The Mountaineer Reading Room

I became cool in the summer of 1984. At least, that’s what I thought. I had an excellent 1981 Chevy Citation to drive around, a pair of vans and an enviable mullet (historical note: the word “mullet” did not exist for another 15 years or so–at the time the haircut was known as “the haircut every guy had”). If only I had known then what I know now: in reality, I was much cooler a couple of years earlier when I spent my summers in my room designing elaborate Dungeons and Dragons adventures. So, I when I heard that the creator of D & D, Gary Gygax, died on March 4 I felt a certain amount of warm nostalgia–and wished I hadn’t tossed all those manuals and little painstakingly painted figurines.

It’s just a good thing I didn’t have an Xbox. I’m not sure I would have completed Middle School.