Dad was a gamer

On September 13th, 2009 my Dad passed away. He had a massive heart attack and was unable to be revived. Dad and I loved to do many things together, we spent a lot of time doing things on the weekend. We went to the arcade, saw movies, went to the comic book shop, and played games. VHS and DVD gave us the ability to watch some of our favorite movies at our own convenience. He purchased the Atari 2600 that was my first game console. I think the milestone gaming experience for my Dad and I was Contra on the NES. We could play that from start to finish without even using the “Konami Code”.

Dad introduced me to videogames, and he was a gamer until the day he died, literally. I drove down to Austin on the day of his death and found him still logged in to Lord of the Rings Online. I was never into those kinds of games, but I liked that we had other shared experiences. I liked to do for him what so few family members seem willing to do for me, I would buy games for birthdays and holidays.

While videogames were hardly our own shared experience, it’s the one I’d want to share with the most likely readers of these words. I enjoy reading and movies as well, but games were always different. Games were an activity that allowed me to be part of the experience, and that is why I have always enjoyed them.

Dad was a good man, he taught me many things. He was a hard worker who believed in always striving for the best. He worked hard, but he played hard to. That is a philosophy that has served me very well throughout my life.

Thanks, Dad. For everything.