So Long and Thanks for All the Books

I was just reminded that today is the 10th anniversary of the death of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy creator Douglas Adams. If there's a writer who's work has given me more pleasure and/or contributed more to my outlook on the world/universe, I can't think of who it would be. As mentioned in a previous posting, I believe that his crowning glory remains the original radio version of Hitchhiker's Guide. That's not to knock any of his later work, just that the radio series ingrained itself so much in my mind that it will always be with me. In fact, when I met Adams at a reading/signing at the Borders store in Center City Philadelphia, I had him sign my copy of the scripts for the radio series. Sadly, I lost that copy years ago. One of the pieces he read was an excerpt from the book he did on endangered species called Last Chance to See, which was adapted into a TV series a couple years ago featuring his friend Stephen Fry. It was a very strong testament to the author's desire to leave the world a better place. Though his efforts were certainly cut short, I think most people would agree that at least on some level he succeeded.