Yes, I know it’s also Memorial Day, and that’s important so put a poppy on your towel, but this year wearing the lilac is even more important because it’s our first year without Sir Terry.

We wear the lilac on May 25 in honor of Sir Terry Pratchett, a victim of Alzheimers who refused to become a victim. The lilac comes from Pratchett’s Night Watch novel, but it has become a symbol for fighting the disease.

We wear a towel on May 25 because Douglass Adams told us to in the Hitchhiker’s Guide. It’s the most massively useful thing an interstellar space traveller can have, plus it creates a great impression, hence the expression “That guy really knows where his towel is.”

We wear the poppy on memorial day because of Flanders Fields and because people who don’t remember the devastation of war are compelled to repeat it. We need a LOT MORE POPPIES in the world.

Have a wonderful lilac towel and poppy day.