Reminisce: Dungeons and Dragons

Today was the day! Dungeons and Dragons Online was released! No, I didn't run out to get it, but I did hear a review of it today on the radio. It made me think back to sitting around the table and playing the imagination game. I miss playing. Does it make me a loser to want to still play? I don't care, it doesn't matter to me if some does think so. But it would be difficult to round up enough people my age these days to come to gether and spend entire afternoons in a world of fantasy. I guess most of us have more important things to do in the real world. Slaying dragons and finding treasure in the fantasy world kind of gets left behind (In the sort of way Peter Pan becomes Peter Panning in the movie "Hook").

I remember when the first attacks against the game came, family groups and parents condemning it as satanic and its players being more likely to commit violent crime. Well, I don't know about that. But I do know I praised the pencil and paper game (and continue to praise) for giving me something to do with my friends. For hanging out, working together to solve problems, leading, following... You know, things that turn out to be real skills that someone might need in the real world. Sure there was less at stake when your decisions only impacted an imaginary character that existed solely on paper...Or did it?

When playing the game, the charatcers are real. They are your alter ego. Your chance to escape the real world and live in the fantasy world, at least for an afternoon. When that character makes an incredible hit that saves the entire party and discovers an inordinate amount of treasure, you feel elation! You did it! And when that character made a poor choice and ended up as goo after some giant spider stings you, it was crushing. A part of you becomes goo too...Or did it?

But what did we gain and what did we lose in these situations? Time. When we celebrated our victories, we had great times with our friends and companions. When we mourned the loss of our character, we lost all the time we spent building up that character, but gained many great moments together with our friends in the real world while our alter egos went adventuring and spelunking in the fantasy world.

Dungeons and Dragons...thank you for bringing me closer to my friends...even if it did cost me some popularity and some dates growing up.

Hang it up! Please!

Enough already! Please do us a favor, RETIRE! I am so sick of hearing about these two guys. Ricky, go get high in some doorway somewhere, but keep out of the NFL. Barry, take your bad attitude somewhere else. The two of you are giving your sports a bad name. Ricky Williams is simply a joke at this point. If you don't want to play, then don't. Get a job like everyone else and go sulk over the awesome career you through away. Barry Bonds is so selfish, I hope he NEVER breaks another record. In fact, I hope he gets injured again, when he is 1 homerum shy of Babe Ruth, so that he will always be reminded of what happens when you don't take care of your body and inject it with steroids. It is a very sad thing that men with so much talent and with the potential to do so much for their respective sports will do the exact opposite.

And what about their teams? (That's right, take a look at the word T-E-A-M, I still don't see the letter 'I') Analysts are predicting the SF Giants to win the west if Bonds can stay healthy. Hey! Wake up! Note to the Giants, he doesn't care if they win the division, all he wants is to pass Ruth on the HR list. Look Bonds, you said that you don't enjoy the game any more. Then why do something you don't enjoy? Are you just trying to prove to yourself that you can still hit homeruns? Look, most of the rest of us don't care if you can hit HRs any more because you are NOT steroid free, no matter what you say. I am going out n a limb here, if Bonds should be lucky enough to stay injury free to hit 10 more homeruns and pass Babe Ruth, he might retire there on the spot. One more question for you Barry, why not go for the all time record and break Hank Aaron's record? Surely you have 48 more in you? I have a guess, but I won't say, I am not as bigoted as you.

Ricky, good job. You have single handedly put the Miami Dolphins in the cellar, AGAIN. You are like the relative that the family counts on to bring the plates to the picnic and then doesn't show up. They need you, drug free! Ever since your departure, the team has been trying to rediscover its running game. Look, I'm no Dolphin fan, but you are making a mockery of the league.

So to Bonds and Williams, do your respective sports a favor, retire.