Vacation Wisdom

As I have remarked upon many occasions, my husband is a workaholic.  No judgment here; he is what he is.  Dancing to the rhythm of a vacation is difficult for us.  My husband cannot pack light or go with the flow.  Whereas most people tuck a much-anticipated novel into their holiday suitcases, my husband packs a small fortune in technologies.  He lugs a powerful laptop, a bag full of adaptors and chargers, and an array of secondary and tertiary electronic devices.  He has his iphone upgraded for international service as well as unlimited emails and texts.  Many times each day he downloads and dispatches dozens of emails.  I am willing to bet that many of his colleagues do not even realize that he is out of the country.

I was happy to see that one woman from my husband’s office sent him a terse email that read, “Shut off your phone and enjoy your vacation.”  As nice as this sentiment is, the simple fact is that my husband cannot enjoy himself if he is unplugged.  I suppose it is a small downside for one who is not only on top of his game, but is dominating several boards simultaneously.  But just once, I would love to see him ignore those hundred-and-something emails in his inbox.

On the other hand, had he listened to me he would have missed that one time-sensitive email that dropped into his box yesterday morning.  A reporter from the Wall Street Journal needed to interview someone on wisdom teeth and the national association for the oral surgery specialty gave her his name.   Unbeknownst to the politically-engaged, economically-strained, social-media-dominated world, there is a small drama among the oral-cavity-obsessed about how best to treat wisdom teeth.  Much as the Republicans and Democrats argue over Big Bird and Medicare, oral surgeons argue from both sides of the aisle about whether asymptomatic wisdom teeth are born to be extracted or are “better” left in place and managed.  The difference between politicians and oral surgeons is that the latter actually have data to support their positions.  Unfortunately, the data to manage the most asymptomatic of cases is absent—leaving the patient to decide when it is best for them to have these teeth removed. 

While the issues are well understood among oral surgeons, it is harder for people outside the specialty to grasp the difference between “absent data” and “compelling data” on wisdom tooth extraction.  Every few months, a reporter has her wisdom teeth removed and then resurrects these questions in the press.   So, on a beautiful Sunday morning in Venice, my husband spent two hours outlining the issues of wisdom tooth extraction for a reporter—who happened to be in Paris—so that she could make her deadline for next Tuesday’s WSJ.

My husband was apologetic about having to consume the morning with this activity, but of all the things I have had to endure over the course of his career, this one was pretty small.  Besides, how could I complain about his being tethered to work when I have spent every night of our trip composing my latest blog entry?