I started with a photocopy of the white box edition in 1978. I couldn’t even afford the actual game. Little did I know that this game, D&D, would change my life.I never met the man, yet he influenced me as if he were my (surrogate) father. In my early years, I worshipped him. His creation was my constant companion. In my “teen” years, I rebelled – saying that he was arrogant and undeserving of praise. In my maturity, I learned to appreciate the hobby he had shaped from his imagination.
I searched elsewhere for the perfect game. I had many partners and a few true loves, but every so often, I came home. It was never the same. The games of my youth were distant memories and I had moved beyond the 20-sided polyhedrals. Still, I yearned to capture those magic moments from long ago and still own the most current copy of his creation on my bookshelf. With a new edition, I may yet return …
My real father passed away at the age of 69 and so too has the father of my dreams and imagination. He has been a constant in my life for 30 years. Now, there will be an empty chair at the gaming table.
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep. He has kept his promises and earned his sleep."
Goodbye Gary. Well miss you.
Picture by "Aikuchi"
Order of the Stick Tribute
(reprinted from my other blog, Asian Echoes)
