Albert Einstein and I were outside together in a garden area. I was hoping he could tell me about some of his ideas in a simple way so that I could understand him. I asked him what he thought. Behind us in the garden was an apple tree with large red apples on it. Einstein was standing with his back to the tree. Looking straight ahead away from the tree he said, "I think that apple tree is in front of me."

I understood what he was saying. He meant that if he continued going in a straight line away from the apple tree, he would ultimately end up back at the apple tree. I looked exasperated and I said to him, "That doesn't make any logical sense."

I wanted him to try to explain simply to me what he meant. He said, "You don't think this is going to be any fun, do you."

I replied, "No, I think it's going to be a lot of fun."

I did think that learning what he had to teach is going to be a lot of fun, and he clearly seemed to want to emphasize having fun while I was learning. At the same time, however, it didn't make any sense to me that space could be curved and that someone could end up back in the same place if the person continued walking in a straight line.