Towel Day, Interrupted

Yesterday was the seventh annual Towel Day, an international celebration of late author Douglas Adams, perhaps best known for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Now, Adams is my all-time favorite author. His Hitchhiker’s series shaped much of my outlook on life, his writing inspiring much of my own. The name of a minor character from Hitchhiker’s, “Prophet Zarquon,” has been my handle since the dial-up BBS days. (The Mac BBS I ran was called “Prophet’s Place.”) So, you bet I observe Towel Day.

Celebrating Towel Day is simple. Like any cool frood, you carry your towel with you all day. In 2005, I actually documented my Towel Day in video. This year, I figured I’d just post photos of my towel (the same towel, by the way) to my Flickr account throughout the day.

But my Towel Day was cut short.

Things started well enough. My towel joined me on the drive into town, and watched me work in the morning:

But yesterday also brought Burt Lum’s weekly Bytemarks geek lunch. I raced down to the YWCA, sans lunch, to talk tech and to discuss “lifecasting” with a reporter from The Honolulu Advertiser. The hour was up before I knew it, and I had to race back to my office for a 1 p.m. meeting.

I didn’t realize I’d forgotten my towel until Patrick sent me a photo of it… posted to his Flickr account.

My Towel Day was over. But my towel’s day was not.

Patrick proceeded to show my towel the sights. Patrick took it out cruising. They went shopping at Ala Moana, sightseeing in Waikiki and at the Pali Lookout… they even took a study break at UH.

Patrick tauntingly tagged his photo set “whereisyourtowel.” And indeed, some of the locations he captured remain a mystery.

Towel Day is all about showing the world that you know where your towel is. Obviously, I am overcome with shame and grief for having lost mine, on this day of all days. But, I’m also grateful to Patrick for showing my towel a good time.

I don’t know where my towel is. But I know it’s in good hands.

Towel Day 2005 went a bit more smoothly. Here’s the videoblog entry from two years ago: