Gygax

Mar 05, 2008 09:38

Gary Gygax one of the creators of D&D, died. He changed my brothers' worlds. They had played Avalon Hills war games before, but D&D that was there thing. Thinking about Gygax makes me think about my mom.

My mom and D&D
1. My mom would drive loads of teenage boys to Columbus because that was one of the few places in the 1970s that you could buy D&D stuff. The first time she went with her carload of boys, they discovered the owner of the Drowsy Dragon was an Orthodox Jew and wasn't open on Saturdays. The boys went home disappointed, but my mom cheered them up. The next day she loaded up the car and drove back up.
2. Most moms have pristine dining rooms. My mom had stacks of plywood in the corner. Each sheet housed a different game and would be set on the dining room table. At the end of that session, it was gingerly set back down so as not to disturb the game underneath.
3. Sometimes the mothers of the other boys would ask how my mom stood having all these boys take over her house all the time. My mom knew that she knew where her boys were and what they were doing.

I hope that I am as cool a mom as she was.
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