THANKFUL - NOVEMBER SERIES, PART 4
As November winds down, the turkey is now leftovers for sandwiches, and we put up the Christmas decorations, I find myself waxing nostalgic. I look back on my first introduction to AD&D, remembering all of those who have inspired me and supported me in this hobby for so long. Now it is time to thank those who started the journey.
To Gary Gygax, known as the “father of D&D”, I owe a great deal of thanks. He opened the door, laid out the welcome mat to a wide world of gaming in the fantasy realms that have spent more than forty years of my life enjoying, exploring and sharing with so many others. I thank you for your creating this game and making it available to the world. I hope in some small way in the next life we can meet, share thoughts on the game, and perhaps spends some hours with me sitting at the table while you DM a game for me and those that have gone before.
To Dave Arneson, the co-founder of D&D, I am thankful for your creation of the World of Blackmoor, for creating your own set of rules, basing the setting on medieval fantasy which became the foundation that Gary would expand upon and help form the core of the greatest role playing game in the world. Many forget your contributions and that is a shame. I firmly believe you are owed as much credit as Gary. For your part in things I am thankful and I hope that perhaps you and Gary can finally bury the hatchet and make amends in the next life that you could not in this one.
I am thankful for Brian Blume, Tim Kask, Jean Wells, Kim Mohan, Steve Winter, Len Lakofka, Merle Rasmussen, Jeff Grubb, David Cook, Jennell Jaquays, Lawrence Schick, Monte Cook, and all the other staffers at TSR. Thanks as well to the artists who brought the world to life for me and everyone else, Larry Elmore, Clyde Caldwell, Erol Otus, David Trampier, Jeff Easley, Jim Roslof, Keith Parkinson, and Jeff Dee. Your art is legendary and has helped to fuel my imagination for decades.
I hope you have enjoyed this series and have found my musings worth your time to read. I would encourage all of you to be thankful for things that have meant so much to you, to think on those things, and perhaps if you’re inclined to share your thoughts here with us and let us know what you think. thank you all for taking the time to read and support us here in our little corner of the Internet.