Offbeat News: May 25 Declared "Towel Day"

May 25 has been unofficially declared "Towel Day" as a memorial to Douglas Adams. Author, Douglas Adams, is best known for his trilogy: "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy", "The Restaurant at The End of The Universe", "Life, The Universe and Everything Else", "So Long, and Thanks for All The Fish", concluding with "Mostly Harmless". That is five books, you say. Good you can count. The story began on an ordinary day when Arthur Dent was mysteriously saved at the moment earth was destroyed to make way for an Intergalactic superhighway. With the help of his earth/alien friend, Ford Perfect, he began hitchhiking around the galaxy. The trilogy, which began as a BBC radio broadcast, is not your typical somber Science Fiction. British born Adams has a wacky sense of humor. You either get it or you do not and his fans get it.

Mr. Adams was born March 11, 1952 in Cambridge, England. He died due to a sudden heart attack at age 49 on May 11, 2001 while working out in a gym in California. At least two bereaved fans simultaneously decided a tribute was in order. May 25 was declared "Towel Day". Word was spread how else, via the Internet. Chris Campbell of System Toolbox created "Towel Day.org" in the United States. Loyal fans joined in by agreeing to carry a towel around with them the entire day. Why a towel? Because "A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.", and "More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value".

Some fans argued that "Towel Day" should have been observed exactly 42 days after Adam's passing. Tobbe Landin at KOVT explains that more time was needed to spread the word, so the memorial could not happen immediately following Douglas' death. Waiting 42 days was too long, as fans grief would have faded. There may not have been as much enthusiasm to risk ridicule by carrying a towel around all day to pay homage to Mr. Adams. The timing worked. Fans joined the fun, took photos, sharing them via the World Wide Web. Most fans slung an ordinary bath towel over their shoulders or wrapped around their neck. Others found more creative ways to carry theirs, or had special towels printed with the number 42 on them. Thus a tradition was born. System Toolbox abandoned the project after two years and it was revived by Mr. Landin in Sweden in 2004.

I took to using the phrase, "So how is life, the universe and everything else?" long before "Towel Day" became an International annual event. When I asked a daughter's new boyfriend, Henry, the question, he said shyly, "Hey, that's the name of a book". We bonded instantly when I said "I know." I wore my son's hand-me-up t-shirt featuring the green head with arms no body space creature emblazoned with the words "Don't Panic" for years. I hoped to strike up a literary conversation.. People loved the words and the funky character, but no one knew it came straight from Mr. Adams trilogy until 2004 when I met a young man, Tim. Like Henry, Tim was impressed that I knew his favorite author and promptly invited me to see the movie, "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" which was released that year.

"The answer is: 42" is often used by Adam's cult-like following as an irrelevant answer to questions. Why 42? You will have to read the series to find out. My son has a collection of his favorite quotes from the five book trilogy on his website. My favorite of his is: "You know what you've done? You've gone and killed me again." He, of course, read "Hitchhiker" at my urging when he complained, "I'm bored." That little line became one of our in-jokes, most often used when Mom was trying to administer some stern discipline. Mr. Adams was fond of using his own in-jokes in his novels. He worked references to his favorite music into his tales. Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, Dire Straits and even Elvis Presley find their way into the novels. Another zinger from the series: "Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."

Moms usually know their children and I am betting my son will not carry a towel around on May 25, even tough he made me aware of the event. I am also betting that he will bet I will. Come May 25 we will see who wins those bets.

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