If we are honest with ourselves, I'm
sure that we have all wondered on more than one occasion about the
meaning of life, the universe and everything else? This question is
what the book Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is centered
around. Douglas Adams, author of this classic science fiction comedy
had an out-of-this-world imagination and if you aren't put off by the
sarcasm and randomness of his story it is actually quite
entertaining. Adams, a British
writer, was known for nerdy humor, and actually his book started out
as a BBC radio show in 1978. Following the book the story was made
into a film in 2005. I will agree with the majority of his
fans that the book is definitely better than the movie. Admittedly,
I did not follow the “rule” that most serious readers live by
“read the book first.” So after viewing the film, I wasn't
rushing to read the book. It certainly has some silly, weirdness
that personally isn't my cup of tea. And speaking of tea … that is
Arthur Dent's favorite beverage … I'm sure it would be much more
relaxing than a Pan Galactic Gargle-blaster. Then my friend Karen
Moll convinced me to give the story, her all-time favorite, another
go and actually read the book which is commonly referred to by its
cult following as HG2G, or the Guide.
So before diving into my personal
thoughts about the Guide, I
will try to sum things up in a nutshell, to bring those unfamiliar
with the story up to speed, as speedily as possible. And I will try
not to spoil the story, or steal the discovery of its delightful
surprises from you if you decide to read it for yourself. Arthur
Dent, the main character, wakes up one morning to find his house
about to be bulldozed in order to clear the path for a new
through-way. This seems realistic, considering the current expansion
of Highway 221, I'm sure some of you may be able to relate. Along
comes Ford Prefect, an alien mentor of some sort, who convinces
Arthur to hop a ride with the Vogon, who are on their way to destroy
Earth. It is highly crucial to bring along a towel, which Ford
remembers to tell Arthur as they escape aboard a yellow spaceship
(huh? same color as the bulldozer that came to flatten his house).
The Guide says a towel
“is the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can
have … you can wrap it around you for warmth … lie on it … use
it as a sail on a mini-raft … wet it for use in hand-to-hand combat
… wave it as a distress signal in emergencies … and of course use
it to dry yourself off, if it still seems to be clean enough.”
Ford also explains that the Earth is being destroyed in order to
build a new intergalatic bypass. This is where the story takes off
with series of madcap adventures, but luckily Arthur has an
electronic guidebook, given to him by Ford, with the words “Don't
Panic” written on the front. Whoever said losing your planet is
the end of the world?
Within this story
readers will shake their heads at the comic absurdity of everything,
be amazed by scientific discoveries in a fictional galaxy, explore
alternate ways of communication, appreciate, or not, alien forms of
art and culture … do not let a Vogon read you poetry! And, most
surely make comparisons between politics in space and that of the
world as we know it. This book is the first in a trilogy of five
novels, giving a whole new meaning to the word trilogy. On finally
reading the book I can see why Karen enjoys it so much, I found it
was certainly an escape from ordinary life, and made me wonder about
many things. Mostly about the philosophical meaning of life. When
the number 42 is declared the answer to everything, Arthur isn't the
only one who is stumped. It seems that while in search of answers,
this one in particular, the question is often overlooked. That is
when the ultimate question is revealed as “How many roads must a
man walk down?”
As a
fan of Bob Dylan and his work, I reflected on this iconic question.
How many roads, highways, intergalactic bypasses do we travel
throughout our lives? Symbolically this could represent different
time frames or lessons we undergo along our own individual journeys
of human existence. Deep Thought, the giant super computer built by
pandimensional beings in this story, confesses that the answer really
must take 7.5 million years to be fully realized. But despite the
extravagance of this story's comedy, it gave me something to
consider. No matter what the answer is our life, our universe, our
everything, is really what we make of it day by day, moment by
moment. Don't panic, don't be afraid to live, and don't be afraid to
travel unknown roads. There is much to discover along the way!
In tribute to
Douglas Adams, who sadly died of a heart attack in 2001, his memory
is honored every year on May 25, internationally known as Towel Day.
Fans of Douglas Adams's work celebrate by conspicuously carrying
along a towel all day as a talking point to encourage those who have
never read HG2G to go pick up a copy. There are events all over the
world from Australia, France, Germany, Israel, Norway, Poland, the UK
and USA to name a few locations. Parties with the featured beverage
a Pan Galactic Gargle-blaster, bad poetry readings, hitchhiking
expeditions (always stop for towel carriers on May 25, they are
harmless), and even charity drives to save the dolphins (the
Galaxy's second most intelligent lifeform, next to white mice). One
event I thought was quite nice was a used towel drive to collect
bedding for animal shelters.
Originally
Karen and I thought about hitchhiking to Gal-ax (Galax, VA) but with
the rainy weather and lack of time we nixed that idea and joined a
Google Hangout, organized by Joel Ranger, a towel day ambassador from
Canada. We participated in a live reading of The
Restaurant at the End of the Universe (book
2 in the trilogy of 5) with “hoopy froods,” the UK's terminology
for “geeky nerds” around the world. It was very fun and I must
recommend to those who indulge in the Pan Galactic Gargle-blaster
while reading, be very careful when pronouncing some of the
characters' names. For instance Slartibartfast might come out as
Sartifartblast … I just had to say that one!! Following our Google
Hangout reading we also video-taped our first live Facebook video to
share some HG2G trivia and quotes by Douglas Adams. The results of
our video are yet to be determined, so if you'd like to scan our
profiles and leave a comment, feel free to do so. I must warn you
though, the still shot of our video looks hideous .. our faces are
scrambled and might scare you. But don't worry things clear up
nicely once you initiate the play button. In fact our dialogue sort
of jumps out like we just made it to another side of the universe and
with hindsight, we think the Vogons may have been trying to interfere with
our Towel Day Appreciation message.
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