Hi. I’m Kirk Horsted. Welcome to this BreakAway website–an amalgamation of opinions and ponderings on the provocative topic of Sabbaticals. I emphatically believe that real people (like you!) can and should take these restorative breaks–and I’ve done a bunch of them myself to test the theory. And now, for a limited time only, my secret tips and hard…
Now and then, a Sabbatical story comes along that is too good to pass up, and too good not to pass along.
Meet Todd Babiak. Todd is a writer based in Edmonton—on a year-long BreakAway with his family in Paris. He’s having a gas, as this article describes. He’s also finding that sabbaticals bring surprises.
Babiak’s latest book is called Toby: A Man. It’s about an etiquette commentator for a TV station. (Now there’s a job with few openings!) After studying manners for so long, Babiak decided to do a year in Paris—in hopes of landing in a place where civility truly is alive and well. Well, is it? He answers…
Vulgarity is global now; we can’t get away from it.”
Babiak tells the story of walking his daughter to school one morning, only to pass by two men peeing on a building amidst a busy street. Now, anyone who’s spent time in Europe knows that such practices are common. Still, it can be a buzzkill to pursue a course in grace, and instead experience coarseness.
Our Sabbatical seeker is eating it up though, as one tends to do in Paris. His faux blog, Tobyaman.com, features the commentary and Q&A of the uber-refined Toby—who is “suing” Babiak for writing that unauthorized biography. It’s full of hilarity on many levels.
Clearly, Todd Babiak and fam are having a great time, even if the French manners ain’t what they used to be.
Best of all, they still have five months to do Paris—public pee and all. Enjoy!
Now and then, a Sabbatical story comes along that is too good to pass up, and too good not to pass along.
Meet Todd Babiak. …
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