As I write this, Gen Con is just about a week and a half away and I cannot wait to board the plane that will take me from Miami to an extended weekend full of gaming goodness in Indianapolis. Seriously, I am stoked. I missed Gen Con last year due to the death of my mother so this year’s con will be making up for two years of Gen Con awesomeness.
This year I will be working alongside my friends at Rogue Games, repping their games at their booth (#1539 ), hopping to get gamers to try out their very excellent games Colonial Gothic, Thousand Suns and the new Shadow, Sword & Spell. Why work with Rogue Games? Two reasons: Richard Iorio asked for volunteers to help him staff the booth and given I always go to Gen Con with an empty schedule, I did not see any issue with lending a hand; in fact, I was thrilled to do so. That is related to the second reason: I have been to Gen Con three times before, as a regular gamer once and as a member of the media twice, and I wanted to experience the con from the side of the vendors. I am a publisher, but my products so far are all electronic, so this is an opportunity to get an education on what it takes to staff a booth at the con which will hopefully pay off in the future once I have physical games to take there for sale. It also relates to a general shift in philosophy in my life, that of helping others; it is the reason why I decided to start studying Nursing at 35, and it also influenced my decision here. By helping Richard, I am able to gain a small personal benefit in terms of a learning experience, but mainly I am able to help him have a more relaxed con experience since he won’t be running the booth by himself as he has done in years past. Win-win situation.
Schedule
If you want to find me, here are the hours I will be working the Rogue Games booth, arguably the best times to pin me in one place. Know that if you drop by, along with the greetings, I will also talk to you about the awesome games at our booth.
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I knew this was coming, though I wasn’t sure when. Well, it dropped today.
Todd Crapper of Emerald Press has dedicated their newest product, The Key of the Fey, a D&D 4th Edition adventure, to the memory of my mom.
You can see the dedication on the preview available at the product page, which I have expanded here (click to enlarge):
So what’s the story?
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There was a phrase my Mom used all the time. It was like a mantra, and I don’t know about my sisters, but it got etched in my mind as a clear message of how Life works and how we should live it.
“Lo mejor que hizo Dios fue un dia despues del otro.”
(The best thing G-d made was one day after the other.)
Sunrise on South Beach, by Daniel M. Perez
It’s all about letting time pass and being open to the healing it brings.
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Cancer and death are two topics that have been on my mind prominently recently. Starting last week with the weekly episode of Grey’s Anatomy, which brought to mind both my deceased parents, continuing to a realization–and vocalization (to my wife in person, and on my blog on Mother’s Day for a short period of time before I deleted for the time being)–of the true theme of my game in progress, to Mother’s Day and lastly to the events of last night and today for someone whom I only know via online circles, but whose story I’ve been following for a year or so. To say that my thoughts have been on the heavy side would be a gross understatement.
This is going to get long and a bit emotional, in case you don’t feel like reading any further…
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I got this message this morning from Chabad.org, and it impacted me. Over the past few days the thought of cancer has been firmly on my mind, between Mother’s Day, my game in progress, and news from a few people I follow on Twitter who are going through their own ordeals at the moment and whom I wish them strength. This message speaks to all of this:
By Tzvi Freeman
Not all suffering can be explained. There is pain, sometimes, that is not punishment and not repair.
True, we were given Torah, a G-dly wisdom containing the secrets of all things. But concerning these things even Moses asked and was told to be quiet, to cease to ask. Because there are some things that even G-dly wisdom does not explain. Because they cannot be explained.
We can only know that whatever happens is from G-d, that G-d is just, and that He does not desire suffering.
But until the end of days, we will have to suffer the ‘why’.
I can’t claim to understand all of it. I can’t claim to say I’m fine with it all the time. But I accept it. I accept it because I do believe that all that happens is G-d’s doing and that ultimately it is all for good, even if my limited understanding is not enough to see how. I rage against the dying of the light, but in the end I let the light go as is His will.
To those who are going through their own ordeals, maybe this will give you some measure of strength. Maybe not. But it is something that we should keep in mind all the time.
Gam zu l’tovah. This is also for good.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. Wherever you are. I love you and miss you.
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