I feel as though I were a Lethargarian, listlessly living in the Doldrums. A terrible state of torpor has stolen into my being. And I'm stuck.
Norton Juster's 'The Phantom Tollbooth' was published in 1961. It's the story of a bored boy named Milo who is mysteriously gifted a toy tollbooth. He drives through it one afternoon (in his toy car) and finds himself on a series of adventures. It's quite a funny book, full of puns and Jules Feiffer illustrations.
The Lethargarians are residents of the Doldrums, one of Milo's more lulling adventure incidents in 'The Phantom Tollbooth.' Milo is rescued from the Doldrums by the Watchdog. The Watchdog has a watch built into its side, and a life mission to be sure that nobody wastes time.
Milo drifts into the Doldrums and meets the Lethargarians just after he meets the Whether Man. Not the Weather Man. For, as the Whether Man says, 'it's more important to know whether there will be weather than what the weather will be.'
I'm hoping that by thinking about the Lethargarians and the Doldrums and Milo and the Watchdog and the Whether Man and 'The Phantom Tollbooth' I will shake off my own languor (great word, and, yes, I know that I've used it before). And that silly punny thinking will impel me into effective action.
OK. Good. I'm feeling a bit perkier. I think a quick walk and more absurdity will make my day. I often find that a little absurdity, punnish or otherwise, can shake me up and set me right.
Let me just park my toy car over here, and set the Humbug straight, before I jump to conclusions. That's a dangerous island, indeed.
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