Summary

Remember those glorious summers of your childhood? Everyone piled into the car (the kids, the dog, dad, mom, the cool box...) and you were off! Off to join the millions of other holiday goers on the roads in gridlock hell, driving hundreds of miles in unbearable heat (no air conditioning back then of course!)... And this is what we called holidays! Dad drove, naturally. Even if mom had her license she would allow the 'man of the house', this weary shepherd, the dubious honor of leading his bleating flock towards the promised land, which could be anywhere so long as the weather was good. Sometimes, with the magnanimous air of someone allowing us a great treat, he would turn on the radio. That year all the summer hits had names like 'Nothing but a tear in your eyes', 'Just don't forget me' and 'The sickness we call love'. 'The sickness we call love' – they had that right! Because mom – Madeleine, or Mado to her friends – had been suffering from it for several months. She was sick of selling shoes to anonymous strangers in holey socks. Sick of waiting for her husband, a comic book illustrator by trade, to make a name for himself. She's after a new life. Because the miles keep racking up and nobody so far has found the reverse on this old jalopy we call life! After more pointless arguments and painful silences, they have decided to separate. But not quite yet. Not till after the summer. First they want to give their children one last family vacation. After all, isn't it on vacation that families create their best memories together ?