This week Classic
Interviews returns with an interview with the boy who never grew up, Peter Pan.
Greg:
Welcome, Peter. I know you have a busy schedule, so we'll get right to it. Can
you tell me a little bit about your childhood?
Peter: Ha,
ha! Silly grown up man! That's a good one! My childhood is my whole life, and I
hope it will never end.
Greg: Of
course, how silly of me. Can you tell me how you first came to Neverland?
Peter: I
was lost. My parents lost me. Tinkerbell found me. I would have died. She took
me away to Neverland. Soon, we both flew out together, looking for lost boys
like me. They became my men. We have a great time fighting pirates, teasing
mermaids, and having councils of war with the Indians.
Greg: Don't
you miss having a mother?
Peter: Nah!
Mothers are nothing but trouble! 'Sides, we had a mother once. Her name was
Wendy. She darned stockings and told us stories. We had some grand adventures,
I can tell you. That was about the only time we had a mother. She wasn't so
bad, but she had to grow up.
I wanted her
to stay and be our mother always, but she had to take her brothers, John and Michael,
home. They missed their real mother.
Greg: Do you
ever miss Wendy?
Peter: Sometimes I
do. I used to visit her every summer. But every year she'd get a little older,
until she wasn't any fun to play with anymore. That's the part that makes me
sad. When the kids grow up. That's when they stop being interesting. Like you,
you write about kids and stuff, but you're just a boring old daddy man.
But Wendy,
she was never boring. Even after she grew up, she could still be a little fun.
Funny thing is, when she got real old, like 30-35, she was no fun at all. But
then she got positively ancient, like 70, and she was a lot of fun again. She
liked to play all sorts of games again. I could never figure that out.
Greg: Why
don't we talk about some of your adventures. What was it like to face Captain
Hook and his pirate crew?
Peter: Captain
Hook, why'd you want to talk about him? He thought he was so smart. Always
laying traps for us, he was. But we were always too smart for him.
I remember
one time, he tried to set a trap for us. He tried to get us into a cave to
rescue the Indian princess, Tigerlilly. I swooped in and rescued her, and he
couldn't stop me. I got him to chase Wendy, and she led him into the lagoon.
The crocodile was there, waiting for ol' Hook. Ha, ha! That crocodile chased
him clear back to his ship! Hook didn't set another trap for us for more than a
month!
Hook's
funny, but he can be dangerous if you don't watch out. The rest of his men are
harmless, but great fun. That Mr. Smee is the funniest of them all. He's always
upsetting the good Captain. It makes our job a whole lot easier!
Greg: What plans
do you have for the future?
Peter: The
future? I don't worry about the future. Whatever happens, happens. There'll
always be pirates to fight and Lost Boys to find. Tinkerbell is always around,
too. She's a lot of fun, but sometimes she can be a little nasty. When that
happens, I just banish her until she shapes up. That usually fixes things.
Sometimes I
think that if people could just have fun, and banish people until they stop
being mean, that everyone in the world would be a lot better off. Take you for
example. If you didn't worry so much about selling your books, and just had the
fun of writing them, you'd be a lot cheerier and I bet your kids would have
more fun, too.
Greg: I
daresay, you're probably right, Peter. Well, thank you very much for talking to
us. I feel younger just talking to you.
Peter: All you need is a little pixie
dust, and you'd be back to having fun before you know it. Just say the word,
and I'll send Tink over to your place with some. Leave the window open, and
we'll have an adventure!
