“The only person for whom the house was in any way special was Arthur Dent, and that was only because it happened to be the one he lived in.”
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
I kinda feel what Arthur was feeling this week. We have jumped between countries once again and are once again in quarantine. I feel like the Canadian-United States border is the location of the new Hyperspace Express Route and our family life has been scheduled for demolition. I am not sure which side to be on. My husband’s job is on one side of the border and our house and my daughter’s school are on the other side. It makes day-to-day family life… interesting.
Luckily for me, if we follow the tenets of the Hitchhiker’s guide, all we have to do is Don’t Panic! And that is why I chose Douglas Adams as the Inspiring Author of the Week. I love his use of wit and comedy in his books. Where someone’s life is a footnote in a galactic plan.
I believe I read the book first, borrowing it from my high school library. The narrator’s sarcasm came through with every line and brought me joy. For anyone who likes sarcasm and deadpan humour, this book is for you. The opening line let me know that humans should not take themselves too seriously, and Douglas Adams sure wouldn’t
Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral Arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.
Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ap-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.
Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker’s guide itself turned out to be full of useful information for the inter-galactically inclined traveler. The bottom line, travelers should always carry a towel.
Arthur was not aware his friend, Ford Prefect, was in fact an alien, and would introduce him to a whole reality outside of earth he did not know existed. Ford also happened to be a researcher for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and his knowledge would take the two of them across the galaxy and through many unique challenges.
Only Ford could talk the man responsible for demolishing Arthur’s house into laying in the mud in front of it while they went to the pub.
Ford had strong opinions based on his years of travel between galaxies. If he said to drink 3 pints fast before the world ends, the best plan was to follow his lead.
I loved the book and the movie. Both are worth your time. The lightheartedness of Ford brings me joy and reminds me to not take myself terribly seriously. Instead to enjoy the adventure. So while I am in my…fourth, fifth, sixth??? quarantine this year, I am going to settle in with a bowl of noodles and watch the movie once again.
Happy Reading/Watching!
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