from Stanislaw Warda: "the kind of people who knew what they wanted and did not need any commercials"

                                                              Vacation Time

Vacation commercials encourage us to visit some beautiful places. They usually show the Caribbean Islands where smiling people have fun in elegant hotels or on huge cruisers. People dance happily, enjoy good food for an unexpensive price. The goal of these kinds of commercials is to encourage hard working people to do the same, to take vacation. The offers are various. It includes fun for each group of visitors; for young adults who are single, for couples and for seniors.  In many cases it is true, we know it from  many people who experience this kind of vacation. Nevertheless, these happy comments and those commercials got me thinking if this is the only way to relax. Commercials show very happy people but in reality this is not always like that. Terrible sun and humid weather are common “attractions” of the Caribbean Islands. We do not hear stories of people puking on the huge cruises, for whom it was supposed to be the holiday of their lives. So not every vacation is for everybody. 

This is an essential problem for producers of commercials. The view of happy people and full beaches do not encourage everybody to take this kind of offer. Some people prefer quite different entertainment if we can say it is entertainment. It could be some extreme sport like mountain climbing or the stay of meditation in some Buddhist country. Others just prefer to stay at home with the TV off and glue cardboard models. It seems impossible to portray so many offers and it is not necessary. People who have passions just know what they want to do so even the most attractive commercial does not convince them to change their plans.

I remember a nice couple, Toni and Fila, who worked in a small bakery their whole life. I heard their lively and accurate comments and sincere smiles when they talked to each other. One would say “this bakery is everything for them.” Once they became older, their children decided to surprise them, and bought them a nice vacation. The vacation was in elegant expensive hotel near a beach. When their son drove them back home, he asked them about their impression. They shortly commented “It was ok.” 

When we approached their bakery, they became excited as if they had seen Las Vegas. At that time, I understood that they belonged to the kind of people who knew what they wanted and did not need any commercials.

It does not matter how people want to spend their free time if each of their points of interest is precious for them. Tony and Fila were no exception. Many couples have the same interests and try to realize it together during their free time. Henry and his wife also belong to these kinds of people. They do not imagine to be separated no matter what they are doing.  Henry was able to spend his free time in his garage together with his wife.  Sometimes their hobbies are so strange that for others it is hard to believe that they are relaxing.  For an average person it doesn’t seem too exciting. What could be fun in a place full of grease, dirty rags, strange tools and the smell of fuel?  However, for Henry and his wife, it was the most fascinating place where they would connect their passion and family life. It gave them not only the relaxation which only some participants of the Caribbean’s vacation would only dream of, but also success and money. He proved it. He constructed the famous Ford -T which became the legend of America. At the end of his life, some reporters asked him what he would have done if he were not a car constructor. He answered, “Doesn’t matter as long as my wife was with me.” These examples of these two couples show what we really need to be happy. Each of us has a special place where we love to be. We can say we belong to it.