Today in civics class, one of my classmates says that my nickname in the yearbook should be Ford Prefect. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Ford Prefect, he is an alien native to a planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse who was stranded on Earth for fifteen years and only managed to escape after it was blown up by the Vogons to make a hyperspace bypass (He’s a fictional character from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, don’t panic). I do not consider myself similar to Ford Prefect. I will now make a list of similarities and differences I have to Ford Prefect.
Similarities:
Similarities:
- Appearance: Douglas Adams described Ford Prefect as a strange looking being. For instance he described Ford Prefect’s appearance when smiling as "giving the impression of going for the neck,". Were I do not believe that I give people that impression of going for the neck, I believe the fact I prefer a hair style that involves scissors being a good few metres away from my head might strike people as odd.(Appearance does not include the upcoming Hitchhiker movie, being the actor who plays Ford is black, and I am white)
- We are both Aliens: Well, he’s alien in the sense that he is actually from another planet. Were as I am an Aspie, so I am merely an alien trapped in the body of a human. I believe I give some people the feeling that I am from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse.
- We both would like to leave Earth: Ford Prefect was known by his human friends to stare of into space for no apparent reason. His friends would ask him what he was doing and he would reply "Looking for flying saucers," and the unknowing humans would reply "What kind of flying saucers?" to which Ford would reply "Green ones," and everyone would laugh and Ford would take them all to get drunk in the local pub. This would be followed by Ford trying to explain to a girl in slurred phrases that it didn’t really matter what colour the flying saucer was, gatecrashing university parties to make fun of any scientists he could fine and asking a police officer if he could direct him to Betelgeuse. This can all be attributed to the fact that Ford wanted despratly to get of Earth. I would like to leave Earth and start a life on another planet for the same reason Ford wants to, humans are insane.
- We are both Writers: Ford Prefect works as a travelling researcher to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He is responsible for the rewriting of Earth entry (changing Harmless to Mostly Harmless). While my chosen medium is fiction, I am a writer like Ford Prefect.
Differences
- Lifestyle: Douglas Adams once described Ford Prefect as a parody of Doctor Who. Doctor Who flies around the space/time continuum in his police booth saving people, while Ford Prefect runs around the space/time continuum freeloading on other starships going to parties. While I enjoy a good party I do not enjoy it as much as Ford Prefect. Also, Ford Prefect enjoys drinking alcohol, were as I have decided that I will not drink alcohol.
That is all I can think of.
Okay, that's it.
