When I was six, I saw a stunning picture in a book called "True Stories" about the jungle. It showed a boa constrictor swallowing a wild beast. Here's a copy of the picture.
In the book, it mentioned: "Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole, without chewing. Afterward, they are no longer able to move, and they sleep for six months as they need for digestion."
In those days, I spent a lot of time thinking about jungle adventures, and eventually, I managed to create my first drawing using a colored pencil. My drawing, Number One, looked like this:
I showed my masterpiece to the grown-ups and asked if my drawing scared them. They replied, "Why should anyone be scared of a hat?"
My drawing wasn't a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. Then I drew the inside of the boa constrictor so the grown-ups could understand. They always need explanations.
My drawing, Number Two, looked like this:
The grown-ups advised me to put away my drawings of boa constrictors, inside or outside, and focus instead on geography, history, arithmetic, and grammar. That's why I gave up my magnificent career as an artist at the age of six, discouraged by the failure of my drawing Number One and Number Two.
Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it's exhausting for children to have to explain things over and over again.
So, I had to choose another career. I learned to pilot airplanes and have flown almost everywhere in the world. And, as it turns out, geography has been a huge help to me – I can tell China from Arizona at first glance, which is very useful if you get lost during the night.
So, I've met many serious people throughout my life, spent a lot of time with grown-ups, and seen them up close... which hasn't improved my opinion of them.
Whenever I met a grown-up who seemed intelligent, I would experiment on them with my drawing Number One, which I've always kept. I wanted to see if they really understood anything.
But they would always answer, "That's a hat." Then I wouldn't talk about boa constrictors, jungles, or stars. I would put myself on their level and talk about bridge, golf, politics, and neckties. And my grown-up would be glad to know a reasonable person.
