For those who are unaware, May 25th is Towel Day. You carry your towel with you. It is in loving tribute to British author Douglas Adams and his book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. wiki entry on Towel Day. Now, being one who has never read Douglas Adams, I don't tend to remember such events until my Twitter feed bombards me with DON'T PANIC entries and pictures of people with towels. This year Towel Day came during a particular shitty time for me. Everything kinda sucks in life right now. A death in my family has caused issues between people Instead of grieving I am cleaning out my loved one's home and coping with relations that I'd like to turn over me knee. I am planning and packing for a long trip this summer that is more than a little intimidation and scary. My home is filling up with my deceased family member's stuff. And reading just hasn't been happening. My reading of Cucuteni information has stagnated, and two books (TWO!) that I began in the last month lie unfinished. They just didn't do it for me. One takes too much thought and the other just isn't written well at all (and I should have realized that before I started, so bad on me). So, inspired by folks going to work with towels over their shoulders I am now reading Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Finally.
This is one of those books that has transcended being a story and become a phenomenon. In the geek world, where I have found myself since college, it is considered a necessity. It's bad enough that I haven't read the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was sacrilege that I hadn't read Hitchhiker's. Just now, being only a few chapters in, so many phrases and references made by friends make sense!
I am a fool and an idiot for not reading this earlier. Adams's humor is the kind that I adore, that makes me smile no matter what. And right now I need that. The only downside at the moment is that my copy of the book is the Ultimate Guide, including all the related Hitchiker's books. So it's a very large tome-o-funny. Can't really lug it about, so it is a read-at-home book. Not so bad, though. Gives me that break when I need it most.
So, don't panic, folks, and remember your towel.
http://towelday.org/
