'it all seemed a lot clearer at college , ' said oats , who like many people seldom paid much attention to what others said when he was unrolling his miseries , 'but here , when i tell people some of the more accessible stories from the book of om they say things like , `` that 's not right , mushrooms would n't grow in the desert , '' or , `` that 's a stupid way to run a vineyard . ''