Goodbye, Gary

Gary Gygax died this morning. Gary was not only the father of the role playing game and grandfather of the online fantasy gaming industry, but he was also a warm and funny man who loved meeting fellow gamers. On April 24 of 2003 I met Gary at one of Hector's Jumpgate sponsored Games Day mini-conventions. Hector had held a raffle to benefit Childhood Cancer LifeLine of New Hampshire, a volunteer organization committed to assisting families dealing with childhood cancer, and the ten winners would get to not only meet Gary Gygax but play the original "white box" D&D with him. I was one of the lucky few. In addition to meeting Gary I got to meet his youngest son, Alex, a funky kid who loved Less Than Jake and played a mean game of Diablo. My thoughts today have been with him and his family.

As someone who began playing AD&D in the second grade, there's much I can say about Gary's influence over my life, and that of many of my friends. Our childhood's would have been unrecognizable without his works. But I'll save those musings for another day, and leave you with a brief video that I shot from a small digital camera while playing with Gary on that day back in 2003. When I have time I'll upload some pics I took that day as well.

Good journey, Gary. You will be missed.