BARENAKEDFAMILY in the Winsted Journal!
'The
Barenaked Family'
08-15-2003 -- By
JENNIFER ALLEN-GILLEY Special to The Winsted Journal
Remember the tale about the
conceited old emperor whose emphasis on outward appearances ultimately left him
stark naked in front of the entire realm? Today I offer you its flip side: a
young family whose passion for the authentic experience has led them to trade in
a fully loaded lifestyle (complete with rental properties and six figure salary)
for a 1992 Winnebago and a traveling T-shirt business. This is the story of Greg
and Jenn White and their children, 10-year-old Austin, 8-year-old Kesley, and
7-year-old Sunny. And it is the bare-naked truth.
It all began when Jenn
walked into in an automotive shop in San Antonio, Texas. It was lucky Greg was
wearing those safety goggles because sparks were flying. It didn’t take long
before the couple made it official. They sealed their commitment among haystacks
and grain barrels, in front of God and a Texas justice of the peace/feed store
proprietor.
They went forth and made a
home and three children together while Greg worked his way up the ranks of Dell
(yes, the computer giant Dell). Setting one goal after another, this family
eventually found itself with all its ducks in a perfect row, two rental
properties, a new home in Seattle, salary, benefits, importance, stress,
headaches, and zero time together.
Jenn had long been saying
that what the family needed was not more money but more time. Finally, in dire
need of a break, the family took a trip to Kalaloch (pronounced Clay-Lock).
There, on the magnificent Washington shore, Greg had a revelation. While Greg
sat still, watching his children play, he let his thoughts wander. "What
does it take to be satisfied in this world?"
He had come so far, had
three healthy kids and a wife he adored. He was a great provider, respected at
work and in the community. If all this wasn't enough, what on earth was enough?
Would it be enough to win the lottery? This idea seemed worth extrapolating. He
thought of what it would mean to win a vast amount of money. If money were no
object, he would leave his job. He would leave it all behind, buy a motor home
and spend all of his time having adventures with his family.
That’s when Greg
recognized the wisdom in what Jenn had been saying all along. Money is not the
object, or it is merely an object, and life is not a game. Greg refers to that
day as the day he won the lottery.
From that day forward, Greg,
Jenn and the kids have worked together to make the dream possible. They sold
their houses and all of their belongings, save what they needed for their
journey, i.e. the bare-naked essentials, including a 1974 Volkswagon Thing, a
Welsh corgi named Timon and a poodle named Daisy, and headed out in May of 2001.
Using Greg’s computer
expertise and Jenn’s creative flair, they launched a Web site called
barenakedfamily.com with the intention of sharing a family fun philosophy, an
eye-catching collection of printed T-shirts, photographs and other mementos of
their offbeat, upbeat American experience. This Web site, along with the
family’s inclusion in a widely viewed Japanese documentary, has gained the
Barenaked Family a worldwide following.
That being said, however, we
Gilleys met the Whites not on the virtual Web, but on an even more spectacular
network called the road. As the Infinite Wisdom would have it, we pulled into a
thousand-site facility in Portage, Indiana, and parked smack dab next to the
Barenaked Family. As I write this, one week after that meeting, I know our
family is richer for having met these self-made lottery winners. As our magical
year of traveling draws to a close, we can rest easy knowing that the Barenaked
Family is somewhere out there on the open road, living life to its juicy
fullest!
The Gilley family is
expected to return to Winsted this week after spending about a year traveling
across the country in a recreational vehicle.