Work Like A Fraggle

To my son Tommy,

What is it about coming back to work after a holiday Monday that makes you want to scream and run away? Is it the realization that any day away from work is infinitely better than any day spent doing the nine to five thing? Maybe it is because everyone is so busy because the preceding week they put off all those projects till after the holiday and that procrastination bill has come due? Or perhaps it is the figurative slap in the face that you have to come back to make ends meet for those real bills and the real reason you work?

People often wish for things that will never happen. I often find myself thinking of becoming independently wealthy and dreaming about the day I will have to work no more. Unfortunately I have no master plan to accomplish this sudden windfall. In fact my financial plans are really centered around me working and working and working some more. And the day I will have to work no more? Well that will probably be the day I meet my maker.

It makes me think about an episode from Fraggle Rock that we watched together. In that episode, we found out how things get accomplished in their world. You see every Fraggle has to work an absolutely obscene thirty minutes of work a week. Grueling, I know. Each has to do his or her part to help the society and since they are simple creatures the amount of work to be done, when divided, is not that much. The rest of the days are spent in fun and play. That would be the life! Unfortunately, back in the real world, the work hours tend to surpass that amount by a factor of one hundred, at least. Maybe one day. Of course if I wanted those work hours, all I would have to do is run for elected office and win.

Sincerely with love from your dad,
Leo