h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Dear Mr. Douglas Adams, where ever you may be,

Relatives and friends. . .



I feel terribly saddened at this news -- Douglas Adams has passed away.

A man I have never met in person, a man I would hardly recognize if he passed me on the street, a man who lives in a country I have visited only once, for a week -- This man has inspired me probably more than any other individual in the world, save for my own mother and father.

His books made me think, laugh, dream and imagine. To an extent, I pursued a career in filmaking so that when the time comes I could do justice as a filmaker to such work as his creations.

A horrible sense of loss engulfs me, as I consider that this brilliant visionary, this mad genious has left us to figure this world out on our own.

My heart goes out to his wife and daughter, and to his many close friends. It is hard to know what to feel at the loss of such a great man -- On the one hand we should be thankful for all the wonderful things he has given us. On the other hand we will never know what great surprises were in store for us, which fate has decieved us from in such cruel fashion.

I hope we will succeed to do justice to his memory -- by continuing the existing struggles -- to protect our planet from destruction under interplanatary construction plans, to save the rare and beautiful spiecies of animals that share this little globe with us humans and to take advatage of our growing ability to share our thoughts, feelings and knowledge of the human experience -- acquired in a Cafe, a restaurant or anywhere on this planet and in the many others which are out there floating in space.

I hope that the palm-top computing companies such as Palm, Sony etc. will make a "Hitchiker's Guide" version that says "Don't Panic" in large friendly letters, so that we will all remember wherever we may go, as we type in new entries into internet collabrative databases such as H2G2, where this concept originated. And I hope we will all be able to, with a click of the button, reload Douglas Adams' books into memory so that we can read them time and time again. Read them to our children . . .

So long, Mr. Adams. Thanks for all the fish (naturally) and of course thanks for the wonderful stories.

I will miss you sourly, if I may say so myself. . .

-Amos Feldan

12/5/2001

Well written. I would agree with every single word of this.

Thanks for everything, Douglas. The Galaxy will miss you.