Frayed Ends

It’s often been said that high school is the best time of your life, to which of course I say, “bullshit.” Oh certainly there were some ups, but mostly it was a lot of downs (perhaps it would have been different had I been involved in team sports).

Now college…THAT was a great four years.

Besides all the usual wonderfulness that goes with a university (studying what you want, intelligent discourse and conversation, being able to (finally!) hold your liquor, and eating Big Macs for lunch and dinner while staying thin as a rail…and, of course, very nice members of the opposite gender), college was the re-birth (the Renaissance, if you will) of my role-playing experience. Well, for awhile at least…it also trailed off as I became more involved with the theater program (my major) and some fairly intense romance. But college was where I started meeting a lot of new people from wildly different backgrounds (including Canadians and Republicans!) that all gamed, just like me.

‘Course, none of us were playing D&D. There was some serious Call of Cthulhu happening in the basements of one dormitory. I sampled A LOT of White Wolf games (multiple Vampire sagas, some Mage, Ars Magica 3rd edition, a still-born Werewolf game). Plus I met folks whose “base” game (their particular “gateway drug”) was something other than D&D…Champions being the most notable (a game I still have never owned, nor played).

Anyhoo, that was a decade and a half ago. Now that I am experiencing yet another personal re-birth of role-playing, I find myself considering looking up old buddies from college and seeing if they want to throw down. ‘Course, being an adult, out-of-school, with years of Real World experience has a few drawbacks.

Like baggage. Case in point: two of my gamer companions from college were a couple. A fairly neat pair, they eventually got married…perhaps a year after I graduated (though I believe at least one of them was doing some Masters work). I was even the best man at their wedding!

Welp, they did not last (unfortunately or not…it’s certainly not fair for me to judge such things). The female of the pair is re-married (I think to husband #3). The male is/was still fairly bitter/resentful the last time I saw him (perhaps a year or two ago). And they are BOTH friends with me on my Facebook page!

[yes, my wife and brother forced me to get a Facebook about 8 months ago; I am not very good with remembering to update it…or even with using the built-in applications. Mainly it simply gathers internet dust…]

Anyhoo, should I tap either of these resources to potentially build a new group? I’m almost sure the ex-wife still games (she was always very heavy into gaming). I know the ex-husband MIGHT be willing to game (he still had a ton of gaming material stock-piled last time I saw him). Both have been contacting me lately via Facebook (the former has been messaging me, the latter has been “poking” me) which is the reason they spring to mind in the first place.

Of course, I doubt I could ever be in the same room with both of them at the same time…theirs was not what one would call an "amicable split."

I was responding to both of them while updating my Facebook this morning around 5:30am (the first time I’ve checked it in over a month). Generally, I just ignore people’s requests for info on how/what I’m doing. But am I passing up a good opportunity for game play here? Should I be having a more open mind regarding past relationships/friendships? Or should I simply move on, leave the past behind, and broaden my circle of friends and gaming experience?

These are the things I contemplate, as I drink my morning coffee….