Scott Haas > Quotes

“The Swiss, in addition to being self-righteous and unyielding, will do anything to avoid conflict. Decorum and civility define their culture. Although they are unhappy or worried most of the time, they do not show it. I do not as yet have sufficient information to support the opinion, but I believe that the Swiss government has ordered Prozac to be added to the water.”
― Scott Haas, Are We There Yet?: Perfect Family Vacations and Other Fantasies

“These walks in the country forced us to establish a good marching rhythm that was specific to our family. Each year we walked a little faster until as adolescents the children came to outpace us. Every family has its own pace and way of doing things that can be discovered only by walking together without being in much of a hurry.”
― Scott Haas, Are We There Yet?: Perfect Family Vacations and Other Fantasies

“I want to have fun," I said. "I'm tired of not having fun. Think about it: For five days all we'll have to do is have fun. That will be our job. No cultural sites, no cultural experiences, no foreign languages, no churches or museums or hikes or beaches, nothing but fun. I've been stressed out since September and I think going to Disney World will be the cure.”
― Scott Haas, Are We There Yet?: Perfect Family Vacations and Other Fantasies

“The rare beauty of distant places made home seem as if we had been thrown out of paradise and sent to purgatory or worse.”
― Scott Haas, Are We There Yet?: Perfect Family Vacations and Other Fantasies

“After the murderous attacks on September 11th, I had an overwhelming need to know what people hated most about America so we arranged to go to Disney World.”
― Scott Haas, Are We There Yet?: Perfect Family Vacations and Other Fantasies

“The hillsides and Alps looked as if they'd been sculpted and freshly seeded. Nothing appeared to be placed at random. The world is out of control, but the Swiss had purpose. They derived life's meaning from geography.”
― Scott Haas, Are We There Yet?: Perfect Family Vacations and Other Fantasies

“The task is to preserve and promote individual differences in ways that are respectful. Comparable, in reverse, to the American tendency to blame oneself for not achieving the American Dream, in Japan there is a tendency to blame oneself for not fitting in with or conforming to group norms and”
― Scott Haas, Why Be Happy?: The Japanese Way of Acceptance

“If a sparrow comes before my window, I take part in its existence and pick about the gravel… [so] that in a little time I am annihilated.”
― Scott Haas, Why Be Happy?: The Japanese Way of Acceptance

“I’m not always thinking ahead, and I’m not always thinking back. Ukeireru creates a kind of basic state of immediacy—of being present.”
― Scott Haas, Why Be Happy?: The Japanese Way of Acceptance

“The best restaurants are, in addition to the food being cooked and served, the ones in which the chef tells you his or her story.”
― Scott Haas, Back of the House: The Secret Life of a Restaurant

“Kikinagasu can mean to hear and listen and let it flow away, meaning that we pretend to listen to somebody’s nagging but not take it really seriously!”
― Scott Haas, Why Be Happy?: The Japanese Way of Acceptance