Life, The Universe and Everything

With all the craziness going on in the last few months, I decided to once again pull out some reading material that was sure to distract me.  If you've never read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book series by Douglas Adams, it is craziness from start to finish.  The author makes no bones about the fact the books are not cohesive and that much of it is ridiculous.  People either find them hideously amusing or absolutely hate them. 

The characters in the book move randomly from one disaster to another and are assisted by odd occurrences such as a floating sofa. The earth gets destroyed, but a shadow version from another dimension is brought to replace it by the dolphins - you get the picture. Arthur Dent who is the central figure in these tales tries for a while to make sense of it all, but finally gives up thinking about it. Ford Prefect, his alien companion, just goes with the flow. You really need to carry a towel at all times and we find out the ultimate answer to the ultimate question is 42.  Unfortunately, we never learn what the question actually is. The "trilogy" ended with FIVE books written by Adams, but a sixth written by a different author was also released.  Personally I find the first four the best and rarely continue to read beyond the 4th.

Doodle Art pays tribute to Douglas Adams

I ended up consuming those first four books in about three days and they left a smile on my face, but but also a nagging suspicion that it all felt a bit too familiar.  My life in general has always seemed to have a mind of it's own.  I remember when my last child graduated from preschool and the owner said how much she would miss hearing about all the crazy things that happened to me.  Imagine that - she found my life amusing!  I used to think it was because Murphy was a long time personal friend of mine.  If you are not familiar with Murphy's Laws you can out a growing list at the Murphy Laws Site - but number one on the list is, "If anything can go wrong, it will."  However, after reading Adam's series again I realized I am just destined to live an unpredictable life.  It is full of craziness, and seems to have a constantly changing landscape, but to be honest I think I'd be bored if it was any other way.


So just a warning.  If you want to know what's going on with me, best be prepared for a cup of coffee or glass of wine and some time to visit.  The answer is never simple. Just to put a smile on your face today, I am going to leave you with some quotes from the "trilogy".  My particular favourite is the third although I have never had the courage to try it.  I suggest you not try to make sense of them. Oh, and "DON'T PANIC!" :)

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--He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.

--A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

--All it takes to fly is to hurl yourself at the ground... and miss.

--Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. 

--Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so.   

--I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.

--There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.