A friend of mine used to be in the real estate business.  In fact, he was, at one time, a top producer in our office.

Under the best of times, Real Estate can be a demanding mistress, but with our recent downturn, this long-time agent began really feeling the pressure, and it showed.  His health deteriorated rapidly, and soon he was admitted to the hospital where they confirmed that he had serious bleeding ulcers.

The doctors told him that he needed to reduce his stress level, and relax.  Being a Realtor, he of course had difficulty doing that, since he had listings to attend to, open houses to conduct, broker's tours, brochures, feedback calls... and of course seller/owners who constantly wanted to talk about why their homes weren't yet sold.

I advised him, that if he couldn't leave the business, at least temporarily, maybe he might consider taking a long vacation, where he might learn to relax.  He thought this was a good alternative... so last summer, he decided to take 3 months off and visit Africa.

Now, he didn't consult with me when he booked his trip, but he had booked a trip to one of the countries in Africa that had been recently in the headlines for political unrest, a horrible health care system, and a very primitive infrastructure.  I suggested that this trip didn't appear very "relaxing" to me... but he had already paid for it, and was insistent that he would follow through.

After two and a half months of not hearing a single word from him, we received a postcard from his distant outpost.  There was a beautiful picture of a tropical paradise on the front, and on the backside it read:

"Dear Friends"

"It has been an incredible trip, thus far. I have been shot at by Guerrillas, who take routine pot shots at any cars traveling the muddy roads; I learned quickly that each and every night we have to check our beds for tarantulas; and I ran out of money due to having to bribe so many officials, so I've taken a job driving a nitroglycerin truck across the twisting mountain paths, which pays for my malaria medication.  And you'll never believe this... my ulcers have completely cleared up!  I won't be coming back."