Words from the achiever
“One book whose contents I remember best was called Mrs. Pickerell Goes to Mars. Somehow this woman got on a spaceship that was going to Mars. She was going there with a scientist who appeared to be very absent-minded. They took off with this woman in the ship and he didn’t seem to know what was happening.
She was flabbergasted that he was so scatterbrained and he said, “I try to keep in my mind only the things that are important. I write all the details down, so I don’t have to fill up my brain with these silly details.” That stuck with me. In fact, that’s what I try to do.
For better or worse, people often times think I’m scatterbrained for the same reason. If they get in a car with me, I’m at least as likely to go somewhere completely different, as I am to go to where we’re supposed to go. I try to keep my brain free for important stuff, rather than trivia. So that book actually had an influence.”
About the book
Miss Pickerell lives quietly on her farm until she finds a rocket ship parked in her cow pasture. The ensuing adventure takes her all the way to the Red Planet and back.
At the far end of Miss Pickerell’s pasture, a huge silver-colored structure gleamed in the late afternoon sun. It was shaped a little like a pencil, but it was much fatter, and had several wide fins at the bottom. Even from here, Miss Pickerell could see that the thing was enormous. It was far bigger than any airplane Miss Pickerell had ever seen or ever heard about. And instead of resting flat on the ground like an airplane, it pointed straight up in the air.