule #97: Americans will shamelessly don swimwear made for much smaller bodies. Obesity is an epidemic and so is indecency.
Beach rule #5511: Teenagers are spacially challenged. My wife was beaned with a small, hard plastic ball during a game of paddle ball she was not playing. try reading calmly on the beach while small projectiles are flying toward you. Did it even occur to them that the large, uninhabited area of sand 25 yards to our imemdiate south would have made for much safer paddle ball? Apparently, standing behind my wife and aiming for the area generally recognized as the back of her head seemed like a fine location.

I found it difficult to relax. There was no rest. I do not easily downshift. I think my brain craves stimulation.Or maybe I'm thinking that because I didn't have coffee today. I've been drinking too much coffee, especially in chicago. more about Chicago later...
I did, however, read a great book. Vacation Rule #7: Read a good book, even if yuo have to stay up late. "Rabbi Jesus" by Bruce chilton was the most readable 'historical Jesus' book I've ever read. I appreciated the way he described first century rabbinic life; halakah and khabbalah. The idea that Jesus was a Jewish Kabbalist, a spiritual mystic of sorts, was compelling. Although a stretch biblically. I accept the connection between John the Baptist and Jesus. I think Jesus was a student of John, somehow. I also believe that Jesus' Galilean roots and the nature of his conception/birth/illegitimacy would have contributed to his theology and radical inclusionary practice. Sort of like Moses---send a Hebrew who was raised by Egyptian royalty to talk of political liberation. Jesus would have had a place in both worlds---that of the outcast and that of the accepted community/family system.
Here's the thing: Vacation is a false reality created by workaholic americans to jusify unhealthy work habits.Its a way to avoid Sabbath by lumping it together in an annual contracted amount of leavetime. besides everyone knows that taking vacation means making more work. Better that we actually get sensible about work and productivity. A weekly Sabbath makes for a better balance. And does not force you to try to check out for two weeks in August.
Don't get me wrong. I think vacation is necessary. But is work more important?