Adventures In the Razor Trade - Passing Of An Old Friend

 

  Welcome to Thursday, I just got a call from California from an old friend who I was once pretty close with. This call was both heart wrenching & a bit interesting. So it seems there's been the passing of an old war gaming buddy of mine out in California. Bill's brother Charlie gave me a call and Charlie has passed away. He was a member of the North West Hills War Gaming society, which I was a part of back in the early 90's. Charlie was in his late 60's( so now early 70's) when he went to live with his brother out in California marking the passing of another member of what was really as far as I know one of the last vestiges of the war gaming scene here in the Torrington area. At its height there were perhaps twelve members of this old school war gaming club. When I refer to war gaming I'm referring to sand tables and Napoleonic war gaming. The whole carefully laid out nine yards and the rules were old school 70's typed up rules. What was interesting was that at the height of Wizards of the Coast style D20 madness there was a pocket of 60's & 70's style old school figure war gaming buzzing right along here. It was a private club and simply a bunch of friends getting together to play the games they loved. This was right around the corner from three hobby stores and they had no idea that these folks were there. And actually that was the way these guys wanted it.

   But over the years as always health concerns, jobs, and plan real life tore the group apart. I was always the junior member and learned by playing, cleaning brushes,etc. There are three members left in the area that I'm friends with, my buddy Max whom I've been doing vanity press fanzine articles for years, Larry whose an entire bag of stuff all on his own, etc. Now during the phone call I was told that Charlie had been following my blog Swords and Stitchery. Charlie thought my style of writing, designing, etc. were in his words,'pulpy', 'lurid', and worthy of being sold in magazines and comic books back in the Thirties, Forties, Fifties,etc.  Here's really one of the problems with each of these deaths besides the obvious loss of a friend. Each and everytime another hobbyist passes on a small piece of knowledge, tradition, etc. goes with them. A unique part of the collective bits and whatnot that each war gamer brings to the table. Not to mention their life experiences as well. 

   Now I'm not entirely sure how to take this and I haven't told Max about Charlie's passing but I'll take 'lurid', 'pulpy', etc. any day of the week.

Rest In Peace Charlie give em what for in the other world pal!
Hail and well met!