Tikkabik

Yeah, the spelling is intentional. That's the sign that greeted me at the grocery store.

This will be our eighth summer as residents of Cape Cod. It's a place that sees a large influx of tourists every summer, just as it has for decades. After living here for nearly a decade, I've come to realize that I have a dislike for the single-mindedness some tourists have to be on vacation. It expresses itself in a certain self-centeredness that many of us here -- and I presume in other tourist-heavy areas -- find repulsive.

We've all seen the caricature of the ugly American traveling abroad -- the loud, fat, obnoxious tourist who expects that everything he sees and everyone he meets is there for his pleasure and convenience only. Unfortunately, that caricature isn't relegated to Carribbean cruises and Mediterranean vacation packages. It's equally true of Americans who take holidays within their own country's borders as well. And while it's a strict minority, it is a particularly unpleasant one.

Fortunately, as someone who works from home and as part of a family that doesn't go out of its way to go to the beach or do other things in the summer that are likely to put us in direct contact with tourists, I can limit my exposure to those folks.

So that's one reason we'll be taking it easy today. The crowds at the spots where they'll be doing fireworks tonight will be big. There will be a lot of traffic, and much of it will be made up of people who lack familiarity with our roads. Bonnie and I will have a nice relaxing day at home with the kids, and likely will just watch the fireworks on TV, and be done with it.