About this site

It was a dark and stormy winter afternoon.  On a particularly frustrating day in the middle of tax season sometime in the mid 1990s I had a thought.  Chuck it.  Quit my job, sell my house, sell my car, and get rid of most of the crap I’ve been accumulating for years.  My “tentative” plan was to move to a grass hut on some tropical island and sell coconuts for a living.  Not really a practical plan, but the idea seemed to have merit in the moment.

Instead of ice and snow there would be blue sky and a warm, gentle breeze.  Selling coconuts to passers by from the comfort of a beach chair or hammock would clearly be easier than preparing tax returns.  I imagined a care free and minimalist existence.  I envisioned a life with “no computers, no phones, no traffic, no bosses… no worries of recession or capital losses.”  The idea seemed rather perfect at first.

Then certain realities sank in.  Grass huts probably aren’t the best shelter when the eventual tropical storm or hurricane hits.  Sure, some of the better ones now have plumbing and electricity.  But what’s that gonna cost me?  As for selling coconuts – I’m guessing it’s not the most profitable business unless you are shipping truckloads of them to candy and cookie manufacturers.  I don’t even like coconut!

Quickly I found the flaws in my new plan.  Living in a grass hut and selling coconuts really isn’t for me.  It may not be a bad life, but it’s not necessarily better than what I’ve got.  Nevertheless, I adopted the phrase “grass hut and coconuts” to help me find peace in moments of stress.  It was a metaphor for a place I’d rather be and a job I’d rather have.

About a dozen years later, in 2008, I was trying to come up with a name for what would become this web site.  A place where I could post various things for family, friends and (why not) the whole world.  My quirky phrase found new life and new meaning.  This web site is my special place – my grass hut.  My thoughts, opinions, stories, pictures and links – these are my coconuts.

Welcome to my grass hut.  I hope you enjoy my coconuts.