The Vacation Effect

One of my favorite scenes in the movie "A Thousand Clowns" happens when Murray Burns is told he must get back to reality. "I'll only go as a tourist," he replies.

As I reenter my real life, I replay that scene, re-embrace that motto.

I look at the parking garage in Vienna, see not the cars but the stripes of light that make a pattern on the floor.

It's not a bad way to live, as a real-life tourist, seeing the world with fresh eyes. It doesn't last long, this "vacation effect." But I'll take it while I can get it.