There Are No Wrong Roads To Anywhere.

I Received A Grant From The Ford Foundation To Write A Book For Kids About Urban Perception, Or How People Experience Cities, But I Kept Putting Off Writing It. Instead I Started To Write What Became The Phantom Tollbooth

How Can You See Something That Isn't There?" Yawned The Humbug, Who Wasn't Fully Awake Yet. "sometimes, It's Much Simpler Than Seeing Things That Are,"he Said. "for Instance, If Something Is There, You Can Only See It With Your Eyes Open, But If It Isn't There, You Can See It Just As Well With Your Eyes Closed. That's Why Imaginary Things Are Often Easier To See Than Real Ones." "then Where Is Reality?" Barked Tock. "right Here,"cried Alec, Waving His Arms.

We're Right Here On This Very Spot. Besides, Being Lost Is Never A Matter Of Not Knowing Where You Are; It's A Matter Of Not Knowing Where You Aren't - And I Don't Care At All About Where I'm Not.

No One Paid Any Attention To How Things Looked, And As They Moved Faster And Faster Everything Grew Uglier And Dirtier, And As Everything Grew Uglier And Dirtier They Moved Faster And Faster, And At Last A Very Strange Thing Began To Happen. Because Nobody Cared, The City Slowly Began To Disappear. Day By Day The Buildings Grew Fainter And Fainter, And The Streets Faded Away, Until At Last It Was Entirely Invisible. There Was Nothing To See At All.

You Can Swim All Day In The Sea Of Knowledge And Not Get Wet.