A man standing on a brightly dressed dais before the building which clearly dominated the square was addressing the crowd over a tannoy.
"O people who wait in the shadow of Deep Thought!" he cried out. "Honored Descendants of Vroomfondel and Majikthise, the Greatest and Most Truly Interesting Pundits the Universe has ever known, the Time of Waiting is over!"
Wild cheers broke out among the crowd. Flags, streamers and wolf whistles sailed through the air. The narrower streets looked rather like centipedes rolled over on their backs and frantically waving their legs in the air.
"Seven and a half million years our race has waited for this Great and Hopefully Enlightening Day!" cried the cheerleader. "The Day of Answer!"
Hurrahs burst from the ecstatic crowd.
"Never again," cried the man, "never again will we wake up in the morning and think Who am I? What is my purpose in life? Does it really, cosmically speaking matter if I don't get up and go to work? For today we will finally learn once and for all the plain and simple answer to all these nagging little problems of Life, the Universe and Everything!"
The Honored Descendants of Vroomfondel and Majikthise are gathered to find out the meaning of the universe from Deep Thought, the stupendous super computer that has been working on the answer for seven and a half million years. Of course, Douglas Adams is providing satire and parody here. He's making fun of philosophers and "deep thinkers" everywhere.
The most serious part of this satire is that all of this race of beings is looking to a machine to provide purpose and guidance and happiness in their lives. Of course, that is not going to happen. I could pose the question to Google, "What is the meaning of life?" Here is one of the answers I will get:
Life has different definition in the eyes of different people. ... For many life is all about love. For a few, life is all about religious practices. For philosophers like Aristotle life is about happiness: "Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence."So, that isn't necessarily a definitive answer. It's simply an overview of several philosophical and religious and cultural responses. Those responses weren't created by Google. They were compiled by Google.
Last night, I spoke about the current financial circumstance my wife and I find ourselves in at the moment. No money to get groceries. Bills we can't pay. I was feeling pretty desperate. I simply was at the end of my rope. I had no answers. I had no where to turn.
After I published that post, I said a prayer. Gave all my worries and problems to God. I couldn't think of anything else to do. Then, I went home, heated up a frozen pastie, made an omelet with the last four eggs in my house, and I fed my daughter and her boyfriend.
Then I received a whole lot of grace. I'm not going into any details, but, by about ten o'clock last night, our cupboards and refrigerator were full. God sent some angels our way, and I am so humbled by this act of love and generosity for me and my family.
You know, it's really easy to look at the state of the world and be really cynical about the human race. Then, God steps in and does what He does best--restores your faith. I want to thank those angels who helped us out so much yesterday. They made a miracle happen last night. I went from feeling alone and desperate to loved and hopeful.
We're not out of the woods yet. The credit union turned down our loan application this afternoon. Still trying to figure out how to pay a pile of bills. As I said last night, it has a whole lot to do with the lack of a paycheck from the university over the summer. And a few other things that I had no control over. It's a little frightening being this powerless.
However, last night proved to me that God is on my side. I place these worries and problems in His hands tonight, because that's all I can do.
Saint Marty learned last night that God really does listen to prayer. And angels are right around the corner. That is the real meaning of life, the universe, and everything.
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