I can’t believe I almost let this slip past.
When I was younger, Gen Con was always a summer tradition. The last one OF the summer in fact because the week afterwards, school would always start. I didn’t start going on my own until I was 13 due to my parent’s schedules and that was the year that Model Zone ran a contest for handing out fliers.
The way it worked was that the person that had the most amount of people come to the store using the fliers with their color won a gift certificate. Not exactly the easiest of tasks due to the face that fliers at cons have the tendency to be torn down or in the case of Gen Con that year, thrown out en masse. Two friends of mine managed to win it in the end but I’m jumping ahead of myself.
I had struck up a working relationship with the owner of Cool Stuff Videos at the time and helped him out a bit that year aside from my brief sickness that sent me home early on Saturday afternoon and had thus gotten a Dealer’s Pass. Had to turn it in when the con was closing on Sunday and due to the fact that I hadn’t gotten a single person to take one of my fliers, I figured I’d take my friend’s route and pass them off to the people leaving while shouting out an advertising pitch.
I had gotten through a bunch of people before Security had stopped me, telling me to surrender the remaining fliers. I protested a bit, saying that there are other people right now doing the exact same thing (which they really were, I wasn’t trying to use High School Defensive Excuse #14). She then said flat out to give her the rest of the fliers or else I would be arrested. I sighed and handed her my stack which she then walked away with. I had some left in my backpack to give out but I knew I didn’t have a chance.
Pissed and defeated, I called my dad using my phone card (because back then not everybody had a cell phone…God I feel so old now) and waited outside amidst the crowds and traffic slowed down in the streets. While standing there, an older man in shorts was talking to a bunch of other guys about how the convention was being run this year. I had jumped in and told of my story about the fliers of course and got involved. I don’t remember the specifics of this conversation but I remember that in the end, I had gotten into a bit of small talk with the older man who I just thought was a really nice guy.
That is until a kid comes running up with a box of Dungeons and Dragons Clue and it hits me. The whole time, I had been talking to Gary Gygax.
Right away, I turned red and got starstruck and knowing that I’m running out of time, I ask if he can sign my big convention backpack that would later serve as my alternative to a locker during my Freshman year in high school (back in the days where we weren’t so paranoid about bringing guns to school ). Gary says “Sure!” and just as he starts to sign, my Dad pulls up and yells for me to get in the car. Gary then looked over and yelled back with a smile, saying I’ll be right with him as he finished signing the backpack. I thanked him and waved goodbye as I ran to my Dad’s now long gone Buick Le Sabre, gushing and telling him that “OMG! I JUST MET GARY GYGAX!!!” as we drove home that Sunday afternoon.
My Dad got to meet him once at the con and got him to sign a mousepad for this new game he had been working on. I still use that mousepad to this day for my PC, even with the wear and tear. And, yes, I still own that backpack. The signature is still there, faded with the times but the Sharpie marks of one of the kindest men I’ve ever met still remain.
Even though it was for a few minutes, I’m still going to miss you Gary. Take it easy up there.
