"They walked still farther and the girl said, "Is it true that long ago firemen put fires out instead of going to start them?" No. Houses have always… - Ray Bradbury

I was madly in love with Hollywood. … I was so blindly and madly in love with the film and radio business in Hollywood that I didn't realize what a pest I was. George no doubt thought he could get me off his back by using my words for one of the eight-line vignettes he had Gracie close their broadcasts with. I wanted to live that special life forever. When that summer was over, I stopped my inner time clock at the age of 14. Another reason I became a writer was to escape the hopelessness and despair of the real world and enter the world of hope I could create with my imagination. … And strangely enough, my parents never protested. They just figured I was crazy and that God would protect me. Of course back then you could go around town at night and never risk getting mugged or beaten up.

I'm being ironic. Don't interrupt a man in the midst of being ironic, it's not polite. There!

Creativity is a continual surprise.