When pleading didn't work, he'd often hail a cab on his own, and suddenly a Tuk Tuk would dart across the stream of traffic and swoop up to the curb idling loudly. I was afraid we'd be run down in Bangkok, so we bailed out and fetched up on this tropical island, where it never gets cold, where the sea seems as gentle and predictable as a farm pond, and where one glorious sunset follows another. Where there are no newspapers, no televisions, no traffic jams. Except for the jellyfish and coconuts. They didn't pay much attention to my warnings.
Coconuts are irresistible to children, especially for kids from Maine.
My boys spent many happy hours gathering coconuts and smashing them together, trying to break through the shell, looking to taste the sweet, exotic meat of another world.